Gender Justice Fund – Intermediary

Country focus - Sierra Leone

This funding call is now closed.

ELIGIBILITY

Comic Relief will provide funding to women’s rights and feminist organisations registered in Sierra Leone and led by the communities they aim to support.

This funding is available for intermediary organisations who are registered in Sierra Leone with an annual income of £75,000 to £10,000,000 and who redistribute funds to small local actors and groups within women’s rights and feminist movements.

Intermediary organisations will need to be able to demonstrate previous experience of redistributing funds to small actors and groups and have experience of, or a willingness to develop, participatory grant making practices.

Further criteria for INTERMEDIARY funding are explained in the online eligibility questionnaire.(opens in new window)

APPLICATION PROCESS

Organisations should start with the relevant online eligibility questionnaire to see if they are eligible to apply. If your organisation is eligible, you should read the guidance before completing the application form. Links are available at the end of this page.

Submitted applications will be shortlisted based on the details below. If your proposal is shortlisted, we will be in touch to invite you to a ‘getting to know applicants - proposal assessment’.

The shortlisting and assessment process will be supported by sector experts who are based in Sierra Leone and have experience of the country’s women’s rights and feminist movements.

The Details

Introduction

Comic Relief recognises that feminist movements and women’s rights organisations are a vital factor in creating sustainable change for women, girls and communities experiencing social injustice and poverty. We also know that less than one percent(opens in new window) of all gender-focused funding is going directly to these actors.

The aim of the Gender Justice Fund is therefore to resource the women’s rights and feminist movements in Sierra Leone. The programme intends to shift decision-making power to communities facing discrimination and injustice based on their gender by funding organisations and actors that are led by these groups.

Funding priorities

To reach smaller organisations and groups within the women’s rights and/or feminist movements, Comic Relief is looking to work with intermediary organisations that redistribute funds to these actors. The intermediary partners in the programme will need to offer core, multi-year, flexible funding to small organisations and groups. We believe that this will support actors to adapt to changing contexts whilst nurturing and strengthening their groups and networks both now and for the future.

The programme does not have a specific focus within the overarching theme of gender justice. Comic Relief is looking to fund organisations that strive for fairness and equity for communities facing discrimination and injustice based on their gender. This means that we would like to support communities to self-identify what is a priority for them within this overarching theme.

When making funding decisions, the programme will consider intermediaries that specifically support and work with communities that have intersecting identities that are disproportionately experiencing prejudice, marginalisation, discrimination and/ or exclusion in Sierra Leone.

This funding call will also prioritise intermediaries that involve people with lived experience in developing the organisation’s work and priority areas, and/or in the running of the organisation. It could also include plans for reinforcing existing good practice for involving people with lived experience.

Who can apply?

Women’s rights and feminist organisations registered in Sierra Leone which meet the relevant eligibility criteria for intermediary funding.
Comic Relief predominantly funds charities. For this programme we will fund women’s rights and feminist organisations registered in Sierra Leone and working as an intermediary organisation that redistribute funds to small actors and groups within the movement and are led by communities facing discrimination and injustice based on their gender.
Proposals can be made by single applicants, or by partnerships of two or three organisations that will receive funding (but only one organisation can act as grant holder).
You are welcome to include collaboration with government organisations, but Comic Relief will not fund government organisations.
To give as many organisations as fair a chance as possible, organisations can only submit one proposal (though they can be named as partners on any number of applications). Please be aware we will never read more than one proposal per organisation.

Next steps

We know that demand is high and resources are scarce, and we expect to receive a high number of applications for this fund.

We welcome your application if the funding criteria and priorities are well suited to the work of your organisation.

Q&A Sessions

We will be hosting four Zoom Q&A sessions to answer any questions you have about the fund. We strongly recommend you read the programme guidance(opens in new window) and FAQ document(opens in new window) in advance of booking. If you still have any unanswered questions, please book using the links below, outlining your question(s) when you register.

Session 1: Wednesday 3 April, 11:00 - 12:00 BST. Register here.(opens in new window)
Session 2: Thursday 11 April, 14:00 – 15:00 BST. Register here.(opens in new window)
Session 3: Wednesday 17 April, 10:00 – 11:00 BST. Register here.(opens in new window)
Session 4: Tuesday 23 April, 14:00 – 15:00 BST. Register here.(opens in new window)

The application deadline is 12 noon BST on Tuesday 30th April 2024.

If your application is shortlisted, your organisation will be invited to a ‘getting to know applicants - proposal assessment’, and you will be asked to submit additional information and supporting documentation including:

Memorandum and articles of association or constitution
Audited or independently verified accounts
Management accounts
Safeguarding policy*
Equality and diversity policy*

* If you do not have these policies in place, please don’t worry – this does not exclude you from funding.

Assessments will be arranged in advance with your organisation and will cover your proposal and your organisation’s governance, financial health, management, and safeguarding.

All the information for this funding opportunity is made available through this webpage and the below links. If, however you have a question that has not been answered here, please join us for the webinar Q&A sessions. Alternatively you can email us at fundinginfo@comicrelief.com(opens in new window), (NOTE: please allow at least three working days for us to respond).