AmplifyChange’s Network Grants: Offering GBP 225,000 to GBP 600,000 Over 2-3 Years

Deadline: 2-Jul-24

AmplifyChange is inviting applications to support civil society advocacy and activist groups working on the most neglected and challenging SRHR issues globally today.

Network Grants contribute to the development of stronger and more inclusive movements advocating for sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR). They ensure a movement is resourced and contribute to equitable and effective allocation of resources across a movement.

The purpose of this Network Grant call is to fund civil society organisations with the capability to provide support and resources to the SRHR movement, and experience of working with or supporting SRHR networks, coalitions, partners or civil society organisations.

Priorities

• Violence
  • Eliminating Gender-based Violence
    • Gender-based violence includes sexual violence, intimate partner violence, child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Gender-based violence is a widespread human rights violation rooted in traditional ideas about gender which cause physical, psychological and emotional harm.
  • What do they fund?
    • They receive more applications on gender-based violence than any other theme. The investment strategy is led by your ideas and initiatives. The grantee partners work on a wide range of gender-based violence issues, including outlawing child marriage, monitoring gender-based violence and hate crimes towards LGBTIQ people, promoting community-based solutions to end FGM/C, supporting survivors of sexual violence to rediscover sexual pleasure, and preventing boys from conforming to toxic masculinity. The grantee partners are leaders in the movement for a violence-free world.
• Abortion
  • Safe Abortion Choices
    • Governments and society have a duty to make provisions for dignified service delivery – in privacy, comfort, and with the widest possible choice of methods. Change often happens incrementally, and technology has made it possible to reduce the risks to health and well-being of undergoing an abortion in restrictive settings.
  • What do they fund?
    • They are one of the largest investors in safe abortion advocacy in LMICs. They support local organisations facing stigma in challenging contexts. The grantee partners campaign to remove legal and policy barriers on safe abortion, support the expansion of post–abortion care, and increase access to information about safely using medical methods of abortion. They are changing the debate and tackling social norms, demonstrating that locally-led activism can change laws, strengthen health systems, and make abortion safe, dignified, and available for all.
• Stigma
  • Challenging Stigma and Discrimination
    • Across the world, perceptions of immorality or deviance from sexual norms contribute to isolation, stereotyping, and discrimination against individuals or groups based on their sexuality or gender identity. This stigma can often be society-wide and can be institutionalised through criminalisation or the policies and culture within the police, health system, education and state institutions. Stigma is increasingly cultivated online.
    • Stigmas that restrict sexual and reproductive health and rights are diverse, cutting across AmplifyChange’s priority themes. They fund the strengthening of stigmatised sections of civil society – especially Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) individuals. They also support activism by and for sex workers.
  • What do they fund?
    • They are one of the main sources of funding for LGBTIQ rights activism. The grants have contributed to major legal reforms to improve the lives of millions, such as the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in India. The grantee partners have worked with law makers and enforcers, as well as health workers and teachers, to tackle homophobia and transphobia and improve access to resources for sex workers.
    • They take steps to ensure that a large share of the grants support organisations led by members of the LGBTIQ and sex worker communities.
• Youth
  • Better Sexual Health for Young People
    • The rapid biological and psychological changes that take place during adolescence affect all areas of life, including sexual and reproductive health. Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and Life Skills education aim to ensure that young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and values to make responsible choices about their sexual and social relationships.
  • What do they fund?
    • They are an extensive funder of advocacy for quality CSE and Life Skills education. They support civil society to hold government to account for following commitments to expand and improve the quality of CSE, including through integrating pleasure-based sexual health and inclusivity. As digital access rapidly increases, online strategies have become an increasingly important complement to face-to-face education. They also support initiatives to hold health authorities to account for providing youth-friendly services.
    • They fund projects that promote awareness, education, and positive changes in policies and social attitudes to support and improve the well-being of people who menstruate. This includes challenging stigma, addressing misconceptions, and advocating for increased access to menstrual products, proper facilities, and comprehensive menstrual health care. They also fund work on pain management, menstrual disorders and menopause.
• Access
  • Access to SRHR services for Vulnerable and Marginalised Groups
    • Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience high levels of unmet need for quality sexual and reproductive health services. Access to sexual and reproductive health services is dependent on affordability, physical accessibility, and the acceptability of services – not just on the availability and quality of care and supplies. People who are marginalised by society or the economy, such as people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, rural populations, urban poor communities, and refugees, are typically denied equal access to sexual and reproductive health, and so cannot realise their human rights.
  • What do they fund?
    • They  are a major investor in campaigns to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of people living with disabilities. They seek to strengthen civil society efforts to ensure that sexual and reproductive health rights are met by local Universal Health Coverage initiatives. They  provide extensive support in countries affected by high levels of conflict, poverty, and climate change where levels of migration are high.
• Other Themes
  • Within the priority themes, AmplifyChange supports cross-cutting themes that impact on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and well-being and respond to challenges that advocates identify as their priorities for action.
    • Climate Justice
      • Climate change has far-reaching implications that extend beyond environmental concerns, affecting various aspects of human life, including SRHR, especially for the most marginalised communities. Limited access to healthcare, including family planning services, can be exacerbated by environmental pollution and resource scarcity. Displacement caused by environmental disasters heightens the risk of sexual violence and exploitation. Scarce resources and changing agricultural patterns can lead to economic instability, affecting access to education and increasing the risk of child marriage and female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C).
      • AmplifyChange acknowledges the importance of climate justice and endeavours to support organisations seeking to address the consequences of climate change on SRHR outcomes in their communities.
    • Pleasure-Based Sexual Health
      • Pleasure is a key aspect to ensure that all individuals can access their full sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), prioritising joy, safety, and consent. Pleasure is recognised as a core component of sexual health and well-being, and evidence shows that embracing pleasure-based, sex-positive approaches contributes to positive outcomes for SRHR services and programming.
      • AmplifyChange is committed to championing pleasure-based sexual health and sex positivity within SRHR through the support to civil society.They are endorsers of The Pleasure Principles, which have taken evidence and best practice from pleasure-based sexual health interventions and created a set of principles to follow for effective implementation. More information and resources on pleasure-based sexual health can be found at The Pleasure Project website.
    • Mental Health
      • SRHR and mental health are interconnected. Mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and stress, may impact an individual’s sexual experiences and desire. They can also influence decision-making related to reproductive choices and engagement in safe and consensual sexual practices. Issues such as unintended pregnancies, gender-based violence, and discrimination can contribute to negative mental health outcomes. Stigma surrounding sexual and reproductive health choices and experiences can exacerbate mental health issues and create barriers to seeking necessary support and care.
      • AmplifyChange welcomes advocacy efforts to address the challenges arising from mental health and SRHR, acknowledging that addressing this intersection is vital to promoting comprehensive, person-centred health and fostering a society that values and respects the diverse aspects of individual health and autonomy.

