The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation seeks grants proposals to transform health and agricultural development in the world’s poorest countries
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is seeking proposals for Round 8 of its Grand Challenges Explorations. The initiative is the part of a $100 million in grants aimed at encouraging innovation in the fields of global health and development research.
The initiative invites scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs from around the world to submit proposals for the opportunity to win $100,000 in grant and pursue their unconventional ideas aimed at transforming health and agricultural development in the world’s poorest countries.
Topics of Grand Challenges Explorations Round 8
* Protect Crop Plants from Biotic Stresses From Field to Market
* Explore Nutrition for Healthy Growth of Infants and Children
* Apply Synthetic Biology to Global Health Challenges
* Design New Approaches to Optimize Immunization Systems
* Explore New Solutions in Global Health Priority Areas
Eligibility
Grand Challenges Explorations seeks to involve innovators around the world, including researchers who do not typically work in global health and development; those with innovative ideas in Africa, Asia and other parts of the developing world; people working in the private sector; and young investigators.
Selection Criteria and Grants
The initiative uses a streamlined, straightforward, online grant-making process. The proposal process makes it easy to apply. Applications are two pages, and preliminary data about the proposed research are not required.
Grand Challenges Explorations is a unique initiative that supports innovative research of unorthodox ideas. Every aspect of the program, including the carefully designed topics describing critical scientific barriers to progress in global health, the two-page online application, and the rapid review process, are designed to swiftly award funding to scientists who are testing unproven ideas that could lead to breakthroughs in global health.
The Gates Foundation and an independent group of reviewers will select the most innovative proposals, and grants will be awarded within approximately four months from the proposal submission deadline. Initial grants will be $100,000 USD each. Projects showing success will have the opportunity to receive additional funding up to $1 million over two years.
Last date for submission of proposals is November 17, 2011. For more information, visit this link.
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Applications invited for the Acumen Fund Global Fellows Program 2012-2013
Applications are now open for the 2012-2013 Acumen Fund Global Fellows Program from eligible candidates all over the world who have already decided on a career in venture philanthropy, who are seeking a career at the highest levels in the corporate world but want to better understand and impact problems of global poverty, and budding social entrepreneurs who want to learn about managing organizations in demanding settings.
Established in 2006, the Acumen Fund Fellows Program aims at building a corps of leaders for the sector at the merger between business and society. They train fellows to fuse operational and financial skills with moral imagination to create solutions to global poverty and fill the talent gap. Each year, Acumen Fund recruits highly talented and passionate young professionals to reflect on their role as leaders, build their leadership capacity, and provide much-needed management support to their investees.
Eligibility
* There is no specific age or degree required for the program. Acumen Fund Fellows are drawn from a pool of talented, passionate individuals from all geographies, sectors, backgrounds, religions and ages, having:
* Proven track record of leadership and management responsibilities
* Experience working in emerging markets
* Unrelenting perseverance, personal integrity, and critical thinking skills
* Strong passion and commitment
* 3-7 years of work experience
* Graduate degree preferred
Program Structure
Acumen Fund’s year-long fellowship for the Class of 2013 will begin in September 2012 with eight weeks of intensive and multidisciplinary leadership training in our New York City office. Training topics cover a wide variety of soft and hard skills, ranging from self-reflection, negotiation, and storytelling to functional topics such as investment techniques, valuation, marketing and operations. The Fellows also meet with leaders from diverse fields, as well as leading writers and thinkers. Training will explore issues related to our investment geographies and sectors as well.
Following training in New York, Fellows begin their nine-month field placements with Acumen Fund investees. Each Fellow is assigned to a company where they support senior management in tackling critical business issues – market expansion, business plan refinement, supply chain improvements, or even leading a new business initiative. Over nine months, Fellows learn and apply skills while enjoying an unusual level of responsibility within Acumen Fund investees. Halfway through the year, Fellows convene for a mid-year meeting to reconnect, share learnings, and support each other in navigating challenges in the field. At the end of these field assignments, the Fellows return to New York for three weeks in September 2013 to share experiences and lessons learned with Acumen Fund’s community, and to focus on their next steps.
Stipend and Provisions
Acumen Fund provides Fellows with a stipend that covers reasonable monthly living costs for the duration of the year-long program. The stipend is designed to cover only costs associated and incurred during the program. You should not expect to save any money during this year or to use this stipend to cover previous expenses (e.g., student loans). During the program in New York, Fellows will be provided with additional resources to secure housing. Stipend amounts will vary for the country placement portion of the Fellowship, adjusting for the cost of living in different countries, but these stipends are also designed to cover the basic costs associated with safe yet frugal living.
Travel to New York for the first portion of the program, travel to and from field placements, travel to and from the mid-year meeting, and costs associated with necessary visa arrangements will be covered by Acumen Fund.
Acumen Fund will also arrange appropriate health insurance and computing services including a laptop and video camera for use during the fellowship year.
Last date for submission of applications is November 14, 2011. For more information, visit this link.
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3ie seeks grant proposals under the Social Protection Thematic Window funded by DFID
The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) is inviting proposals under a thematic window that evaluate the impact of social protection programs. The focus of this grant program is on generating evidence that is relevant to low-income countries and filling critical gaps in the knowledge about social protection. Applications will be accepted beginning October 10, 2011.
The Social Protection Thematic Window (SPTW) is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the potential for more funding from 3ie. This is the first thematic window being launched by 3ie and is part of an ongoing drive to fund high quality research in particular sectors that helps us gather a body of evidence and understand what works, why and under what circumstances. Both 3ie and DFID share a clear focus on poverty reduction and are committed to communicating research findings so that it makes a real difference to policy and lives in developing countries.
Programmatic focus
The SPTW seeks to gather evidence about risk reduction/coping mechanisms (in particular cash transfer interventions and public works), but may also consider complementary interventions in the area of risk prevention (unemployment benefits, pensions, and insurance) and opportunity promotion initiatives, such as job creation and training. This will enable the call to capture the linkages between the “protection” and “promotion” roles of social protection which fills an important evidence gap in this emerging field.
