The Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID) is accepting proposals from NGOs in developing countries under its Human Rights Small Grants Scheme – 2009/10. The purpose of the Grants Scheme is to promote and protect human rights in different countries around the world. From this year onwards, AUSAID is extending funding support to NGOs in Africa and Latin America in addition to the Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean and the Middle East. NGOs applying for this grant opportunity should have prior experience in the field. The proposed projects under the Scheme should work towards educating and building awareness on human rights, promoting democratic principles, building the capacities of human rights workers, promoting UN conventions and other international human rights standards and strengthening national-level or regional-level human rights institutions or policies. The projects should address gender issues and must directly benefit marginalized groups. According to AUSAID, the marginalized groups in this context include “people with disability, women, children and youth, people living with HIV/AIDS, prisoners, homeless people, refugees and internally displaced people, Indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and others.” Finally, the projects should enhance the capacities of implementing organizations and ensure participation and ownership of the targeted communities for self-reliance and sustainability.
The budget for each project can be between AUD $20,000 and AUD $100,000 for a duration of one year. However, project with a budget of AUD $150,000 can also be proposed for a duration of two years. Although costs covering travel, equipment, freight and buildings can be proposed, they should not exceed more than 20 percent of the total budget.
Application forms can be downloaded from the AUSAID website. After completing them, they need to be submitted by email. There are different submission email IDs for different regions. Completed applications have to be named properly (Instructions given in the Grant Scheme Guidelines). Along with the application form, the applicant has to submit copies of the articles of association, certified financial statement, annual report/ other documentation and the annual work plan of the organization.
The last date to submit the application forms is 2 October 2009. NGOs selected for the funding will be informed by December 2009 and proposed projects will be expected to begin by December 2009 or January 2010. Application form, guidelines and other information on this grant opportunity are available on this link.
