Challenge

Challenge Fund invites applications from Anguillian NGOs for funding of projects designed to build human rights capacity:

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Dear Don Mitchell,

I would like to draw your attention to the Challenge Fund that exists under the project to build human rights capacity in the British Overseas Territories.

This Fund is designed to give civil society organisations the opportunity to undertake activities that will help to increase respect for human rights, including in Anguilla.  The kinds of actions that can be supported are very broad, as you can see from the attached Guidelines. We have tried to keep formalities limited to the necessary basics.

The next deadline for receipt of applications is Wednesday 30 June.  The decision process is swift (within four weeks), which means that successful applicants can usually start their activities within two or three months of the deadline.

If you have any questions abut the Fund or the application process, please feel free to get in touch with me.

It would be very helpful if you will also inform other civil society organisations in Anguilla about the availability of the Challenge Fund.

With best wishes,
Peter Ashman
Peter Ashman
Consultant (Human Rights Capacity Building BOT Project)
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GUIDELINES FOR THE CHALLENGE FUND FOR BUILDING HUMAN RIGHTS CAPACITY IN THE BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES

2010-2011

Overview

The Project “Building Human Rights Capacity in the British Overseas Territories”, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), is being carried out by the Commonwealth Foundation and its project partners, the Commonwealth Legal Education Association and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.

This document sets out what activities can and cannot be supported, what the current priorities of the project are, and how to apply for an award.

The Fund will be open to all civil society organisations, as well as National Human Rights Institutions. It will work flexibly and responsively to support initiatives throughout the Overseas Territories rather than allocate funds per Territory.

The deadlines for receiving grant applications during the period covered by these guidelines are 31 March 2010 and 30 June 2010, 30 September 2010 and 31 December 2010

For more information on the project please visit www.commonwealthfoundation.com or www.OTscapacityCHRI.org

Strategic focus of funding

The Challenge Fund aims to encourage civil society organisations to engage with human rights issues by building the capacity of their members and the population at large on key issues, particularly in regard to the human rights protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

About the Project Partners

The Commonwealth Foundation is an inter-governmental organisation resourced by and reporting to Commonwealth governments that exists to promote and strengthen civil society's role in sustainable development, democracy and intercultural learning in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to strengthen civil society organisations across the Commonwealth as they promote democracy, advance sustainable development and foster inter-cultural understanding. It seeks a Commonwealth where civil society organisations realise their full potential, engaging with their governments and the private sector in the shared enterprise of transformational nation-building and international cooperation.

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) is an independent, non-partisan, international non-governmental organisation that promotes human rights through education and advocacy. Its headquarters are in New Delhi (India) and it has offices in London (UK) and Accra (Ghana). CHRI’s mandate is to promote awareness of and adherence to the Commonwealth Harare Principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other internationally recognised human rights instruments and declarations made by the Commonwealth Heads of Governments as well as domestic instruments supporting human rights in the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) fosters and promotes high standards of legal education in the Commonwealth. Founded in 1971, it is a Commonwealth-wide body with regional Chapters in South Asia, Southern Africa, West Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe and numerous country committees. Its work is overseen by an Executive Committee whose members represent: Australasia, Europe, The Caribbean, East Africa, West Africa, North America, Southern Africa, South Asia (Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), South Asia (India), and South East Asia.

How much is available

The Fund has a total of £100,000 to disburse. The maximum award available to any one project is £5,000. Applicants are required to provide evidence of available matching funds in cash or in kind (i.e. voluntary facilities or labour that will be used in the project and that would otherwise have to be paid for to undertake the project activities). These matching funds or in-kind contributions must be approximately 20% of the project costs.

What we can support

Challenge Fund grants may be used towards the costs of the project activity, including supporting participants or resource people, campaigns, publications, awareness-raising, meetings and workshops, study visits, subsistence and travel, and new initiatives (“seed grants”), as well as towards monitoring and evaluation and reporting of an activity. Preference will be given to national activities.

What we cannot support

• 
  
  projects lasting longer than one year;
• 
  
  training courses taking place in a university in a developed country;
• 
  
  academic study or research;
• 
  
  presentation of papers at academic conferences;

• 
  
  the publication of books and films, unless these are learning tools developed as a result of an activity supported by the project;
• 
  
  core funding (such as salaries of permanent staff, office rental and general running costs).

Who can benefit

The Challenge Fund gives priority to activities where the direct beneficiaries are individuals or groups who:

• 
  
  are working in civil society organisations directly engaged in promoting human rights;
• 
  
  are employed in work which has direct relevance to the subject of the activity;
• 
  
  are in a position to transfer their learning to others.

Where funding is to support the participation of individuals in an event, the organisers should try to ensure that women and men participate in equal numbers.

The Challenge Fund does not give grants to support:

• 
  
  individual students;
• 
  
  government employees;
• 
  
  private businesses;
• 
  
  political parties.

Equality

All applicants will be expected to demonstrate how the activity and the organisation include gender and youth in their approach to the human rights issue. This should include:

• 
  
  equitable participation by women and men in the activity for which funding is being sought;
• 
  
  activities addressing a gender or youth issue, or which include a component which addresses a gender or youth issue;
• 
  
  participation in the governance of the organisation of both women and men.

Who can apply

Civil Society Organisations, National Human Rights Institutions and national capacity building committees or a group of people that have been established as part of the project can apply. But one individual, association or organisation must be able to sign the contract and be financially responsible for the use of the funds.

“Civil Society Organisations” broadly include non-governmental organisations, citizens’ organisations, people’s organisations, clubs and societies, faith-based groups, labour unions, professional associations, media organisations and ‘partnership’ organisations (i.e. a hybrid in various blends of public, private, voluntary and community organisations working together towards a common public good).