Geographic focus
The SPTW is focused on generating lessons and evidence relevant to low-income countries and priority will be given to proposals from low-income contexts. However, the SPTW will also be open to studies of social protection interventions that include work in a middle-income country, as long as the study clearly demonstrates that the lessons from this work are of relevance to low-income countries. Cross-country and cross-regional studies are also of interest, as they can bring relevant comparisons of experiences.
Grants
This window will fund 7 to12 impact evaluations of up to a total of US$5 million. There is no maximum size for individual grants, although best value for money will be explicitly assessed.
Deadline for submission of expressions of interest is November 7, 2011.
For more information and details, you can visit this link.
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Human Rights Watch seeks Nominations under the Hellman/Hammett Grant Program
Human Rights Watch is currently seeking nominations for the Hellman/Hammett grant program aimed at supporting writers all around the world who have been victims of political persecution and are in financial need.
The grants, named after the late American playwright Lillian Hellman and novelist Dashiell Hammett, typically range from $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000. Forty-eight writers from 24 countries received Hellman/Hammett grants in 2011 in recognition of their commitment to free expression and the courage they showed when facing political persecution.
Besides providing much needed financial assistance, the Hellman/Hammett grants focus attention on repression of free speech and censorship by publicizing the persecution that the grant recipients endured. In some cases the publicity is a protection against further abuse. In other cases, the writers request anonymity because of the dangerous circumstances in which they and their families are living.
The writers eligible for this grant are the ones, who are targeted for expressing views that their governments oppose, for criticizing government officials or actions, or for writing about subjects that their governments do not want reported.
Over the past 22 years, more than 700 writers from 92 countries have received Hellman/Hammett grants of up to US$10,000 each, totaling more than $3 million.
The program also gives small emergency grants to writers who have an urgent need to leave their country or who need immediate medical treatment after serving prison terms or enduring torture.
Emergency nominations are accepted throughout the year.
Last date for submission of applications is December 10, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
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Grants Opportunity for Strategic Research Cooperation Projects between the Organizations in Denmark and Developing Countries
Danida Fellowship Centre on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark within the framework of Danish development cooperation is seeking phase 1 applications (prequalification) for research grants related to development research from strategic research cooperation projects with developing countries.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of these grants is to generate new knowledge and strengthen research capacity so as to promote the overall objective of the Danish development cooperation to reduce poverty and support sustainable development.
Grants will be awarded to strategic research cooperation which generates new knowledge relevant to the needs and strategies of developing countries and to Denmark’s development cooperation, and contributes to strengthening research capacity in developing countries. Capacity strengthening is understood as research-based education, e.g. support to Ph.D. students.
Research projects should be carried out as collaborative research between Danish and South-based research institutions with a priority on institutions in Africa.
THEMES
Theme 1: Health issues relevant to primary health care
The objective of the support to health-related issues is to increase knowledge of how to improve national health systems mainly at the primary health care level.
Theme 2: Inclusive economic growth, employment, and youth
The objective of the support to research relates broadly to inclusive economic growth and specifically to innovation. There is a need to understand the dynamics, institutions and policies of broad-based growth, employment, and youth.
Theme 3: Good governance, human rights, conflict and fragility
Relevant areas of research are: positive as well as negative impacts of efforts to reconstitute political authority and legitimacy while defending rights and maintaining a certain level of service delivery within civil society.
Theme 4: Climate change, energy, sustainable management of natural resources and urban areas
Relevant research areas are: climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. Both socio-economic and ecological aspects of climate change could be targeted.
ELIGIBILITY
Applications can only be submitted by an organization, such as a governmental institution, business enterprise or private organization in Denmark. The main applicant must be attached to the Danish organization, which will be responsible for the approved project. Research projects should be carried out as collaborative research between Danish and South-based research institutions with a priority on institutions in Africa.
Applications for strategic research cooperation projects (between 5 DKK and 10 million per project) should be submitted within the four themes mentioned above.
Grants under the themes will only be awarded to strategic research cooperation projects with developing countries below the GNI threshold set by the World Bank (USD 2630 per capita 2010) and will only be awarded towards research in Danish partner countries.
The main applicant researcher must at the time of submitting the application hold a PhD or equivalent qualification.
Last date for submission of phase 1 applications is December 12, 2011
For more information, visit this link.
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The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund invites applications for award of grants
The SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is working for the past 40 years to support wildlife conservation, research, and education in different parts of the world. The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund was created in 2003 to provide an easy way to guests to involve themselves with the wildlife conservation projects and support these projects to make a difference in the world. This non-profit, private foundation keeps its focus mainly on four main areas: Species Research, Habitat Protection, Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation, and Conservation Education. The fund gets grants from different sources including global organizations such as World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, etc.
The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is inviting proposals for award of grants for the projects related to wildlife conservation and research.
Grant amounts
The Fund has no set minimum or maximum grant amount. In the past, however, the Fund has supported projects ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for a one-year term. Organizations are encouraged to simultaneously seek additional funding from other sources if necessary to complete the objectives of the project. The Fund will consider multi-year proposals, as many worthy conservation and research efforts require multiple years to achieve results and positive impact. All projects receiving a grant award should expect a site visit by a Fund representative. Grant awards must be accepted and funded by April 1 of the following year.
Capital expenditures
The value/utility of major capital investments such as construction of a new facility and computer network infrastructures is long-term. The Fund is unable to support such investments that would outlive the specific project/initiative that the Fund is being asked to support.
Who Should Apply
The Fund accepts online applications from 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations based in the U.S., non-U.S. based non-profit organizations and NGOs, governmental entities, accredited universities and research centers, and AZA- or AMMPA-accredited institutions. Applications from individuals not affiliated with any of the entities listed above will not be accepted. In addition, applications are discouraged from university/college students working on projects as part of a degree (e.g., research for a thesis). As with all proposals receiving Fund support, the project must have broad community/constituency support and be based on legitimate scientific and conservation principals.
