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Grants applications for projects in Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe

The Commonwealth Foundation is launching its general grants call on 1 December 2016 for applications for projects in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Please note that a link to the online application form will be provided on this page when the grants call opens on 1 December 2016. You will not be able to start an application before this date. The deadline for submission of the preliminary application form is 17.00 GMT on 4 January 2017. 

Supporting documents, including guidelines for applicants, can be downloaded below. 

Applicants wishing to implement projects in Kiribati, Paupa New Guinea or Tonga will benefit from an extended deadline. Please view more information on our Pacific grants call here.

11th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministerial Meeting

The 11th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministerial Meeting (11WAMM) was held in Apia, hosted by the Government of Samoa on the theme of ‘Gender equality through sustainable development in an inclusive Commonwealth’ on 7-8 September 2016. 

WAMM takes place every three years and provides ministers, senior officials, civil society, private sector and partner agencies with an important opportunity to discuss critical issues in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. It also contributes to the setting of Commonwealth priorities and the global agenda for sustainable and inclusive development.  11WAMM’s objectives included:

  • Informing on proposed Commonwealth priorities on gender equality and women’s rights in the period of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 
  • Discussing emerging issues and increasingly critical development issues on gender equality, women’s empowerment and development to promote inclusive development and democracy.
  • Repositioning the Commonwealth and its commitments to gender equality and women’s rights.

These were covered in themes such as Gender and Climate Change, Women’s Leadership, Violence Against Women and Girls and Intergenerational Partnerships for Sustainable Development. 

For the Commonwealth Foundation, the role of civil society in the new SDG agenda is critical in addressing gender equality in the Commonwealth.  The Commonwealth has a record of innovation and support to initiatives that include: gender resource budgeting; violence against women and girls; women’s leadership; and child, early and forced marriage. Civil society has been central to the progress made to date. SDG 16 in particular calls for ways and means of encouraging broad participation in the development agenda. This calls for an inclusive approach – one that places civil society at the heart of finding answers to questions on how best to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment while partnering with Government and other stakeholders.  

The Foundation sent a strong delegation to 11WAMM led by our Chairperson Sir Anand Satyanand. The delegation also included civil society representation from East Africa and the Pacific region. They provided civil society inputs throughout the Conference on and made specific contributions on: The Status of Women’s Leadership in the Public Sector; and on Violence Against Women and Girls with a focus on the Prevention and Elimination of Child Early and Forced Marriage in the Commonwealth.

 Sir Anand spoke at the session on Intergenerational and Cross-Collaborative Partnerships. His remarks can be downloaded here

Grants Workshop Files

Click here to access a zipped folder of documents for the Commonwealth Foundation Grants Workshop. 

You will be directed to a page (see image above) where you can download a folder containing all the files by clicking the download button: 

Documents Included 

1) Case Studies

a) Case study HIDA – logframe (complete)

b) Case study HIDA – logframe (incomplete)

c) Case study HIDA – logic model

d) Case study HIDA – ME Plan

e) Case study HIDA – Narrative Report and Performance Framework

f) Case study HIDA – Narrative theory of change

2) Communications

a) CF Visiblity Guidelines for Grant Recipitents

b) Commonwealth Foundation Twitter Guide

c) Communications Contact – Form

d) Afrikids – CP Children Case Studies

e) Social Media Tips

f) Social Media – What we are looking for

3) Guidance

a) Annex E1 – Interim reporting guidelines

b) Annex E2 – End of project reporting guidelines

c) CF guidance to developing a logframe and monitoring plan 15.08.16

d) Project management and reporting presentation – updated Sept 2016

e) Tips for logic models and results frameworks

f) Tips on Reporting

4) Grantee Presentations

5) Templates

a) Annex D1 – CF Logframe template

b) Annex D2 – CF Performance Framework

c) Annex E3 – Financial Report Templates

d) Indicator Plan Template

e) ME Plan Template

f) Travel & misc claim form for CF sponsored participants

g) Workshop Assessment Form

Young people in the Caribbean take first steps to participate in governance

Secondary school students from the Chaguanas Borough of Trinidad and Tobago have received certificates to mark their participation in the pilot of a project funded by the Commonwealth Foundation, Fostering a democratic culture in schools and local communities in the Caribbean. 

Addressing young graduates of the programme, project facilitator Josh Drayton said he hoped this project will inform better decision-making in local and national governance. 

“My concern is that leaders within our society make decisions on our behalf, and we have to live with them. The challenge in that is, what about you? How are you as young people involved in this conversation? And that is the big concern here… Political decisions and local government affect you.”   

The Commonwealth Foundation and CALGA are investing in Caribbean youths in an effort to improve public awareness about the Local Government system, starting in secondary schools. This initiative also aims at immersing youth in local culture and promoting respect for cultural diversity in plural Caribbean societies.

International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma has called for an end to persecution and violence against the LGBTI community in a new statement made to mark the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. 

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) Commonwealth citizens remain victims of stigma and discrimination in many of our communities. Appalling persecution and violence are suffered merely because of innate sexual orientation and gender identity. Such abuse is unacceptable: it robs millions of our fellow citizens of the right to live lives of dignity, undermining their mental and physical health, and sense of well-being. It leads to social estrangement, ostracism and isolation, and economic marginalisation. It flies in the face of our core values of equality and non-discrimination.”