What is an Empowerment Grant?

The Empowerment Grant is a grant that aims to support groups and organisations formed and led by any of the five Voice Rightsholder Groups.

This grant seeks to enhance the capacities of the groups to further mainstream their advocacy. This can be in the form of organisational development, capacity building, leadership and mentoring, among others.

This is a small-scale grant with at least a one-year timeframe, accessible for informal groups through partnering with registered/accredited organisations.

Who can apply?

• Informal/Unregistered organisations through partnering with registered/accredited organisations
• Small or large organisations with legal registration/local permit or accreditation and a bank account under the applicant’s name.

All applicants should be led and represented by at least one of the Voice rightsholder groups:

• Persons with disabilities. Priority will be given to the Hard of Hearing, Deaf and Blind groups, people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, and women or youth with disabilities.
• Vulnerable youth and the elderly
• LGBTQI+ community. Priority will be given to Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and/or Intersex organisations.
• Indigenous peoples. Priority will be given to indigenous communities outside CAR and BARMM or indigenous peoples with intersecting identities that fall within the rightsholder categories.
• Women facing exploitation, abuse and/or violence

 If an applicant is not a registered organisation, they can partner with a registered organisation through a hosting arrangement.

How much can you apply for?

Empowerment grants are available from €5,000 to €25,000 or approximately ₱265,000 to ₱1,300,000, with a maximum timeframe of 24 months.

What kind of projects can you propose?

Voice accepts proposals that work towards:

• Increasing access to productive resources (finance, land and water) and employment;
• Increasing access to social services, health and education in particular; and
• Strengthening space for political participation

It must be ensured that the rightsholder groups implement or are directly involved in project development and implementation.

What kind of activities will be funded?

Applicants are encouraged to propose initiatives that will address the key issues identified in the Voice Philippines context analysis. For  Empowerment Grants, applicants are particularly recommended to integrate any of the following in their proposals:

• Organising sectors/groups, especially for women facing exploitation, abuse and/or violence, LBTQI+ groups, persons with disabilities and age-discriminated vulnerable groups;
• Capacity strengthening of small organisations and their members;
• Awareness-raising and education of families and communities; and
• Promotion of a positive image and a different narrative.

Voice also sees the importance of reflecting intersectionality in proposed projects. For example, a proposal that cuts across:

• The issue of statelessness and the particular struggles of stateless women, youth, and/or indigenous peoples.
• The gap between ageing indigenous peoples or LGBTQI+ and access to basic social services.

What kind of activities will not be funded?

Voice is a non-institutional development fund and does not support any of the following:

• Infrastructure building;
• Purchase of heavy-duty equipment (transportation vehicles, agricultural machines, security equipment);
• Humanitarian COVID-19 response;
• Disaster relief; and
• Campaigning that is partisan.

This Call for Proposals is closed and no longer accepting applications. Come back here at a later stage to learn about the grantee that has been selected in this Call for Proposals.

The current open Calls for Proposals can be found here.