Support of in-situ and ex-situ conservation projects
While the Fund recognizes and supports the critical importance of ex-situ efforts such as endangered species breeding programs and conservation awareness/education, its primary focus is to support conservation efforts directly benefiting wildlife in their native ranges (in-situ). For this reason, the Fund is unable to help underwrite the captive breeding efforts of other animal management facilities. However, the Fund will consider ex-situ conservation education proposals that demonstrate significant positive and sustainable impact.
Last date for submitting the applications is December 1, 2011.
For more information and details, you can visit this link.
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Earth Journalism Network seeks Applications under the Small Grants Program aimed at Media Coverage of Environmental Issues
The Earth Journalism Network is currently seeking applications for the small grants fund from eligible projects all over the world (preferably from the developing world) aimed at building network and media capacity to cover environmental issues. A total of US$50,000 is available for funding in the coming year, which will be divided among at least 5 projects.
Internews is an international media development organization based in California. Through its programs, Internews improves the reach, quality, and sustainability of local media, enabling them to better serve the information needs of their communities.
The small grants fund with flexible spending guidelines will invest in strategic opportunities for media development, build the capacities of local environmental journalism networks and their members, and respond to their communities’ needs.
Who can apply
Grants offered are primarily focused on the developing world but are open to proposals from anywhere. Projects aimed at building networks of environmental journalists (whether these are existing networks or prospective networks) are especially encouraged to apply. Projects that use innovative methods to build networks or distribute environmental news will also be favorably viewed.
Earth Journalism Grants Fund will be focused on capacity building, but if special opportunities arise the fund will be open to supporting fellowships and travel grants that support specific story ideas or coverage of key events.
Past Grantees
Earth Journalism Network in the past has supported local initiatives such as conferences that launched the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists, the Mexican Network of Environmental Journalists, the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists, the launch of a Pan-Amazon Network, Fellowships for members of the Vietnam Forum of Environmental Journalists, and a project that helps an Indonesian citizen journalists’ network use text messaging to distribute environmental news.
Last date for submission of applications is November 7, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
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Open Society Foundations grants opportunity to address the situation of women and girls
Open Society Foundations under the International Women’s Program and the Disability Rights Initiative has issued a call for proposals from eligible organizations aimed at addressing the situation of women and girls with disabilities in the following post-conflict countries: Nepal, Palestine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Colombia. Only proposals from these countries will be considered for support.
Eighty percent of the estimated 600 million people living with disabilities reside in the developing world. The vast majority of these people is marginalized and is disproportionately poor. In many places, people with disabilities have virtually no access to services, and in some countries many spend their lives confined to institutions.
The Open Society Disability Rights Initiative seeks to address discrimination against people with disabilities and promote their inclusion in society by supporting a rights-based approach to disability.
Objectives
This call for proposals will focus on one or more of the following objectives:
* Reducing discrimination and violence against women and girls with disabilities.
* Strengthening access to justice for women and girls with disabilities.
* Increasing women’s and girls’ with disabilities self-determination and role as decision-makers and leaders.
Eligibility
* Organizations managed and led by women with disabilities;
* Organizations that have a track record of approaching disability from a rights-based perspective and demonstrate sustainability;
* Organizations that forge partnerships with other civil society groups;
* Local or indigenous independent non-governmental organizations or initiatives that link local and international organizations.
Grant Size
Organizations can apply for one to three year grants from $25,000 to $200,000 per year. It must be noted that multi-year proposals require an annual assessment report prior to releasing the subsequent tranche of funds.
Last date for submission of applications is December 5, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
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UBS Optimus Foundation seeks Funding Proposals
UBS Optimus Foundation (UBSOF) has issued a call for proposals from eligible NGOs and their partnerships with universities or research institutions in Asia, Latin America and Africa to fund the projects aimed at linking health and education. The funding is aimed at promoting multi-sectoral integration, such as mainstreaming early child development into health Programs like maternal and child health, nutrition, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and violence and injury.
UBSOF is a non-profit philanthropic organization established by UBS in 1999. UBS Optimus Foundation focuses on three grant areas: Education, Child Protection, and Global Health Research.
Eligibility of Projects
UBSOF is looking for projects that respond to the following criteria:
* Projects that link health and education
* Projects that promote collaboration between an implementing organization and a research institute
* Projects that focus on the age range from conception to the age of 8 years
* Projects that can potentially deliver measurable outcomes for the improvement of children’s lives
Priority regions for interventions: Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Selection Criteria
* Topic relevance and responsiveness – how well does the proposal address a key need within the topic.
* Feasibility – are goals and milestones clearly defined and achievable, is there a strong organizational structure on the part of the applicant, and is there scale-up potential that provides a clear path for further support?
* Contributing evidence – is there potential for measurable outcomes and is there a sufficient plan for monitoring and evaluation?
* Innovative, state-of-the art approach – how well does the proposal provide ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking to address challenges of linking health & education.
o Some examples of innovation projects include:
+ development of new tools, or inventions, such as a new cost-effectiveness calculation to significantly improve the well-being of children.
+ new approaches, methods and models for solving problems, such as new ideas to encourage young mothers to better engaging in improved child care practices,
+ new combinations of players and stakeholders, such as new education or research consortia that link communities, researchers, implementers and/or countries such that there is dialogue among the various players
+ trans-disciplinary approaches, such as holistic approaches that transcend the narrow scopes of traditional disciplinary views and engage researchers, implementers, community members and other stakeholders to work with each other in a way outside of their usual practice.
Funding Size
Maximum size of funding for projects under this request for proposals is CHF 125,000.
Last date for submission of proposals is November 30, 2011
For more information, visit this link.
