The African Women's Development
Fund (AWDF) funds local, national, sub-regional and regional organisations in
Africa working towards women's empowerment. The AWDF is an institutional
capacity-building and programme development fund, which aims to help build a
culture of learning and partnerships within the African women's
movement. In addition to awarding grants, the AWDF attempts to strengthen the
organisational capacities of its grantees.
The AWDF funds work in six thematic areas:
- Women's Human
Rights
- Political
Participation
- Peace Building
- Health, Reproductive
Rights
- Economic Empowerment.
- HIV/AIDS
The AWDF prioritises programs, which develop and
promote women's leadership and advocacy across all these themes. These
thematic areas have been selected because they feature very highly on the
agenda of African women and their organisations.
Who can apply?
- Organisations can be
local, national, sub-regional or regional African women's organisations,
from any part of Africa.
- Local women's organisations
should send in the names of two referees, one of whom should be a member
of a women's organisation that operates nationally.
What types of grants do we support?
- The AWDF gives grants
for projects related to any of the thematic areas specified above. We
expect applicants to build in relevant and reasonable running/core costs
into their project proposals.
- We give grants to
national and regional organisations for aspects of organisational growth
and development such as strategic planning, developing fundraising
strategies, communications systems, retreats, governance systems, etc.
- We give grants for
capital costs such as purchase of computers, printers, photocopiers.
Frequency of grant-making
The AWDF makes grants in three cycles each year. Applications
can be sent in at any time.
Size of grants
Organisations can apply for grants ranging from
$1,000 - $40,000. Kindly note that most grants will be for less than the
maximum. Grants over $20,000 are only made to organisations which operate on
a regional basis.
Criteria
for the review of grant applications
The AWDF uses the following criteria for the review
of grant applications:
- Applying organisations
should preferably have been in existence for three years.
- Women's organisations
have to be led and managed by women.
- National or
regional civil society organisations may apply for a women-specific
project, but will have to demonstrate that the project will be managed
by a senior woman in the organisation.
- Potential grantees
shuold show how the project proposal fits into the organisation's
overall strategy for the area of work or community in which it is
located.
- Organisations have to
demonstrate how their work fits into either a local, national or
regional strategy for the empowerment of African women.
- Applying organisations
should have basic organisational systems and structures in place. We
look for evidence of effective leadership, planning and
networking.
- The organisation
should have a clear evaluation and sustainability plan for the
project.
- The potential to
raise additional funding.
- Ability to manage
funds and account for them in a transparent manner.
The AWDF does not support the following projects:
- Organisations that aim
to convert people to any religious belief.
- Political parties or
women's wings of political parties.
- Individuals.
- Government
departments.
- Scholarships and
fellowships for academic studies.
- Women's organisations
which are not led by women
How to apply
Interested organisations should send in their proposals to the AWDF
secretariat in Accra, Ghana, using the grant application guidelines.
Applications can be sent in English, French, or Portuguese, by email, fax or
post. Please note that whilst we will accept applications by email and fax,
we still expect a hard copy.
Grant Application Guidelines
In order to consider your request, we need basic and specific information
about your organisation, its composition, and its purposes. We need to know
how your organisation believes its work can be supported with a grant of
$1,000- $25,000 from the African Women's Development Fund. Please write your
project proposal using the following guidelines:
Contact Information
1. Name of organisation
2. Address (Physical & Postal)
3. Telephone and Fax number
4. E-mail address, and website address (if any)
5. Contact person's name and title 6.
6. Who completed this proposal? Please sign and date.
7. Contact details of two (2) referees
8.How did you learn about the African Women's Development Fund?
Organizational Information
1. What is your organisation's purpose?
- What are your
organisation's main goals?
- When was your
organisation formed?
- Who started your
organisation and why?
- Is your organisation
local, national, sub-regional or regional?
- In which region(s)
does your organisation work?
- Who are the main beneficiaries
of your organisation's activities?
- How to assess the
strengths and weaknesses, opportunities of your organisation.
2. Structure
- How does your
organisation make decisions? Does your organisation have a staff, a
board, advisors, or volunteers? How many of each and what roles do they
play? How many are women? What are their positions?
- How many people
participate in your organisation? Do you have members? If so, how many?
How many are women? What are their positions?
- Is your organisation a
women's organization? If not, please explain the role women play in
making decisions about your organisation's activities.
3. Activities and/or Programs
- What would you
describe as the key areas of work for your organisation, i.e. women's
human rights issues, economic empowerment, etc.
- What key
challenges does your organisation face in this area of work?
- Describe your
organisation's past activities and/or programs.
- Describe your
organisation's present activities and/or programs.
- What are your
organisation's plans for the future?
- How does this
project you are applying for fit into those plans?
4. Financial Situation
- Please include your
budget for your current financial year
- What sources of
funds does your organisation have for the next twelve months? (Please
list sources and amounts.)
- Enclose a set of
audited accounts for your last financial year. If these are not
available, a financial statement signed by your Treasurer and one other
officer or member. The audited accounts/financial statement should
include sources of funds for your activities and details of income and
expenditure.
Grant Request Information
- How much money are you
applying for?
- What purpose are you
seeking a grant from the AWDF? Please tell us specifically how this grant
will be used, and include a monitoring plan. Please list the specific
outputs from this project
- Provide a detailed
budget for the project. If you have prepared the budget using your local
currency, please include the US dollar or Pounds Sterling equivalent.
- How will this grant
enable your organisation to achieve its strategic
objectives?
Please include the following information:
- A copy of your most
recent annual report and financial statement.
- Brochures/leaflets
describing the work you do. Relevant photographs, press clippings,
posters, videos (if available).
Please note that these will not be retuned to you, so you should only send
information which you are willing to part with. Whilst we will accept
applications by email and fax, we still expect a hard copy by post. We
receive a lot of applications, so we will prioritise those proposals which
arrive completed with all the information we have asked for. All
applications should be sent to:
The African Women's Development Fund
25 Yiyiwa Street, Abelenkpe, Accra
P.M.B CT 89, Cantonments
Accra, Ghana Email: awdf@awdf.org
or grants@awdf.org;
Tel: +233 21 780476/7
Fax: + 233 21 782502
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