Following the Solidarity Fund’s announcement of its second phase of Gender-Based-Violence support on 16 September, the Fund now opens a call for funding applications from community-based organisations (CBO) in the GBV sector who stand to benefit from a once-off grant from the Fund ranging from R50 000 to R250 000. Applicants should be CBOs that perform or support critical activities and services related to addressing gender-based violence (GBV) across the country.
This second phase has been allocated R75m to be disbursed across approximately 360 organisations, with 75% going towards community-based support and 25% targeting programmes achieving systemic change.
The three broad categories for applications include:
- Prevention – Providing: communication/information; safe spaces; programmes that focus on counselling, positive parenting, skills development and economic empowerment, addressing gender norms, and Sexual & Reproductive Health and Rights.
- Response – Providing: trauma counselling; maintenance of shelter services; programmes to improve access to emergency response; support and capacity-building for community caregivers; access to protection services.
- Access to Justice – Provision of non-profit and/or free legal and paralegal support services or support to victims in criminal justice system
Every proposal will undergo a well-documented qualitative assessment to enable a sufficiently transparent and justifiable process. The Fund will determine the exact amount awarded to successful applicants based on a variety of factors, including the quality of the application, track record and finance history.
All applications submitted before the deadline will be considered and all applications submitted after the official closing date will not be considered. Applicants may be contacted about their application during or after this period for more information. This does not guarantee that the application will be successful.
All applications will undergo initial screening and vetting and, if shortlisted, will be forwarded to an independent Selection and Evaluation Panel who will make all final decisions on Solidarity Fund funding. A decision on the outcome of applications will be communicated in writing within a maximum of two months of the closing date.
“The aim of this intervention is to offer much-needed financial support to organisations providing GBV-related services. This will enable them to continue operating and/or improve their service offering, thereby ensuring the continued availability of critical services that are impactful in preventing abuse, providing support, and ensuring access to justice against perpetrators of abuse. It will further aid in the retention of skills and continued employment of predominantly female staff in organisations at risk of closure,” says Wendy Tlou, Executive Head of the Humanitarian and Behaviour Change pillars at the Fund.
A call for organisations targeting programmes achieving systemic change in GBV will be open on 4 November.