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Starbucks Foundation Funding Opportunity for Youth Focused Organizations
The Starbucks Foundation is currently accepting letters of enquiry from eligible organizations for the spring 2012 grant cycle. The Starbucks Foundation only reviews organizations through their annual online Letter of Inquiry process and does not accept unsolicited proposals.
The Starbucks Foundation is interested in supporting organizations that provide young people a continuum of services in developing creative approaches to address pressing concerns in their communities. It supports organizations that
* provide training to young people to develop necessary skills and knowledge to incubate ideas, identify and assess community needs, create a plan of action, execute a plan and evaluate outcomes against goals
* build ongoing leadership capacity and long term engagement of young people
* communicate young peoples’ success stories through various media (print, video, web based).
Selection Criteria
Successful grant applicants will exhibit all of the following qualities:
* Deliver services to youth, ages 6 – 24
* Preference will be given to organizations that focus on young people in the age range of 12 and older, when they are able to take independent action
* Provides opportunity to combine learning with action that support communities and further global citizenship
* Deliver services, disseminate information, provide training and/or build broad networks
* Provide opportunities for Starbucks partners and multiple stores to be engaged in community service
Eligibility Requirements
The following types of organizations are eligible to request funding from The Starbucks Foundation:
* U.S. applicants must be tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
* Applicants outside the United States must be charitable in purpose and identified as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or the equivalent of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
Funding Size
The Starbucks Foundation will consider grants between $10,000 and $30,000. Please be specific about the amount of funding you are requesting. Funds should be spent within one year of grant award.
Funding will be considered based on numbers of beneficiaries served, geographic reach, organizational capacity, and size of operating budget.
Last date for submission of letters of enquiry is December 1, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
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US Department of State Funding Opportunity to combat trafficking in persons
US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons has announced an open competition for fiscal year 2012 funding of projects to combat trafficking in persons.
In this context, in the first stage of competition eligible organizations are invited to submit two-page Statements of Interest (SOI). The proposals for projects must address recommendations identified in the 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
Funding Priorities and Countries
Thirty-two countries and three regions have been identified as priorities for this solicitation. The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is most interested in SOIs for projects that are in the priority countries and regions listed below, and that are responsive to the country-specific recommendations listed in the 2011 TIP Report. Under limited circumstances, the Office may fund projects in countries that are not listed below.
The 32 countries and regions selected for priority funding consideration in this solicitation are listed below.
Africa Region (AF): Botswana, Burundi, DRC, ROC, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Southern Sudan, Tanzania, Africa Region
East Asia and the Pacific Region (EAP): Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Vietnam
EAP Region: Pacific Islands, including Kiribati, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia
Europe and Eurasia Region (EUR): Albania, Azerbaijan
Near East Region (NEA): Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia
South and Central Asia Region (SCA): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka
Western Hemisphere Region (WHA): Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Regional Caribbean, including Barbados, St. Lucia, and The Bahamas.
Types of Projects Eligible for Funding
The following serve as examples of the types of projects that are sought for funding through this competitive grant process. This is not an exhaustive list.
* Technical support and training of law enforcement, including designated TIP units, prosecutors, and the judiciary in victim-centered investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases;
* Building cooperative efforts between NGOs and government agencies;
* Improving policies and practices for law enforcement, immigration, and other agencies to proactively identify and assist victims of trafficking;
* Development or enhancement of aftercare services for trafficking victims, especially those that provide alternatives to detention or deportation-based responses;
* Expert consultation to draft or improve anti-trafficking legislation and promote its implementation;
* Prevention activities that are designed to meet specific local or national needs or that reduce the demand for commercial sex or slavery-tainted goods; and
* Research and evaluation activities that enable policy makers and practitioners to focus limited anti-TIP resources most effectively.
Funding Size
Pending fiscal year 2012 appropriations, the Office anticipates awarding grants of up to $750,000 per project.
Eligibility Criteria
U.S.-based and foreign NGOs, PIOs, institutions of higher education, and for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Some projects may be accomplished by USG implementers through Interagency Agreements. For-profit organizations, including small and disadvantaged businesses, may apply, but such organizations may not generate a profit from activities funded by the Office.
Note. Only those applicants, whose Statements of Interest are reviewed favorably, will be invited to submit proposals in the second stage.
Last date for submission of SOIs is November 18, 2011
For more information, visit this link and search by Funding Opportunity Number for: “AT-ATC-12-002″
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STARS Foundation’s Impact Awards 2012: $100,000 of grant funding to NGOs
The STARS Foundation is now open to accepting applications for the STARS Impact Awards 2012, which offer $100,000 of unrestricted funding in addition to providing tailored consultancy support and media training, content and access to NGOs across Africa, Middle East, Asia and the Pacific regions.
The STARS Impact Awards aim to identify and support local NGOs that achieve excellence in the provision of services to disadvantaged children and that demonstrate effective management practices.
There are six Impact Awards in total: three Awards for Africa-Middle East and three for Asia-Pacific, across the categories of Health, Education and Protection.
Each Impact Award provides a package of support comprising:
* US$100,000 of unrestricted funding – Giving recipient organisations the flexibility to respond more effectively to the challenges they face and to the needs of the children they serve
* Tailored consultancy support – Offering recipient organisations access to training or skills and helping them to maximise the benefits of their Award
* Media training, content and access – Providing recipient organisations with the tools and opportunities to use the Award to enhance their profile
This year, the STARS Foundation has partnered with the Ashmore Foundation to increase the number of Awards it intends to offer to 14.
Eligible organizations from 19 countries can submit proposals for funding. These countries have been selected on the basis of their estimated under-five mortality rate (U5MR) which is a critical indicator of the well-being of children. STARS targets countries with the highest under-five mortality rates according to the UNICEF report and rankings of 2009. The list of countries is available at this link.
