Deadline: 29-Jan-24
The SAGE Fund, in collaboration with the Ford Foundation Future of Work(ers) program, invites concept notes from Global Majority organizations, movements, unions and cooperatives to develop care strategies, agendas, and movement building that are grounded in local, national or regional opportunities.
Projects should leverage those openings to contribute to the development of transformative policies, laws, models, narratives, and norms that advance a fair social organization of care that includes paid and unpaid care work and centers the dignity, rights, and agency of those providing and receiving care. Projects should be focused on and take place in Africa, Asia, Latin America and/or the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Objectives
- Over the long term, there is an aim to build a historically-situated knowledge base and diverse range of support and care systems in order to strengthen the capacity of policy-makers to respond in more targeted ways to care demands. The RFP seeks to contribute to advancing three key objectives in the field:
- Promoting the importance and value of care through public investment, support and provision, with primary responsibility held by the state and co-sharing of responsibility by third sector/community care and market institutions;
- Shifting care systems, policies, regulations, and models to center the wellbeing of all care workers (irrespective of their work status), including increasing economic security, protections, and worker voice in shaping labor laws and regulations and achieving economic justice; and
- Strengthening coalitions within care sectors and alliances across labor, feminist, migrant, disability, social, environmental, and economic justice movements, among others to build and advance a collective support and care agenda at the local, national, regional and global levels.
Funding Information
- The SAGE Fund will make 8-12 grants of US $100,000 – $150,000 each, for 12-18 months, to Global Majority organizations, movements, coalitions, cooperatives, and unions to develop care strategies, agendas, and movement building.
Geographical Scope
- Projects should be focused on and take place in or across the Global Majority regions – Africa, Asia, Latin America and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – with a focus at the local, national, or regional level. Projects should demonstrate awareness of global and regional conversations, agreements, movements, and opportunities, and may include activities and strategies that target strategic global processes but are not the primary focus.
Eligibility Criteria
- Civil society organizations, movements, unions, and cooperatives from and/or with leadership in the Global Majority with a mission and programs strongly aligned with human rights, labor rights and gender and disability justice are invited to apply, including:
- Movements (including social movements, worker/labor movements, feminist movements, movements of affected communities including Persons with Disabilities, youth and older people);
- Civil society organizations (including NGOs);
- Community-based organizations;
- Worker organizations (Labor unions, Federations, Member-Based Organizations);
- Organizations and movements that are migrant-led or founded by migrants in Global Majority countries;
- Networks, coalitions, and partnerships (preference will be given to those with strong participation and leadership from the Global Majority); and/or
- Research centers or think tanks in the Global Majority with strong links to activist practice.
- Partnerships: Proposals may be submitted by an individual organization or movement or by two or more groups as project partners. International organizations or anchor NGOs from the Global North may participate as part of the project, but are not intended to receive the majority of the funds nor lead the project strategy. Prioritization will be given to proposals from organizations working closely with, or led by, affected communities, workers, and movements in the Global Majority.
- Eligible organizations must either:
- Be a legally registered charity in the local country and have a bank account that is capable of receiving international wire transfers; or
- Designate a legally registered charity (or entity eligible to receive charitable funds) in the country and has a local bank account capable of receiving international wire transfers to serve as the project’s fiscal agent.
- Given the size of the grants offered, all applicants must have the ability to absorb and manage a US $100,000 project grant. Therefore, if an organization is applying alone, it would need to have an annual budget of US $200,000 or greater. If applying in partnership, the size and the annual budgets of the partners may vary, but at least one of the partners must meet the minimum annual budget of US $200,000. The grantee partner must have the financial infrastructure and capacity to receive and manage a US US $100,000 on behalf of the other partners.
- They are unable to provide grant funding to organizations that are based in any of the following countries, nor can they support projects that are conducting activities directly in these countries: Afghanistan, Belarus, Cuba, India, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Ukraine (Russian-Occupied Territories), Yemen.
- Language: Due to current staffing constraints, concept notes must be submitted in English. Grantee organizations or partnerships are welcome to work in any language but must have one partner or someone within the partnership that can communicate with the Fund in English. The Fund will provide interpretation for any calls or engagement with the full set of partners as needed if the proposal advances.
For more information, visit SAGE Fund.