The Renewed WVL-SA Fund provides two Grant opportunities to strengthen women’s rights organisations (WROs) in South Africa. These are Multi-year Grants and Opportunity grants (previously named Rapid Response Grants.)


General Eligibility Criteria

Eligible WROs will be:

  • Based on feminist principles and must explicitly include gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in their mandate and programming.
  • Demonstrate a track record of collaborating with other WROs to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
  • Have an Executive Director/Head and 80% of the people in all decision-making levels (management and governing board, if one exists) who are women. At least 60% of the staff must be women.
  • Opportunity grants may include feminist, women-led groups that are not registered, do not have three years of experience and/or are less experienced in terms of financial management and technical capacity. For these smaller grants WROs may not necessarily be required to show due financial diligence or a donor track record up front.

Non-Eligible Applicants:

The following is a list of entities that are ineligible for WVL Grants;

  • Individuals representing personal interest that does not benefit the greater community.
  • Political parties.
  • Government institutions.
  • Faith-based organisations whose objectives are discriminatory and/or serve religious purposes, and/or whose main objective of the grant is of a religious nature.

Eligible Activities:

Include, but are not limited to WROs working to promote women’s and girl empowerment in following areas LBTQI+, disability, constitutional and Legal Rights, Governance, Education, Economic Justice, GBV, SRHR, Health, HIV and AIDS, Media and Climate Change.


Non-Eligible Activities:

  • Creation of endowments.
  • Any previous obligations by Gender Links to the beneficiary.
  • Bad debts; fines; penalties imposed on the partner.
  • Any expenses related to ceremonies, parties, and celebrations.
  • Purchase of any goods restricted and prohibited under Gender Links regulations such as alcoholic beverages.
  • Purchase of surveillance equipment, military equipment or arms whether new or surplus, police or law enforcement equipment, abortion equipment and services, weather modification equipment, luxury goods and gambling equipment.
  • Purchase of goods from prohibited sources.
  • Expenses related to activities which are illegal under South African law.
  • Promotion of political parties, religion, or commercial interests.
  • Payments to government employees.

 

Multi-year core grants

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Opportunity grants

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