Applications can be submitted online or by email or you can post it to the STARS Foundation office. The deadline for submission of proposals is 7 November 2011. For more information, visit this link.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is seeking proposals for Round 8 of its Grand Challenges Explorations. The initiative is the part of a $100 million in grants aimed at encouraging innovation in the fields of global health and development research.
The initiative invites scientists, inventors, and entrepreneurs from around the world to submit proposals for the opportunity to win $100,000 in grant and pursue their unconventional ideas aimed at transforming health and agricultural development in the world’s poorest countries.
Topics of Grand Challenges Explorations Round 8
* Protect Crop Plants from Biotic Stresses From Field to Market
* Explore Nutrition for Healthy Growth of Infants and Children
* Apply Synthetic Biology to Global Health Challenges
* Design New Approaches to Optimize Immunization Systems
* Explore New Solutions in Global Health Priority Areas
Eligibility
Grand Challenges Explorations seeks to involve innovators around the world, including researchers who do not typically work in global health and development; those with innovative ideas in Africa, Asia and other parts of the developing world; people working in the private sector; and young investigators.
Selection Criteria and Grants
The initiative uses a streamlined, straightforward, online grant-making process. The proposal process makes it easy to apply. Applications are two pages, and preliminary data about the proposed research are not required.
Grand Challenges Explorations is a unique initiative that supports innovative research of unorthodox ideas. Every aspect of the program, including the carefully designed topics describing critical scientific barriers to progress in global health, the two-page online application, and the rapid review process, are designed to swiftly award funding to scientists who are testing unproven ideas that could lead to breakthroughs in global health.
The Gates Foundation and an independent group of reviewers will select the most innovative proposals, and grants will be awarded within approximately four months from the proposal submission deadline. Initial grants will be $100,000 USD each. Projects showing success will have the opportunity to receive additional funding up to $1 million over two years.
Last date for submission of proposals is November 17, 2011. For more information, visit this link.
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Applications invited for the Acumen Fund Global Fellows Program 2012-2013
Applications are now open for the 2012-2013 Acumen Fund Global Fellows Program from eligible candidates all over the world who have already decided on a career in venture philanthropy, who are seeking a career at the highest levels in the corporate world but want to better understand and impact problems of global poverty, and budding social entrepreneurs who want to learn about managing organizations in demanding settings.
Established in 2006, the Acumen Fund Fellows Program aims at building a corps of leaders for the sector at the merger between business and society. They train fellows to fuse operational and financial skills with moral imagination to create solutions to global poverty and fill the talent gap. Each year, Acumen Fund recruits highly talented and passionate young professionals to reflect on their role as leaders, build their leadership capacity, and provide much-needed management support to their investees.
Eligibility
* There is no specific age or degree required for the program. Acumen Fund Fellows are drawn from a pool of talented, passionate individuals from all geographies, sectors, backgrounds, religions and ages, having:
* Proven track record of leadership and management responsibilities
* Experience working in emerging markets
* Unrelenting perseverance, personal integrity, and critical thinking skills
* Strong passion and commitment
* 3-7 years of work experience
* Graduate degree preferred
Program Structure
Acumen Fund’s year-long fellowship for the Class of 2013 will begin in September 2012 with eight weeks of intensive and multidisciplinary leadership training in our New York City office. Training topics cover a wide variety of soft and hard skills, ranging from self-reflection, negotiation, and storytelling to functional topics such as investment techniques, valuation, marketing and operations. The Fellows also meet with leaders from diverse fields, as well as leading writers and thinkers. Training will explore issues related to our investment geographies and sectors as well.
Following training in New York, Fellows begin their nine-month field placements with Acumen Fund investees. Each Fellow is assigned to a company where they support senior management in tackling critical business issues – market expansion, business plan refinement, supply chain improvements, or even leading a new business initiative. Over nine months, Fellows learn and apply skills while enjoying an unusual level of responsibility within Acumen Fund investees. Halfway through the year, Fellows convene for a mid-year meeting to reconnect, share learnings, and support each other in navigating challenges in the field. At the end of these field assignments, the Fellows return to New York for three weeks in September 2013 to share experiences and lessons learned with Acumen Fund’s community, and to focus on their next steps.
Stipend and Provisions
Acumen Fund provides Fellows with a stipend that covers reasonable monthly living costs for the duration of the year-long program. The stipend is designed to cover only costs associated and incurred during the program. You should not expect to save any money during this year or to use this stipend to cover previous expenses (e.g., student loans). During the program in New York, Fellows will be provided with additional resources to secure housing. Stipend amounts will vary for the country placement portion of the Fellowship, adjusting for the cost of living in different countries, but these stipends are also designed to cover the basic costs associated with safe yet frugal living.
Travel to New York for the first portion of the program, travel to and from field placements, travel to and from the mid-year meeting, and costs associated with necessary visa arrangements will be covered by Acumen Fund.
Acumen Fund will also arrange appropriate health insurance and computing services including a laptop and video camera for use during the fellowship year.
Last date for submission of applications is November 14, 2011. For more information, visit this link.
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3ie seeks grant proposals under the Social Protection Thematic Window funded by DFID
The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) is inviting proposals under a thematic window that evaluate the impact of social protection programs. The focus of this grant program is on generating evidence that is relevant to low-income countries and filling critical gaps in the knowledge about social protection. Applications will be accepted beginning October 10, 2011.
The Social Protection Thematic Window (SPTW) is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the potential for more funding from 3ie. This is the first thematic window being launched by 3ie and is part of an ongoing drive to fund high quality research in particular sectors that helps us gather a body of evidence and understand what works, why and under what circumstances. Both 3ie and DFID share a clear focus on poverty reduction and are committed to communicating research findings so that it makes a real difference to policy and lives in developing countries.
Programmatic focus
The SPTW seeks to gather evidence about risk reduction/coping mechanisms (in particular cash transfer interventions and public works), but may also consider complementary interventions in the area of risk prevention (unemployment benefits, pensions, and insurance) and opportunity promotion initiatives, such as job creation and training. This will enable the call to capture the linkages between the “protection” and “promotion” roles of social protection which fills an important evidence gap in this emerging field.
