The Commonwealth Foundation Grant Program is an annual initiative that extends vital financial support to civil society organizations operating within the Commonwealth. Established with the aim of fostering positive engagement between civil society and decision-makers, this program provides grants of up to £30,000 for projects lasting up to two years. By doing so, it empowers these organizations to contribute meaningfully to policy development, decision-making processes, and societal progress.
WORTH
- Financial support: The Commonwealth Foundation provides grantees with financial support to implement their projects.
- Technical assistance and mentorship: The Foundation provides grantees with technical assistance and mentorship, helping them to develop their skills and capacity to implement effective civic engagement.
- Networking opportunities: The Commonwealth Foundation grants program brings together CSOs from across the Commonwealth, providing grantees with opportunities to network with other organizations and learn from each other’s experiences.
- Visibility and recognition: The Commonwealth Foundation is a well-respected organization and its grants program is highly competitive. Receiving a Commonwealth Foundation grant is a significant achievement and can help to raise the profile of a CSO.
ELIGIBILITY
- The applicant must be a not-for-profit civil society organization (CSO) registered in an eligible Commonwealth Foundation member country.
- Newly registered organisations (those that have been registered and operating for less than a year) should not apply.
- The proposed project must be implemented in the country of registration. Projects can be implemented in one or more eligible Commonwealth Foundation member countries and can have a national, sub-national, regional, or international remit. In multi-country projects, strong local participation in project implementation is required.
- The applicant organization must have a minimum of two years’ demonstrable experience working on participatory governance and advocacy within the area/theme(s) of the proposed project.
- The total grant amount requested must be between £15,000 and £30,000 per year, and for a maximum of two years.
- The requested grant amount should not exceed 70% of the applicant organisation’s total annual income, averaged over the past two years.
- The annual income of the applicant organisation, averaged over the past two years, must be less than £2m.
- The project proposal must address at least one of the notified priority themes.
- The project proposal must demonstrate appropriate integration of gender considerations. For example, the applicant may use the findings of gender analysis to inform the design of the project proposal and / or and ensure allocation of adequate resources to effectively address gender equality in the project cycle.
- Proposals must relate to projects that are expected to begin within the second half of 2023 (i.e., after 1 July 2023 and before end September 2023). Note that applications not meeting the above eligibility requirements will not be considered.
- Note: The Foundation appreciates that CSOs interested in applying for a grant may already be doing significant work that falls within the parameters of this grants call and that would benefit from support for expansion and/or continuation of that work. They are therefore willing to consider supporting an additional component or extension of an existing initiative. This should be made clear in the application.
- Eligible Regions: Africa: Cameroon, Gabon, Kenya, Kingdom of eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia Americas: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan Europe: Cyprus, Malta, United Kingdom Pacific: Australia, Kiribati, New Zealand, Samoa
DEADLINE;October 23, 2023
To apply and for more information visit here
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