The Disability Rights Fund Grants 2014

Deadline: 21 August 2014

The Disability Rights Fund (DRF) is accepting applications for its second grant-making round – small grants, mid-level coalition grants or national coalition grants. The civil society organizations of the disabled persons’ in Rwanda, Cook Islands, Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and invited applicants from Bangladesh, Peru and Uganda are encouraged to submit grant applications.

Small Grants -  to helporganizations to build a broader movement to advance the CRPD at state and local levels.  Organizations can use funds from DRF to strengthen the capacity of persons with disabilities to participate more actively in decision-making processes in CRPD implementation and monitoring or to advocate for the advancement of rights defined in specific articles of the CRPD One-year grants ranging between USD 5,000-20,000.

Priority Areas

1. Increasing DPO Participation in Decision-Making Processes Regarding the CRPD at State or Local Levels
2. Addressing Implementation of CRPD Articles
3. Ratification Campaigns (Pacific Island Countries only)

Mid-Level Coalition Grants – civil society coalitions at sub-national levels, to ensure that national legislation and policy addressing the rights of PWDs is implemented at more local levels. Grant amounts range from USD30,000-40,000 per year. Grant support is provided for two years.

National Coalition Grants – to support advancement of the CRPD at national levels through lobbying for legislative changes (including but not limited to CRPD ratification), monitoring and reporting on implementation of the CRPD or other international human rights mechanisms, or following up on the recommendations made by UN human rights mechanisms to States in regard to implementation of the rights of PWDs. Grants amount range between USD30,000-50,000 per year. The grant support is provided for two years.

Eligibility criteria

• For Small-grants, applicants must be legally registered non-governmental DPOs (or groups of persons with disabilities (PWDs) acting under the fiscal sponsorship thereof). Applications can be single organizations or partnership among DPOs or partnerships between DPOs and other civil society organizations (when a DPO is the managing partner).
• For Mid-level Coalitions, applications must come from mid-level coalitions of three or more organizations led by a DPO. Applications can be made for projects to influence legislation (lobbying). The lobbying portion of grant activities will be funded by the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund & non-lobbying portion by the Disability Rights Fund.
• For National Coalitions, applications must be made by National Coalitions of three or more organizations where the Coalition is conceived and led by a DPO.
• All applications should clearly indicate which article(s) of the CRPD will be advanced with proposed project activities
• Applicants that actively work with or interact with children (under age of 18 years) – including national umbrella organizations, applicants seeking funding for inclusive education projects, and applicants working with parents of children with disabilities – should demonstrate that they currently have or are in the process of developing a Child Protection Policy, which will document organizational commitment to protecting children from abuse of all kinds
• Applicants should describe any measures they have taken or plan to take to address the effect of climate change on persons with disabilities though addressing climate change is not a requirement to receive DRF funding.
• Applicants are strongly encouraged to develop security policies and procedures that document organizational commitment to protecting board and personnel, office facilities, and project data.

For more information, please visit DRF Grantmaking.