Geographic focus
The SPTW is focused on generating lessons and evidence relevant to low-income countries and priority will be given to proposals from low-income contexts. However, the SPTW will also be open to studies of social protection interventions that include work in a middle-income country, as long as the study clearly demonstrates that the lessons from this work are of relevance to low-income countries. Cross-country and cross-regional studies are also of interest, as they can bring relevant comparisons of experiences.
Grants
This window will fund 7 to12 impact evaluations of up to a total of US$5 million. There is no maximum size for individual grants, although best value for money will be explicitly assessed.
Deadline for submission of expressions of interest is November 7, 2011.
For more information and details, you can visit this link.
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Human Rights Watch seeks Nominations under the Hellman/Hammett Grant Program
Human Rights Watch is currently seeking nominations for the Hellman/Hammett grant program aimed at supporting writers all around the world who have been victims of political persecution and are in financial need.
The grants, named after the late American playwright Lillian Hellman and novelist Dashiell Hammett, typically range from $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000. Forty-eight writers from 24 countries received Hellman/Hammett grants in 2011 in recognition of their commitment to free expression and the courage they showed when facing political persecution.
Besides providing much needed financial assistance, the Hellman/Hammett grants focus attention on repression of free speech and censorship by publicizing the persecution that the grant recipients endured. In some cases the publicity is a protection against further abuse. In other cases, the writers request anonymity because of the dangerous circumstances in which they and their families are living.
The writers eligible for this grant are the ones, who are targeted for expressing views that their governments oppose, for criticizing government officials or actions, or for writing about subjects that their governments do not want reported.
Over the past 22 years, more than 700 writers from 92 countries have received Hellman/Hammett grants of up to US$10,000 each, totaling more than $3 million.
The program also gives small emergency grants to writers who have an urgent need to leave their country or who need immediate medical treatment after serving prison terms or enduring torture.
Emergency nominations are accepted throughout the year.
Last date for submission of applications is December 10, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
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Grants Opportunity for Strategic Research Cooperation Projects between the Organizations in Denmark and Developing Countries
Danida Fellowship Centre on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark within the framework of Danish development cooperation is seeking phase 1 applications (prequalification) for research grants related to development research from strategic research cooperation projects with developing countries.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of these grants is to generate new knowledge and strengthen research capacity so as to promote the overall objective of the Danish development cooperation to reduce poverty and support sustainable development.
Grants will be awarded to strategic research cooperation which generates new knowledge relevant to the needs and strategies of developing countries and to Denmark’s development cooperation, and contributes to strengthening research capacity in developing countries. Capacity strengthening is understood as research-based education, e.g. support to Ph.D. students.
Research projects should be carried out as collaborative research between Danish and South-based research institutions with a priority on institutions in Africa.
THEMES
Theme 1: Health issues relevant to primary health care
The objective of the support to health-related issues is to increase knowledge of how to improve national health systems mainly at the primary health care level.
Theme 2: Inclusive economic growth, employment, and youth
The objective of the support to research relates broadly to inclusive economic growth and specifically to innovation. There is a need to understand the dynamics, institutions and policies of broad-based growth, employment, and youth.
Theme 3: Good governance, human rights, conflict and fragility
Relevant areas of research are: positive as well as negative impacts of efforts to reconstitute political authority and legitimacy while defending rights and maintaining a certain level of service delivery within civil society.
Theme 4: Climate change, energy, sustainable management of natural resources and urban areas
Relevant research areas are: climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. Both socio-economic and ecological aspects of climate change could be targeted.
ELIGIBILITY
Applications can only be submitted by an organization, such as a governmental institution, business enterprise or private organization in Denmark. The main applicant must be attached to the Danish organization, which will be responsible for the approved project. Research projects should be carried out as collaborative research between Danish and South-based research institutions with a priority on institutions in Africa.
Applications for strategic research cooperation projects (between 5 DKK and 10 million per project) should be submitted within the four themes mentioned above.
Grants under the themes will only be awarded to strategic research cooperation projects with developing countries below the GNI threshold set by the World Bank (USD 2630 per capita 2010) and will only be awarded towards research in Danish partner countries.
The main applicant researcher must at the time of submitting the application hold a PhD or equivalent qualification.
Last date for submission of phase 1 applications is December 12, 2011
For more information, visit this link.
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The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund invites applications for award of grants
The SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is working for the past 40 years to support wildlife conservation, research, and education in different parts of the world. The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund was created in 2003 to provide an easy way to guests to involve themselves with the wildlife conservation projects and support these projects to make a difference in the world. This non-profit, private foundation keeps its focus mainly on four main areas: Species Research, Habitat Protection, Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation, and Conservation Education. The fund gets grants from different sources including global organizations such as World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, etc.
The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is inviting proposals for award of grants for the projects related to wildlife conservation and research.
Grant amounts
The Fund has no set minimum or maximum grant amount. In the past, however, the Fund has supported projects ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for a one-year term. Organizations are encouraged to simultaneously seek additional funding from other sources if necessary to complete the objectives of the project. The Fund will consider multi-year proposals, as many worthy conservation and research efforts require multiple years to achieve results and positive impact. All projects receiving a grant award should expect a site visit by a Fund representative. Grant awards must be accepted and funded by April 1 of the following year.
Capital expenditures
The value/utility of major capital investments such as construction of a new facility and computer network infrastructures is long-term. The Fund is unable to support such investments that would outlive the specific project/initiative that the Fund is being asked to support.
Who Should Apply
The Fund accepts online applications from 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations based in the U.S., non-U.S. based non-profit organizations and NGOs, governmental entities, accredited universities and research centers, and AZA- or AMMPA-accredited institutions. Applications from individuals not affiliated with any of the entities listed above will not be accepted. In addition, applications are discouraged from university/college students working on projects as part of a degree (e.g., research for a thesis). As with all proposals receiving Fund support, the project must have broad community/constituency support and be based on legitimate scientific and conservation principals.
