GrantStation International Insider: January 17, 2025

Application deadline: March 1, 2025, for Notifications of Interest
Description: NextWorldNow Community Investments partners with communities throughout the world, providing resources for projects defined by local leaders to improve the lives and well-being of the people in the community. NextWorldNow Community Investments invests in and supports community development projects requiring modest capital. Areas of interest include, economic development, environment (including water, sanitation, and deforestation), healthcare access and treatment, human rights, peace and human security, shelter, smallholder productivity and food security, and sustainable markets/livelihood. Support is provided through grants and interest-free loans. 

Application deadline: February 28, 2025
Grant amount: Fellows receive a stipend of $20,000 USD to support participation in the program and $10,000 for reimbursements around research expenses. 
Description: The World Institute on Disability (WID) advances the inclusion, rights, and justice of people with disabilities with the design and delivery of whole community solutions. WID’s Global Heumann Fellowship Program empowers disability leaders and advocates worldwide to advance disability rights and justice within their regional communities. Through this program, fellows will work on impactful projects aimed at fostering equity, inclusion, and justice globally. The current focus is on research in the areas of 1) inclusive early warning systems for timely and equitable disaster response; 2) AI and technology solutions designed with and for people with disabilities or fostering innovation that incorporates universal accessibility; and 3) systemic change driven by the leadership and expertise of people with disabilities to create a more equitable and inclusive society. In order to be eligible, individuals must have lived experience as a person with a disability and hold an academic degree (earned in the U.S. or abroad) equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. 

Application deadline: February 15, 2025, for A3 expressions of interest
Grant amount: Up to £10,000
Description: The Barakat Trust supports the study and preservation of art, architecture, archaeology, heritage, and culture within the Islamic world. The A3 Barakat Major Awards program funds fieldwork, research, study, exhibitions, conservation and documentation projects, and training of professionals in fields associated with history, heritage, conservation, and archaeology. Work should relate to the history of the art, architecture, and material culture of the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE; archaeological investigation of the Islamic world; the conservation of artifacts, buildings, and material culture produced in or for the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE; digital and digitization projects that focus on disseminating or making the heritage and material culture of the Islamic world more accessible to various audiences; and exhibitions in libraries, museums, and other public institutions to present the art and material culture of the Islamic world before circa 1920 CE. Support is also provided for education and training as well as the dissemination of knowledge through conferences, exhibitions, and publications relating to the aforementioned areas. Curators, heritage professionals, and established scholars attached to research institutions may apply. (The Trust offers a number of other grants, awards, residencies, studentships, and scholarships.)

Application deadline: February 28, 2025
Grant amount: Up to $1,000
Description: Action for Nature’s International Young Eco-Hero Awards aim to encourage young people around the world to carry out individual environmental action projects. The Awards recognize and reward the successful individual environmental initiatives of young people ages eight to 16. In order to be eligible, the project must focus on environmental health, advocacy, research, or the protection of the natural world, and it should be action-based, self-initiated, and not an assignment from a teacher or other adult. Projects must be at least six months in duration and either close to completion or completed within the last year.

Application deadline: February 3, 2025
Grant amount: Up to $800
Description: World Hearing Day is an annual global advocacy event for raising awareness regarding hearing loss and promoting ear and hearing care, and calling for action to address hearing loss and related issues. As part of activities promoting World Hearing Day, the World Hearing Forum (WHF), the World Health Organization, and the Coalition for Global Hearing Health (CGHH) invite proposals for WHF-CGHH Small Grants for World Hearing Day 2025. World Hearing Day 2025 will be observed on March 3, 2025, with the theme “Changing Mindsets: Empower Yourself to Make Ear and Hearing Care a Reality for All.” World Hearing Day 2025 will highlight the importance of changing mindsets about deafness and hearing loss within civil society and healthcare professionals. Organizations can apply for a grant of up to $800 to cover expenses related to World Hearing Day activities. A maximum of 50 grants will be provided. 

Application deadline: February 28, 2025, for early applications; April 30, 2025, for extended applications
Grant amount: Fellows receive a one-year, $100,000 equity-free grant to support their project. Up to twenty grantees receive $10,000 to work on their project.
Description: O’Shaughnessy Fellowships and Grants, an initiative of O’Shaughnessy Ventures (OSV), is a one-year program that unites the world’s most bold and undiscovered researchers, builders, and creatives to find, build, and spread new ideas. The Fellowships and Grants empower individuals of the highest caliber whose work positively impacts the world, from scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations to enduring artistic and cultural contributions. Fellows should demonstrate personal agency, exemplary proof-of-work, and resourcefulness.

Application deadline: The early entry deadline is January 29, 2025. The final entry deadline is February 26, 2025.
Geographic scope: Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe
Grant amount: Ten winners will receive $15,000 each. One grand prize winner will receive $60,000.
Description: The Power of Local Challenge, an initiative of Ashoka Changemakers, is a competition that supports small business ecosystem builders. These include organizations, programs, or initiatives that provide small businesses with diverse and equitable opportunities such as resources, tools, and networking. Priority is given to initiatives that are building the small business ecosystem by weaving collaborative networks for local small businesses, building access to structures of support and capacity building, and providing support to address financial barriers. Initiatives must primarily impact at least one of the following countries: Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, or Zimbabwe. Individuals from any of these countries are eligible to apply. A minimum of two winners will be selected in each geographical region: Latin America, East Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, and East Asia. 

