Commonwealth Foundation 2024 Grants For Civil Society Organizations

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for a grant under this call, the following criteria must be met:

1. The applicant must be a not-for-profit civil society organisation (CSO) registered in an eligible Commonwealth Foundation member country. (See above for the list of eligible member countries).
2. Newly registered organisations (those that have been registered and operating for less than three years) are not eligible to apply.
3. The proposed project must be implemented in the country of registration. Projects can be implemented in one or more eligible Commonwealth Foundation member countries and can have a national, sub-national, regional, or international remit. In multi-country projects, strong local participation in project implementation is required (see further information on partnerships below).
4. The project must seek to facilitate change through constructive engagement between civil society and decision-makers, including civil society participation in policy development and decision-making, within one or more of the Foundation’s priority themes (see Question three, below).
5. The applicant organisation must have a minimum of three years’ demonstrable experience working on participatory governance and advocacy within the area/theme(s) of the proposed project.
6. The total grant amount requested must be a minimum of £15,000 or between £15,001 and £30,000 per year, and for a maximum of two years. (Note there are different requirements depending on the requested grant amount, see further information at question five below and the ‘How to apply’ section within the above Guidelines.
7. The requested grant amount should not exceed 70% of the applicant organisation’s total annual income, averaged over the past two years.
8. The annual income of the applicant organisation, averaged over the past two years, must be less than £2.5m.
9. The project proposal must address at least one of the notified priority themes as set out in Question Three, below.
10. The project proposal must demonstrate appropriate integration of gender considerations. For example, the applicant may use the findings of gender analysis to inform the design of the project proposal and/or ensure the allocation of adequate resources to effectively address gender equality in the project cycle.
11. Applicant organisations that are currently implementing or have recently completed a Commonwealth Foundation Grant but have not received their final payment, are not eligible to apply.
12. Proposals must relate to projects that are expected to begin after 1 August 2025 and before the end of September 2025.

Note that applications not meeting the above eligibility requirements will not be considered.

Offered Benefits

Projects could support civil society to engage meaningfully with government on:

• Advancing a legal and regulatory environment that protects and upholds freedom of expression for all. 
• Advancing a legal and regulatory environment that promotes the freedom, growth, and vibrancy of civil society. 
• Promoting access to information and transparency in governance, including through a free and independent press, robust freedom of information laws and their practical application. 
• Advancing civil society engagement in national, regional and/or international mechanisms and processes to promote freedom of expression (e.g., national human rights institutions; Universal Periodic Reviews). 
• Promoting art and creativity as means of advocating for and raising awareness of freedom of expression. 

Examples of previous projects we’ve funded under this theme can be  found here.

Projects could support civil society to engage meaningfully with government on:

• Universal health coverage.
• Realising the right to health: better availability, accessibility, quality, participation and accountability in health services and delivery.
• Programmes and policies that focus on social determinants of health as part of the inclusive right to health.
• Challenging systemic discrimination in health systems and promoting equitable access to health services for marginalised groups and those with special needs.
• Promoting the participation of marginalised groups and those with special needs in decision-making processes.
• Promoting health and well-being by combating communicable and non-communicable diseases.
• Equitable access to essential medicines.

Examples of previous projects we’ve funded under this theme can be  found here.

Please note: this is not an exhaustive list but rather a set of examples to demonstrate the range of possible areas of focus under this theme.

Projects could support civil society to engage meaningfully with government on:

• Ensuring representation, inclusion, and protecting the rights of those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. 
• Addressing the social, political, and economic root causes of climate injustice. 
• Strengthening the voices of those most affected by the climate crisis in multilateral and national spaces.  
• Ensuring that the voice, agency, and leadership of young women and men are at the centre of policy discussions and decision-making at all levels. 
• Advocating for corrective justice for environmental harm, including compensation mechanisms, access to justice and effective remedy, and legal empowerment. 
• Ensuring accountability and effective remedy for human rights harms caused by climate change.  
• Developing, reviewing, improving, and monitoring laws, policies and practices promoting climate justice.  
• Exposing and addressing the factors that contribute to the increased vulnerability of social groups to the consequences of climate change. 
• Exposing and addressing negative social and distributional outcomes of climate change mitigation policies and/or encourage support for the development of pro-poor mitigation approaches. 

Examples of previous projects we’ve funded under this theme can be  found here. 

Please note: this is not an exhaustive list but rather a set of examples to demonstrate the range of possible areas of focus under this theme.

Application Process

To apply, you will first need to log in to your  SurveyMonkey Apply account and complete and submit an online application form on the  website here.

The application and supporting documents cannot be emailed to the Foundation.

Required Documents:

All applicants must submit a completed online application form. All applications must include the following additional documentation:

1. A logic model (using the template provided).
2. A copy of the organisation’s registration certificate. This should be a clear scan of an official registration document provided by the relevant authorities in the country where the applicant organisation is registered. If the registration certificate does not clearly state that the organisation is not-for-profit, please add?other documentation which can be used as evidence of your organisation’s status as a not-for-profit (for example articles of association). When the original registration certificates are not in English, shortlisted applications can be expected to be asked to provide a certified translation.
3. If you are based in India, you should be compliant with the Foreign Contribution Registration Act (FCRA) or have preparations in place to obtain a valid FCRA Registration to legally receive charitable funding from outside sources.
4. For grants of £15,000 per year: The applicant organisation may choose to submit either the latest audited accounts or a copy of the organisation’s most recent annual accounts. Annual accounts must include a balance sheet, a profit and loss statement and notes about the account. They must be signed by the organisation’s Board or its principal executive officer. Audited accounts or annual accounts must not be older than December 2022.
5. For grants exceeding £15,000 per year: a copy of the organisation’s most recent audited accounts is required. Note that audited accounts must include both the accounts and the opinion of the external auditor who has certified them. They must be signed off by the auditor and the organisation’s Board or its principal executive officer. They should not be older than December 2022.

Additional information on accounts is provided below. Note that incomplete applications will not be considered.