Support of in-situ and ex-situ conservation projects
While the Fund recognizes and supports the critical importance of ex-situ efforts such as endangered species breeding programs and conservation awareness/education, its primary focus is to support conservation efforts directly benefiting wildlife in their native ranges (in-situ). For this reason, the Fund is unable to help underwrite the captive breeding efforts of other animal management facilities. However, the Fund will consider ex-situ conservation education proposals that demonstrate significant positive and sustainable impact.
Last date for submitting the applications is December 1, 2011.
For more information and details, you can visit this link.
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Earth Journalism Network seeks Applications under the Small Grants Program aimed at Media Coverage of Environmental Issues
The Earth Journalism Network is currently seeking applications for the small grants fund from eligible projects all over the world (preferably from the developing world) aimed at building network and media capacity to cover environmental issues. A total of US$50,000 is available for funding in the coming year, which will be divided among at least 5 projects.
Internews is an international media development organization based in California. Through its programs, Internews improves the reach, quality, and sustainability of local media, enabling them to better serve the information needs of their communities.
The small grants fund with flexible spending guidelines will invest in strategic opportunities for media development, build the capacities of local environmental journalism networks and their members, and respond to their communities’ needs.
Who can apply
Grants offered are primarily focused on the developing world but are open to proposals from anywhere. Projects aimed at building networks of environmental journalists (whether these are existing networks or prospective networks) are especially encouraged to apply. Projects that use innovative methods to build networks or distribute environmental news will also be favorably viewed.
Earth Journalism Grants Fund will be focused on capacity building, but if special opportunities arise the fund will be open to supporting fellowships and travel grants that support specific story ideas or coverage of key events.
Past Grantees
Earth Journalism Network in the past has supported local initiatives such as conferences that launched the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists, the Mexican Network of Environmental Journalists, the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists, the launch of a Pan-Amazon Network, Fellowships for members of the Vietnam Forum of Environmental Journalists, and a project that helps an Indonesian citizen journalists’ network use text messaging to distribute environmental news.
Last date for submission of applications is November 7, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
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Open Society Foundations grants opportunity to address the situation of women and girls
Open Society Foundations under the International Women’s Program and the Disability Rights Initiative has issued a call for proposals from eligible organizations aimed at addressing the situation of women and girls with disabilities in the following post-conflict countries: Nepal, Palestine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Colombia. Only proposals from these countries will be considered for support.
Eighty percent of the estimated 600 million people living with disabilities reside in the developing world. The vast majority of these people is marginalized and is disproportionately poor. In many places, people with disabilities have virtually no access to services, and in some countries many spend their lives confined to institutions.
The Open Society Disability Rights Initiative seeks to address discrimination against people with disabilities and promote their inclusion in society by supporting a rights-based approach to disability.
Objectives
This call for proposals will focus on one or more of the following objectives:
* Reducing discrimination and violence against women and girls with disabilities.
* Strengthening access to justice for women and girls with disabilities.
* Increasing women’s and girls’ with disabilities self-determination and role as decision-makers and leaders.
Eligibility
* Organizations managed and led by women with disabilities;
* Organizations that have a track record of approaching disability from a rights-based perspective and demonstrate sustainability;
* Organizations that forge partnerships with other civil society groups;
* Local or indigenous independent non-governmental organizations or initiatives that link local and international organizations.
Grant Size
Organizations can apply for one to three year grants from $25,000 to $200,000 per year. It must be noted that multi-year proposals require an annual assessment report prior to releasing the subsequent tranche of funds.
Last date for submission of applications is December 5, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
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UBS Optimus Foundation seeks Funding Proposals
UBS Optimus Foundation (UBSOF) has issued a call for proposals from eligible NGOs and their partnerships with universities or research institutions in Asia, Latin America and Africa to fund the projects aimed at linking health and education. The funding is aimed at promoting multi-sectoral integration, such as mainstreaming early child development into health Programs like maternal and child health, nutrition, malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and violence and injury.
UBSOF is a non-profit philanthropic organization established by UBS in 1999. UBS Optimus Foundation focuses on three grant areas: Education, Child Protection, and Global Health Research.
Eligibility of Projects
UBSOF is looking for projects that respond to the following criteria:
* Projects that link health and education
* Projects that promote collaboration between an implementing organization and a research institute
* Projects that focus on the age range from conception to the age of 8 years
* Projects that can potentially deliver measurable outcomes for the improvement of children’s lives
Priority regions for interventions: Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Selection Criteria
* Topic relevance and responsiveness – how well does the proposal address a key need within the topic.
* Feasibility – are goals and milestones clearly defined and achievable, is there a strong organizational structure on the part of the applicant, and is there scale-up potential that provides a clear path for further support?
* Contributing evidence – is there potential for measurable outcomes and is there a sufficient plan for monitoring and evaluation?
* Innovative, state-of-the art approach – how well does the proposal provide ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking to address challenges of linking health & education.
o Some examples of innovation projects include:
+ development of new tools, or inventions, such as a new cost-effectiveness calculation to significantly improve the well-being of children.
+ new approaches, methods and models for solving problems, such as new ideas to encourage young mothers to better engaging in improved child care practices,
+ new combinations of players and stakeholders, such as new education or research consortia that link communities, researchers, implementers and/or countries such that there is dialogue among the various players
+ trans-disciplinary approaches, such as holistic approaches that transcend the narrow scopes of traditional disciplinary views and engage researchers, implementers, community members and other stakeholders to work with each other in a way outside of their usual practice.
Funding Size
Maximum size of funding for projects under this request for proposals is CHF 125,000.
Last date for submission of proposals is November 30, 2011
For more information, visit this link.
