Call for proposals: Funding available to local actors in Kisii & Nyamira regions

ISF will accept applications from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) – including Community-Based Organizations, Faith-Based Organizations, and Grassroots movements, with specialized knowledge, expertise, and a track record of working on defending and advocating for women’s rights and the elimination of violence against women and girls thus ensuring freedom from all forms of gender-based violence against women, girls, men and boys, in Kisii and Nyamira counties.

 More definitions are outlined as below: 

• Civil Society Organisations (CSOs): non-governmental, non-profit, and voluntary organizations that operate independently from the government and commercial sectors; established to address various social, cultural, environmental, and humanitarian issues.
• Grassroots Movements: small, locally based groups that focus on addressing specific issues or concerns within a community and emphasize the importance of community engagement, participatory decision-making, and direct action; often initiated and led by individuals or community members who are directly affected by the issues they aim to address.
• Community-based organisations (CBOs): entities that operate within specific geographical communities and are primarily focused on addressing the unique needs and concerns of those communities.

YES – But can only undertake the proposed actions in Kisii and Nyamira counties.

The typical requirement is for the implementing organization to be based within the regions where the project will be carried out, namely Kisii and Nyamira for ease of implementation of proposed actions. However, innovative proposals originating from outside these counties but aligned with the call objectives are encouraged to apply.

No.

YES. Organizations may work with relevant co-and implementing partners to complement their expertise, and outreach capacity and build the capacities of grassroots organizations.  

ISF considers working with registered organizations, however, informal or unregistered groups furthering actions in GBV within Kisii and Nyamira are encouraged to apply.

No.

The call for proposal supports both existing GBV initiatives and new innovative approaches/ ideas on combating GBV. The scalability of the proposed ideas is key.

• The full eligibility checklist with mandatory requirements can be found on this page above and on the Call document.
• Applicants should also have expertise and experience in implementing projects in GBV over the past 12 months. In exceptional circumstances (e.g., for new organizations that have been in existence for less time) a lesser period may be accepted if the proposal meets innovative criteria.

YES 

• An organization that will receive a grant can apply as long as the previous project funded by ISF is operationally and financially completed as per obligations in the grant agreement. 
• If the new proposal builds on the past work funded by ISF, the organization is encouraged to showcase how the proposed project intends to scale, respond to lessons learnt and impact. 

Applications must be submitted by email to isfkenya@solidaarisuus.fi. The subject line must include the words “ISF Call for Local Actors – CLA 001”.

Applications may be submitted in English and Kiswahili. 

ISF will follow internal selection criteria for this process.

All categories are considered equally.

No. Collaborations are not allowed for this call.

The selection and evaluation of applications will be conducted based on the eligibility criteria set in the call guidelines. ISF aims to do it transparently and independently by a designated committee to ensure fairness and impartiality.

Due to the high volume of applications, ISF may not be able to provide feedback to all unsuccessful applicants. 

ISF informs applicants of their status via email. The email is sent to the email addresses provided by applicants in the online application. Please make sure you provide an email address that will remain valid and operational for at least a year when entering your contact information. 

Applicants will be notified of the successful applications through acknowledgement emails. The call for proposals specifies the communication process and timeline.

YES 

• All eligible organizations can apply for a grant amount between KES 300,000 and KES 3,000,000.
• Organizations should consider their own operational and absorptive capacity when submitting a funding request.   

NO. While all applicants – whenever possible – are encouraged to make financial and/or in-kind contributions, it is not a requirement to do so. 

All costs incurred during the implementation period relating to any of the outlined action categories and indicative activities as per the Call document guidelines are eligible.

Under the FSTP project, ISF will NOT fund (but not limited to) the following: 

• Debts and debt service charges (interest);
• Provisions for losses or potential future liabilities.
• Actions that consist exclusively or primarily of capital expenditure and infrastructure expenditure, e.g., land, buildings, and vehicles.
• Equipment not directly utilized for the action,
• In-kind contributions (except for volunteer work).
• Salary costs of the personnel.
• Bonuses included in the costs of staff.
• Negative interest charged by banks or other financial institutions.  
• Actions concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences and congresses.
• Actions concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses.
• Actions supporting political parties or related foundations.
• Actions concerning one-off conferences. Conferences may be funded only if they form part of a wider range of activities to be implemented in the project timeframe.

In-kind contributions generally refer to non-cash resources contributed to the project. Volunteer work is an exception as it represents a specific form of in-kind contribution noted as allowable.

The restriction on including salary costs of personnel as eligible costs is due to resource constraints and specific funding agency guidelines. Organizations may need to seek other sources of funding for personnel costs.

NO 

• The existing budget lines should be used to detail all costs relevant to the satisfactory completion of the project. 
• Applicants should not add any budget categories but are encouraged to add as many activities as possible to their budgets to fit the proposed actions they wish to undertake.

Budget templates are typically provided as a framework to guide applicants. These can be filled to adapt to your needs as long as the format does not change.

Actions identified by the grantees are to be performed within the proposed action period. However, due to circumstances communicated and agreed upon between ISF and grantees, action implementation can be reviewed, not more than 1 month after the project period.

The allowance for indirect administrative costs is allowed up to 7% of the total direct costs.

YES. The budget submitted with the application represents the total funds available and allocated for the detailed action proposal. However, budget lines may be modified as long as the budget is in line with the approved action strategies.  

NO. It is not possible to make changes to the submitted application. Kindly ensure that the application is complete and to the applicant’s expectations before submission.

• Please scan all your documents and upload them as PDFs. 
• No mailed documents will be accepted. 

• Your files cannot exceed 50 MB in size. 
• If your file is larger than 50 MB, please split it into two parts and upload them separately. 

Details on the online session will be provided on the website and shared via our LinkedIn site/social media pages. The recording will also be shared upon request.