AWDF announces Call for Applications for 2020 Main Grant Program

Deadline: 10-Aug-20

Is your organisation an African feminist or women’s rights organisation with cutting edge ideas for advancing women’s rights and creating systemic change? Is your organisation led and largely staffed by women, and registered on the African continent? If yes, then you can apply for this African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) grant in one or more of the thematic areas listed below:

• Defending women’s economic rights and justice including mobilising women in rural contexts, urban economies, and/or in non-traditional work
• Building ideas and models around women’s economic futures
• Defending women’s land, property and inheritance rights
• Securing women’s housing rights, particularly in the context of urbanisation
• Advancing climate and environmental justice.

• Ending violence against women in all forms through prevention and/or response.
• Advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls, including on issues of sexual orientation and reproductive choice
• Promoting women’s emotional well-being and mental health
• Prevention and management of issues around women and HIV/AIDS
• Building awareness and feminist responses to the rise of non-communicable diseases (including cancers, diseases of lifestyle and nutrition).

• Promoting women’s leadership and meaningful participation in decision making, including building feminist leadership for social, political and economic change
• Advancing participation in governance and decision-making at all levels for a greater diversity of African women
• Defending civic operating space for women’s rights organisations and defenders
• Promoting women’s human security and peace in all contexts

• The economic and social impacts of COVID19 are starkly gendered- a fact that is evident as they all manage the immediate health threats and economic and social crises caused by the pandemic, and as they plan for a post-COVID future. AWDF is seeking to support African women’s organisations working to respond to COVID19 beyond immediate emergency service delivery operations-in particular those seeking to use this opportunity to support deeper change in the economic, social and political systems. This includes:
  • Advocacy and knowledge production-on subjects including social and economic protection policies and provisions, health systems reform, violence against women response and prevention, rights around water and sanitation, surveillance and injustices around COVID-related policing and security measures affecting women.
  • COVID19 related access to justice and violence response services for women.
  • Economic resilience initiatives that include programming for deeper economic transformation and looks to tackle the root causes of women’s specific economic vulnerabilities
  • Emotional wellbeing initiatives arising out of COVID19 response.

• Grant sizes vary per call. Please refer to the maximum grant sizes indicated in the call for applications you are responding to. Organisations applying for grants of US $20,000 and above will be required to provide audit report conducted by a reputable audit firm.
• Note that AWDF will only consider grants amounts that are less than 50% of an organisation’s annual income as evident in the latest annual audit statements.

• Women-led, with a majority women staff and board A stated commitment to supporting women and/or advancing women’s rights/ gender equality in their mission/vision
• Organisations registered in any African country, and working at the local, national, subregional or regional African levels. (Note that AWDF is not able to transfer funds to organisations based in Sudan, South Sudan or Somalia. However, they are able to support organisations based in other African countries that are implementing initiatives in these countries).

For more information, visit https://awdf.org/call-for-applications-main-grant-2020/