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Starbucks Foundation Funding Opportunity for Youth Focused Organizations
The Starbucks Foundation is currently accepting letters of enquiry from eligible organizations for the spring 2012 grant cycle. The Starbucks Foundation only reviews organizations through their annual online Letter of Inquiry process and does not accept unsolicited proposals.
The Starbucks Foundation is interested in supporting organizations that provide young people a continuum of services in developing creative approaches to address pressing concerns in their communities. It supports organizations that
* provide training to young people to develop necessary skills and knowledge to incubate ideas, identify and assess community needs, create a plan of action, execute a plan and evaluate outcomes against goals
* build ongoing leadership capacity and long term engagement of young people
* communicate young peoples’ success stories through various media (print, video, web based).
Selection Criteria
Successful grant applicants will exhibit all of the following qualities:
* Deliver services to youth, ages 6 – 24
* Preference will be given to organizations that focus on young people in the age range of 12 and older, when they are able to take independent action
* Provides opportunity to combine learning with action that support communities and further global citizenship
* Deliver services, disseminate information, provide training and/or build broad networks
* Provide opportunities for Starbucks partners and multiple stores to be engaged in community service
Eligibility Requirements
The following types of organizations are eligible to request funding from The Starbucks Foundation:
* U.S. applicants must be tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
* Applicants outside the United States must be charitable in purpose and identified as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or the equivalent of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
Funding Size
The Starbucks Foundation will consider grants between $10,000 and $30,000. Please be specific about the amount of funding you are requesting. Funds should be spent within one year of grant award.
Funding will be considered based on numbers of beneficiaries served, geographic reach, organizational capacity, and size of operating budget.
Last date for submission of letters of enquiry is December 1, 2011.
For more information, visit this link.
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US Department of State Funding Opportunity to combat trafficking in persons
US Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons has announced an open competition for fiscal year 2012 funding of projects to combat trafficking in persons.
In this context, in the first stage of competition eligible organizations are invited to submit two-page Statements of Interest (SOI). The proposals for projects must address recommendations identified in the 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.
Funding Priorities and Countries
Thirty-two countries and three regions have been identified as priorities for this solicitation. The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is most interested in SOIs for projects that are in the priority countries and regions listed below, and that are responsive to the country-specific recommendations listed in the 2011 TIP Report. Under limited circumstances, the Office may fund projects in countries that are not listed below.
The 32 countries and regions selected for priority funding consideration in this solicitation are listed below.
Africa Region (AF): Botswana, Burundi, DRC, ROC, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Southern Sudan, Tanzania, Africa Region
East Asia and the Pacific Region (EAP): Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Vietnam
EAP Region: Pacific Islands, including Kiribati, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia
Europe and Eurasia Region (EUR): Albania, Azerbaijan
Near East Region (NEA): Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia
South and Central Asia Region (SCA): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka
Western Hemisphere Region (WHA): Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Regional Caribbean, including Barbados, St. Lucia, and The Bahamas.
Types of Projects Eligible for Funding
The following serve as examples of the types of projects that are sought for funding through this competitive grant process. This is not an exhaustive list.
* Technical support and training of law enforcement, including designated TIP units, prosecutors, and the judiciary in victim-centered investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases;
* Building cooperative efforts between NGOs and government agencies;
* Improving policies and practices for law enforcement, immigration, and other agencies to proactively identify and assist victims of trafficking;
* Development or enhancement of aftercare services for trafficking victims, especially those that provide alternatives to detention or deportation-based responses;
* Expert consultation to draft or improve anti-trafficking legislation and promote its implementation;
* Prevention activities that are designed to meet specific local or national needs or that reduce the demand for commercial sex or slavery-tainted goods; and
* Research and evaluation activities that enable policy makers and practitioners to focus limited anti-TIP resources most effectively.
Funding Size
Pending fiscal year 2012 appropriations, the Office anticipates awarding grants of up to $750,000 per project.
Eligibility Criteria
U.S.-based and foreign NGOs, PIOs, institutions of higher education, and for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Some projects may be accomplished by USG implementers through Interagency Agreements. For-profit organizations, including small and disadvantaged businesses, may apply, but such organizations may not generate a profit from activities funded by the Office.
Note. Only those applicants, whose Statements of Interest are reviewed favorably, will be invited to submit proposals in the second stage.
Last date for submission of SOIs is November 18, 2011
For more information, visit this link and search by Funding Opportunity Number for: “AT-ATC-12-002″
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STARS Foundation’s Impact Awards 2012: $100,000 of grant funding to NGOs
The STARS Foundation is now open to accepting applications for the STARS Impact Awards 2012, which offer $100,000 of unrestricted funding in addition to providing tailored consultancy support and media training, content and access to NGOs across Africa, Middle East, Asia and the Pacific regions.
The STARS Impact Awards aim to identify and support local NGOs that achieve excellence in the provision of services to disadvantaged children and that demonstrate effective management practices.
There are six Impact Awards in total: three Awards for Africa-Middle East and three for Asia-Pacific, across the categories of Health, Education and Protection.
Each Impact Award provides a package of support comprising:
* US$100,000 of unrestricted funding – Giving recipient organisations the flexibility to respond more effectively to the challenges they face and to the needs of the children they serve
* Tailored consultancy support – Offering recipient organisations access to training or skills and helping them to maximise the benefits of their Award
* Media training, content and access – Providing recipient organisations with the tools and opportunities to use the Award to enhance their profile
This year, the STARS Foundation has partnered with the Ashmore Foundation to increase the number of Awards it intends to offer to 14.
Eligible organizations from 19 countries can submit proposals for funding. These countries have been selected on the basis of their estimated under-five mortality rate (U5MR) which is a critical indicator of the well-being of children. STARS targets countries with the highest under-five mortality rates according to the UNICEF report and rankings of 2009. The list of countries is available at this link.
Applications can be submitted online or by email or you can post it to the STARS Foundation office. The deadline for submission of proposals is 7 November 2011. For more information, visit this link.
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