The United Kingdom gives financial support to small-scale community-based project through the Small Grant Scheme (SGS), which is administered by the British High Commission. Your local British Embassy will accept bids to the fund and by their chosen deadlines. Projects shall address issues linked to your country business plan and policy priority. In fact, the main aim of this Fund is to deliver transformational policy change, and strengthening governance and institutions. The objectives of your proposed projects shall match main goals of your local Embassy. For instance, NGOs working in the Philippines, Palau, Micronesia, and the Republic of Marshall Islands are asked to submit proposals for projects aiming to develop capacity building related to key government institutions and as such they shall focus on policy sharing, policy formulation and the engagement of civil society on the best and most suitable democratic system and structures.
Additional funding opportunities are advertised through the Department for International Development (DFID), which is in charge of planning and implementing the UK’s development cooperation agenda. All the activities promoted by DFID are oriented towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The section ‘Development Funding for NGOs’ provides guidance on funds available for NGOs working in developing countries. Main initiatives comprise:
1) Common Ground Initiative (CGI) for diaspora-led UK organisations working in Africa
2) Disability Rights Fund (DRF) to assist the work of disabled people’s organisations in developing countries
3) Girl’s Education Challenge to help improving the lives of poorest girls through education
4) Global Poverty Action Fund (GPAF) to sponsor projects aiming at reducing poverty
5) UK Aid Match to match fund donations to charity appeals
For each initiative there are specific funding windows detailing how to apply for the funding, when, and to whom.
If your NGO works in the cultural sector, you might find it useful to contact the local British Council, which aims to implement creative ideas and to strengthen education initiatives. For instance, the British Council in Sarajevo (Bosnia Herzegovina) organised in collaboration with Microsoft and local authorities a series of trainings tailored to high school students to develop skills employable on the global market. Even if your local British Council does not have ad hoc funding for NGOs, you might contact them directly and propose collaborative projects in the fields of arts and education in order to start new collaborative ventures sponsored by the UK.
It is also important to notice that quite often British Embassies organise courses and trainings to improve managerial skills of local NGO workers. For example, the UK Embassy in Jordan (whose activities are also disseminated through a Facebook page) organised a 6-day school for activists, NGOs, and development agencies to discuss more recent political uprising in Arab countries and to envision ways in which reforms could be made in participatory ways and ensuring transparency. It is important to attend these events in order to increase your chances to meet other relevant actors of the civil society and to discuss with the foreign authorities ways in which they could help you fundraising for projects, which address issues of importance for their mission in your country.
A list of British embassies are listed here.