Application deadline: January 31, 2025
Geographic scope: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
Grant amount: Grants range up to $15,000.
Description: The Doria Feminist Fund is a feminist fund founded, led by, and serving feminist activists from the Middle East and North Africa region. The Fund provides support through three programs: The Core Funding for Emerging Groups program provides fully-flexible core grants to jumpstart the work of (mainly) emerging or new feminist groups. The Project Funds program provides support to established feminist groups or collectives to develop a new program or start a new activity. Projects should work on gender and feminist issues. Registered and unregistered feminist groups based in the MENA region are eligible to apply to both of the aforementioned programs. The Knowledge Production Funds program provides support for feminist activists and scholars in the region to cover knowledge creation and dissemination costs. Feminist engaged scholars, individuals, or groups working on or producing knowledge about gender and feminist-related issues in Arab-majority countries are eligible to apply for this program. For all programs, women and LBTQIA+ folks are encouraged to apply.

Application deadline: February 10, 2025
Geographic scope: Romania, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Indonesia, Vietnam, Colombia, and Ecuador
Grant amount: The minimum funding for a project is CHF 200,000, with a total of CHF 3.19 million available for five to six projects.
Description: Fondation Botnar is inviting proposals for the second phase of its Fit4Future program, which seeks innovative projects that leverage digital technologies and AI to advance young people’s well-being, particularly those from marginalized communities. Support will be provided for projects targeting young people within the age range of 10 to 24 years in Romania, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Indonesia, Vietnam, Colombia, and Ecuador. The focus is on projects creating inclusive cities by engaging young people and/or advancing inclusive education by addressing barriers to learning, particularly for marginalized groups, youth with disabilities, and those out of school. Lead applicants must be nonprofit entities or social enterprises registered for at least two years.

Application deadline: February 28, 2025
Geographic scope: Global
Grant amount: $200,000 to $750,000
Description: The Request for Concept Notes for Global Protection Programs seeks global initiatives that advance humanitarian protection for refugees, asylum seekers, or stateless persons. Concept notes can include activities that advance protection through the following: strengthening capacity, advocacy, creating and sharing best practice and tools, coordination, and other activities that promote humanitarian protection. Proposed activities must have a relatively broad, global impact on humanitarian responses and show clear, positive outcomes at the field level. Groups of at least three organizations may apply as consortia. 

Application deadline: February 15, 2025
Geographic scope: Global
Grant amount: One award of $25,000 is made.
Description: The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize honors a person, organization, or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to the defense or promotion of press freedom anywhere in the world, especially when this has been achieved in the face of danger. Nominations may be submitted by UNESCO Member States as well as international or regional professional non-governmental organizations working in the field of journalism and freedom of expression. A cash prize is awarded to the winner.

Are you a nonprofit leader looking to harness the power of purpose to effect change? If so, you may be interested in reading How to Lead Nonprofits: Turning Purpose into Impact to Change the World, by Nick Grono. This book offers a nonprofit leadership framework centered on what matters most for success. Topics covered include achieving outsize impact by pursuing an organization's purpose, building an inclusive culture that motivates and empowers a team, and partnering with the community, funders, and peer organizations to scale impact.

If you review a funder profile in the GrantStation database (Members only) and determine the funder isn't a good fit for your organization, you can use the "Mark as N/A" button to let yourself know that the program has been reviewed and wasn't a match. In future searches, you'll see an N/A icon in your list of search results next to the funders you've marked.

Webinar date: January 23, 2025, 2:00 to 3:30 PM Eastern Time
Description: When you’re new to proposal writing, it can feel like an overwhelming task, but it’s important to remember that you don’t have to be perfect to begin your proposal writing journey! It is a skill that you will develop and refine over time. During this webinar, Alice Ruhnke will walk you through a systematic process to apply to all your grantseeking efforts in order to reduce the stress related to proposal writing. She’ll introduce a planning tool that can be used again and again by your organization, saving you time and energy in your grantseeking efforts. (This webinar is the first in the Power of Three: Fuel Your Mission With Successful Grant Proposals series.)

Webinar date: January 27, 2025, 2:00 to 2:45 PM Eastern Time
Description: If your organization is similar to other nonprofits, a lack of time, staff, and resources is one of the greatest challenges you face when grantseeking. Fortunately, you now have access to hundreds of AI tools which can save you time. In fact, these tools can potentially save you hours when writing your next grant proposal. During this TargetED, Alice Ruhnke and David Gates will provide you with a framework for how to use AI tools effectively in order to help you write proposals faster. (This webinar is part of the TargetED Series: AI for Nonprofits.)

Webinar date: February 3, 2025, 2:00 to 2:45 PM Eastern Time
Description: Writing effective proposals requires excellent editing skills. Editing can improve clarity and persuasiveness and help eliminate errors. Editing, however, can be a challenging part of the grantseeking process, especially for small organizations who don’t have multiple individuals available to review a proposal prior to submission. Fortunately, AI tools can help provide an additional “set of eyes,” ensuring you’re submitting the best proposal possible. During this TargetED, Alice Ruhnke and David Gates will show you how AI can help you effectively edit and review your proposals.

GrantStation shares database profiles of local, national, Canadian, and international grantmakers with upcoming deadlines each week. Check out the current Funding Spotlights for more grant opportunities!