The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) was created by the Australian government to help people around the world fighting against poverty and to promote stability and peace. Needless to say, AusAid mainly finances activities in developing countries with a special focus on the Asia-Pacific region (Africa, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean).
How AusAid works
Australia supports global development by assisting governmental and non-governmental actors in the development of projects willing to support economic growth and political stability. It invests in the training of local staff and to improve their managerial skills. It also sets a budget to support the drafting of policy documents and to favour exchanges of ideas and expertise between members of civil society and governmental agencies.
Funding for Australian NGOs
The prime goal of AusAid is to finance Australian NGOs that are working in developing countries. If you are an Australian NGO, you have to first sign up for the accreditation programme. Once your NGO is accredited with AusAid you could get funding by becoming one of its partner organisations. The amount of money given to each accredited NGO depends on the size of the organisation, the minimum amount of funding allocated for that year to each organisation, and the impact of the activities developed in the area of interest. Each NGO has full support from the Australian government that will also contribute to the strengthening of adopted strategies for the design of new projects and planned interventions in the area of interest.
Each accredited partner shall submit mid-term and final reports in order to enable AusAid to assess their future potential and achievements.
There are several documents worth reading and available for download from the AusAid website. For instance, you can read the list of the NGOs that received funds in order to familiarise with their goals and strategies. Also, you will find all the information required on how to submit a candidacy to become a partner. If you are not an Australian NGO, but your organisation works in one of the geographical areas of interest, you could consider reviewing the list of sponsored NGO in order to highlight those working in your area. Once you have listed the Australian NGO working where you are and in your field of action, you could directly contact them and ask for collaboration. In this way you could access their funding becoming a local partner or you could apply together to increase your communal budget.
Funding for developing country NGOs
Additionally, Australia has created 2 main schemes to funding NGOs in developing countries: the Direct Aid Program, (DAP) and Small Activities Scheme (SAS).
- Direct Aid Program funds projects that have direct benefits to disadvantaged layers of the population with a particular emphasis to gender equality issues and environmental projects. These funds are directly managed by the Australian Ambassador to the country or a High Commissioner. As such, these funds are distributed according to the specific strategies of the Embassy or the High Commission and they are usually given for projects lasting up to a year. There are several ways to obtain said funding. First, you could answer to a call for projects circulated by the local Australian Embassy or High Commission. Second, you could make contact with relevant Australian authorities in your country and propose a project to develop in collaboration with them and asking for their funding. Third, special funds could be allocated as contribution to disaster relief operations, sponsoring of programmes of great cultural significance, and to acquire sport equipments for disadvantages communities. DAD does not fund staff salaries, office rental and material, conferences, trainings, micro-finance or micro-credit activities that involve a return of money. Also, cultural and sport initiatives must demonstrate to have a developmental component otherwise they will not be considered for funding.
- The Small Activities Scheme provides small grants for the development of projects concerned with the reduction of poverty and the development of sustainable social, political, and economic strategies. The local AusAid representatives directly administer these funds and they will circulate calls for proposals when appropriate. Although, it is possible to contact directly your local AusAid office and ask whether these funds have been allocated or how to access these funds for your NGO. The projects funded under this scheme are short and small. Accordingly, you should consider proposing projects with a limited budget and output-oriented.
A complete list of Australian Ambassadors and High Commissioners abroad could be found here:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/homs/index.html
It is important to check with the local Australian authorities whether these funds have been allocated or how to apply for one of the existing schemes. In fact, despite the general Australian guidelines for funding, each representative is responsible for the administration of the funds for the country where they operate and as such, they could decide on the timing and the modalities of calling for project proposals.