Funding Information

• The duration of a Network Grant is 2 to 3 years for applications from GBP 225,000 to GBP 600,000.

Key Approaches

• AmplifyChange funds advocacy. They are focused on achieving long-term, sustainable change, and they recognise that collective actions are the best way to achieve change. Understanding how you connect to the wider movement and demonstrating how you are working towards the same change is critical.
• They are particularly interested to fund projects that:
  • are developed jointly with network members. The proposal development, share of the budget and governance of the network should reflect the participation and involvement of the whole network.
  • propose an effective approach to ongoing monitoring and relationship-building with civil society organisations. This may include:
    • Inclusive leadership, as successful advocacy benefits most from a combination of SRHR expertise and diverse connections. They seek to support efforts to coordinate campaigning across multiple organisations and their public supporter base.
    • Connecting and community-building, including (but not exclusively) physical convening, mentoring, or facilitating exchanges as part of establishing a stronger community of professional advocates and emerging leaders to SRHR.
    • Linking and learning to support stronger learning within SRHR advocacy communities. They will support learning activities such as the sharing of best practice and the production of evidence on advocacy impact and effectiveness of advocacy practice.

Eligibility Criteria

• All applicants must meet the general eligibility criteria as well as the criteria detailed below. The eligibility criteria refers solely to the lead applicant organisation.
  • The applicant organisation must be registered and implementing a project in one of AmplifyChange’s eligible countries. You must have a registration status that enables you to receive funds from foreign sources.
  • The applicant organisation must have a bank account.
  • The applicant organisation must have transparent governance structures and will be required to submit, as part of your full application, your (i) organisational strategic plan and governance structure; (ii) a results framework of expected results and outcomes (linked to AmplifyChange’s Theory of Change); (iii) annual audited accounts for past three years.
  • The annual value of the Network Grant cannot exceed 50% of your organisation’s average annual expenditure over the past three years. For example, if you apply for GBP 300,000 over 3 years, the annual value of the grant is GBP 100,000. Therefore, the average annual expenditure of the applicant organisation over the past three years must be GBP 200,000 or more. They strongly advise you to download the calculator to check if you are financially eligible to apply for this grant: Network Grant Calculator
  • Applicant organisations can only submit one application as the lead; however, you can be downstream partners on other applications.

For more information, visit AmplifyChange.