FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What is Rapid Response Grantmaking?
Rapid response grantmaking is the provision of immediate small grants within a short
period of time to support interventions that are strategic and urgent which may not be
part of planned program activities and are not covered by long term funding.
2. How does one apply for a rapid response grant? You can download our grant
application forms through our website (www.uaf-africa.org) or request for an
application form from our grantmaking team. All queries and applications are made to
[email protected].
3. When can we submit an application for funding? We provide grants throughout the
year and have no funding cycle. You can submit your application as soon as an
urgent situation requires it.
4. What are the criteria for funding? We are only able to support interventions that are
a) Time Urgent b) Unanticipated c) Sustainable d) Strategic and e) Supported.
5. What do the criteria mean?
a. Strategic – the action is related to a pre-determined plan to create structural
change that will advance women’s human rights and address some the
fundamental or root challenges that pre-empted the situation.
b. Unanticipated- the situation or opportunity could not have been foreseen and
therefore could not have been planned for.
c. Time Urgent- the initiative must take place quickly (during a period of less than
three months) for it to be effective or the opportunity will be lost.
d. Sustainable -- the group is able to carry out the proposed action effectively and
can secure funding for its future sustainability.
e. Supported –the group has the support of others involved in women’s human
rights or related fields, locally or globally who must also be familiar with the
situation.
6. How are applications reviewed? The grantmaking team goes through each individual
request and carries out due diligence including consulting our advisors and the
endorsers you provide. We look at each application on a case by case basis. It is
possible that despite meeting all the criteria, you may be asked further clarifying
questions on your intervention and budget.
7. Why was our application unsuccessful? A number of factors can lead to your
application being unsuccessful, one of them could be that the application did not meet
the criteria. Other factors may include but are not limited to; discrepancies and
misrepresentation in the application and if your intervention was on activities that we
do not support or activities that could be planned or programmed for within an
organization’s normal work.
8. What does UAF-Africa not fund?
a. Humanitarian interventions (e.g. food, clothing, medical supplies, shelter)
b. Individual participation at conferences
c. Travel grants
d. Education scholarships, trainings and capacity building workshops
e. Income generating activities
f. Capital expenditures (vehicles, computers, office furniture) or for ongoing office
running costs i.e. overheads, salaries, rent, telephone bills
g. Initiatives that are not women led or women centric
h. Partisan initiatives or political campaigns
i. Furthering of religious agenda
j. Provision of social or health care services such as medical care.
k. Program activities or activities that can be programmed for.
l. Furthering of a religious or political agenda
9. How much can we apply for? Our funding limits are as follows;
a. Rapid Response Grants- 15,000USD
b. Defending the Defenders Grants- 5,000USD
c. Advocacy and Alliance Building Grants- 30,000USD
10. We applied and did not get the full amount we requested for, why is this? We review
the budget and do our own due diligence concerning the amounts indicated. We are
only able to support budgetary items that fall within our mandate. Please refer above
for expenses that we are not able to support.
11. Can I apply as an individual? We are only able to provide grants through
organizations. If applying on behalf of an individual, one would still need to apply
through an organization who would act as fiscal sponsor. We do not transfer funds to
individual bank accounts.
12. Can collectives apply for funding? Yes, we do support organizations to come together
to apply for funding as this leverages on collective capacities and resources. We will
require a Memorandum of Understanding to indicate which roles each of the
collective members will play.
13. Do we need to be a legally registered organisation or collective in order to apply?
No, you do not need to be a legally registered organisation or collective in order to
apply. We accept and encourage applications from non-registered collectives or
groups. We fund both informal and formal organisations. For non-registered groups,
it is important to have a registered group that can be a fiscal sponsor (taking care of
your finances and reporting obligations).
14. Our collective/organisation has members who are men – can we still apply for a
grant?
You are only eligible to apply if a majority of the members of your group (at least 70%)
identify as women and the organisation/collective must be women-led with women
holding decision making positions.
15. What are your focus countries? We fund women’s right organizations across the
African continent.
16. In what language can we submit our application? We review applications in the 5
African Union Official Languages; English, Swahili, French, Portuguese and Arabic.
17. Our organisation is NOT based in Africa but implements projects in an African
country, can we apply for funding? No, part of UAF-Africa’s commitment is to
encourage
locally-led initiatives.
18. We sent our application to one of the other Urgent Action Fund Sisters, can they
still support? There are four Urgent Action Fund sisters who operate autonomously
covering the entire globe. Urgent Action Fund- Africa covers the African continent. If
yours is an African based organization seeking to intervene within an African country,
then you should submit to Urgent Action Fund- Africa.
19. How fast will our application be reviewed? All applications are acknowledged within
24 hours and the review process conducted within 72 hours. How fast we review your
application ultimately depends on the information you provide us and how fast we
can verify this. We usually request that you prompt your endorsers so that they too
can provide us with information as soon as possible.
20. We have applied to UAF – Africa before, can we apply for another grant? Yes, you
can apply for another grant if the circumstances require urgent intervention and you
have met all your reporting obligations. However, there are limitations that would affect
your ability to receive funding more than once within the year such as if the request
relates to an existing situation for which you have already received funding for.
21. Can an organisation submit two or more applications at a time? No, we do not
review two or more applications from one organisation at the same time.
