| URGENT ACTION FUND – AFRICA CALL FOR PROPOSALS
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In 2018, with support from Global Affairs Canada, Center for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) together with CARE Canada, CARE Kenya, Uraia Trust, Urgent Action Fund Africa and Community Advocacy and Awareness (CRAWN) Trust began a participatory and consultative process to design a project titled Women’s Voice and Leadership (WVL). The project’s main goal is to address the challenge of funding women’s right work and women’s rights organizations in Kenya. The WVL program is a 5 years grant by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC) anchored on Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP). The said Policy puts gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at the heart of international development, humanitarian, peace and security efforts. WVL Kenya project aims to contribute to gender equality and the increased enjoyment of human rights by women and girls in Kenya.
Under this project, Urgent Action Fund–Africa (UAF-Africa), one of the implementing partners, will be providing grants to women’s human rights activists and organizations in Kenya who are at risk because of their activism and who identify time sensitive opportunities to advance women’s human rights.
Specifically, UAF-Africa will provide Fast Response grants that include:
- Defending the Defenders Grants with a maximum of USD 5,000 each to women’s human rights activists at risk because of their activism. The Defending the Defenders application form accessed at (https://www.uaf-africa.org/apply-for-a-grant/) will be used for these applications. Applicants under this scheme shall meet the following criteria: Must be a women’s human rights defender or organisation; the threat or risk must be related to their activism; the activist(s) must be based anywhere in Kenya and be a Kenyan national; the application must be submitted by or through a Kenyan women’s rights organization (WRO).
- Rapid Response Grants with a maximum of USD 5,000 to women's rights organisations who will respond quickly to urgent issues related to the rights of women and girls in Kenya. This can be on any theme or topic, as long as it relates to women/girls' human rights and a time sensitive opportunity to advance women and girls’ human rights. All such grants will be organized into four overarching categories mentioned below but may include components related to more than one of them:
- Protecting Women’s Individuality, Dignity and Autonomy
- Natural Resource Governance and Environmental Justice
- Economic Justice
- Justice and the Rule of Law
The Rapid Response application form accessed at (https://www.uaf-africa.org/apply-for-a-grant/ ) will be used for these applications. Applicants under this scheme must meet the following criteria: must be a Kenyan women's rights organisation based in Kenya.
Regardless of scheme and category mentioned above, ALL grant proposals must meet these criteria:
- Strategic – the action is related to a pre-determined plan to create structural change that will advance women’s human rights.
- Unanticipated & Time Urgent – the situation or opportunity is unanticipated, and action must happen quickly to be effective.
- Sustainable -- the group is able to carry out the proposed action effectively and can secure funding for future work related to the strategy.
- Supported –the group has the support of others involved in women’s human rights or related fields, locally or globally.
- Women led, women’s rights organizations - applicants must show a commitment to advancing women’s rights and the interventions must be women’s rights centric and women- led. The interventions must also show that majority beneficiaries will be women and girls.
Application & Review Process
How to Apply:
The call for proposals is open from March 2020 and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Interested WROs and women’s rights defenders in Kenya are encouraged to go to our website on the Apply for a Grant section (https://www.uaf-africa.org/apply-for-a-grant/), download the form depending on the category, answer the questions on the application form, and then submit by
- Emailing the completed form to proposals@uaf-africa.org or
- Posting it to P.O. Box 53841-00200, Nairobi, Kenya
Smaller organisations lacking internet access or writing capacity are encouraged to send us a video application or call UAF Africa (+254732577560) to discuss the questions orally while UAF fills in the application template on the organisation’s behalf.
Please note, even small emerging grassroots women and girl led WROs with currently little or no access to funding from larger donors are encouraged to apply. Women/girl-led organisations working on women’s rights issues that are made up of and/or working with socially excluded and disadvantaged women and girls who include but are not limited to; refugees, ethnic minorities, rural women, urban disadvantaged, women and girls living with disability, HIV and AIDS, gender non-conforming groups, and sex workers are particularly encouraged to apply.
The intervention must take place within 3 months. The applicant is encouraged to provide all evidence possible to support the application. The application must be accompanied by the name and contacts (address, email, and phone number) of at least three endorsers.
Review Process:
Applications will be reviewed, and decisions will be shared on a rolling basis. The response time for applications will be made within 2 weeks (maximum) of their receipt.