The Challenge Fund cannot consider applications from individuals.

In assessing applications, the Challenge Fund will give priority to applications from applicants who have not previously received funding from the Fund. An organisation cannot make more than one application per round.

Eligible countries

The Challenge Fund grants programme is intended to assist civil society organisations from, and citizens of, eligible countries listed in Annex 1.

Application process

There are four grant application rounds. The deadlines for the rounds are 24.00 GMT on 31 March 2010, 30 June 2010, 30 September 2010 and 31 December 2010.

There is no formal application form but all applicants must apply providing the information requested in annex 2 to these guidelines.

Applicants must send their applications by e-mail in a document containing the information required in annex 2, and any supplementary information, to geninfo@commonwealth.int. Please insert in the e-mail subject “Challenge Fund Application”.

Supplementary information can be sent by post to:

BOT Human Rights Challenge Fund

Commonwealth Foundation

Marlborough House, Pall Mall

London SW1Y 5HY

United Kingdom

If applications do not contain all the necessary information, we will not be able to consider your application during the current round.

Applicants should expect to hear from the Commonwealth Foundation four weeks after the deadline and should not apply to fund activities taking place before then. We cannot award grants for activities that have already taken place.

The decision making process

All potentially eligible grant applications made in the current round are assessed in the light of the Challenge Fund’s grants budget, and the grants which are considered to most closely fit the priorities and areas of interest will be taken forward.

If your application is successful, an email will be sent to you to discuss the details of the grant. Once the details have been agreed by email, a formal letter will be sent setting out the terms and conditions of the grant, along with the reporting templates, requirements and a deadline. Any variation from the grant as approved must first be cleared with the Foundation.

If your application is not successful, you will receive an email informing you of the outcome of your application.

A list of grants approved will be published on the project website - www.OTscapacityCHRI.org.

Reporting

All successful applicants are expected to submit a short narrative report on the activity for which funding was requested, as well as a financial report, within six weeks of the end of the activity. Where funding is provided to support participation in an event, the report should focus on the roles the sponsored participants played in the activity and the benefits they obtained. All grantees should report on how their organisation benefited from the grant, what impact the activity had on the situation addressed by it and any plans emerging for future collaboration and follow-up activities. The reporting templates will available on the Project’s website and will be e-mailed to each grantee.

Any photos, activity reports, newspaper articles or publicity material should also be sent to the Commonwealth Foundation.

Grant beneficiaries should also expect to be contacted by the Commonwealth Foundation up to a year after the activity for which they received funding has taken place. The Foundation will be keen to learn of any longer term impact the activity may have had.

Acknowledgement

It is mandatory for all successful applicants to acknowledge the support of the Challenge Fund in all documents or announcements associated with the activity for which funding is provided. This includes all written documents (reports, publications, press releases) or public announcements (speeches and addresses).

In addition:

• 
  
  the Challenge Fund should be mentioned in all printed material;
• 
  
  all beneficiaries of funding should be informed of the source; and
• 
  
  the Commonwealth Foundation should be sent copies of all documentation produced in association with the activity.

Checklist for submission

Before submitting your application, please check that you have:

• 
  
  read the guidelines thoroughly to see whether your project and organisation is eligible;
• 
  
  provided all the information as requested in the application set out in annex 2;
• 
  
  attached all supplementary information, including, as relevant:

• 
  
  annual report of your organisation;
• 
  
  the last set of audited accounts;

Please note that the Foundation does not acknowledge receipt of applications. Applicants should expect to hear from the Foundation about four weeks after the deadline.

ANNEX 1

ELIGIBLE TERRITORIES

1. 
   
   Anguilla
2. 
   
   Bermuda
3. 
   
   British Virgin Islands
4. 
   
   Cayman Islands
5. 
   
   Turks and Caicos Islands
6. 
   
   Montserrat
7. 
   
   Pitcairn Island
8. 
   
   Ascension Island
9. 
   
   Falkland Island
10. 
    
    Tristan da Cunha
11. 
    
    St Helena

ANNEX 2

Challenge Fund for Building Human Rights Capacity in the British Overseas Territories

Application Form

Please include all the 21 elements listed below. Please try not to exceed 5 pages and respect the numbering and subheadings. Do not provide the information exclusively by way of annex (e.g. 09. Outline of Project – see Annex). Failure to provide all the information requested will delay consideration of your application.

Applicant information

1. 
   
   Name of Organisation

2. 
   
   Address of Organisation , including telephone and fax numbers and website (if any)

3. 
   
   Aims and Objectives of Organisation

4. 
   
   Structure of Organisation, including legal status, number of members and how it is governed (including the youth and gender dimension)

5. 
   
   Main activities of the Organisation

6. 
   
   Total annual budget of Organisation

7. 
   
   Main items of expenditure

8. 
   
   Main sources of income

9. 
   
   Brief details of projects the Organisation has carried out during the past 5 years

Project information

10. 
    
    Title of Project

11. 
    
    Outline of Project, including who will be involved in implementing the project, who will benefit from it (with the gender and youth dimension) and the human rights situation the project addresses.

12. 
    
    Region/area covered

13. 
    
    Total Budget of Project

14. 
    
    Main items of project expenditure, broken down into (a) personnel, (b) travel, (c) events, (d) materials, (e) any other project costs, (e) administration costs up to a maximum of (10%) of total project costs.

15. 
    
    Period covered by grant

16. 
    
    Amount of grant requested

17. 
    
    How will the project be co-funded – distinguish between in cash and in kind

Additional Information

18. 
    
    Any further information you consider relevant

19. 
    
    Signature of person applying

20. 
    
    Name and position in the Organisation

21. 
    
    Date