Overview
Donor: | UN Democracy Fund |
Application procedure: | Online Application |
Donor base: | United States |
Reference number: | - |
Eligible applicants: | Non-Profit Organisation |
Deadline: | 28.02.2025 |
Financial details
Grant size: | Medium - up to $1,000,000 |
Minimum grant size: | 100.000$ |
Total available budget: | - |
Funding type: | Grants |
Maximum grant size: | 200.000$ |
Funding ratio: | up to 100% |
Sectors
- Capacity Building
- Children & Youth
- Governance & Democracy
- Human Rights
- Media & Journalism
- Social Inclusion
- Women & Gender
Project Locations
Africa
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe
America
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela
Asia
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen
Europe
Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine
Pacific
Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
Description
1) Objective
UNDEF supports projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes. The large majority of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organizations — both in the transition and consolidation phases of democratization. Projects should fall under one or more of seven main areas:
- Women’s empowerment
- Community activism
- Rule of law and human rights
- Youth engagement
- Strengthening civil society interaction with Government
- Media and freedom of information
- Tools for knowledge
- Electoral processes
As always, they welcome project proposals in all the above areas, and in this Round they particularly welcome projects on media and freedom of information. This covers a range of topics, such as promoting citizen journalism, including in conflict and post-conflict settings; training journalists in legal know-how as well as personal safety and security, both physical and online; building peer support networks for freelance journalists; developing investigative journalism skills; understanding and advancing legislation for access to information; combating hate speech; developing public media literacy, with a focus on learning to digest material critically and to evaluate sources — both online and in other media.
2) Eligibility
The following institutions are eligible for UNDEF grant funding: (1) civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations, engaged in promoting democracy (these are anticipated to receive the bulk of the funding; (2) independent and constitutional bodies, including election commissions, ombudsman institutions, national human rights institutions and other independent governance bodies, for project proposals facilitating the inclusion of the voice of civil society; and (3) global and regional inter-government bodies, organisations and associations other than the United Nations, for project proposals which strengthen the voice of civil society.
3) Location
They are supporting projects worldwide in America, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Pacific. Proposals from all countries as well as regional and global initiatives are considered. However, strong preference is given to applicants from countries and regions that are in the transition and consolidation phases of democratization, in particular countries emerging from conflict, new and restored democracies, least developed countries and low or middle income countries.
4) Budget
The grants are 2 years long ranging from $100,000-$200,000. 50-60 projects are selected annually. Fewer than 2% of all applications are funded.
5) Application
UNDEF accepts on-line proposals during an annual window, which will open from 1-28 February 2025.