The Bulgarian Fund for Women will finance 5 out of 34 organizations which participated in the two phases of the pilot Core Funding Call. The aim of this first of its kind grant program is to support organizational and administrative needs of organizations working to protect women’s rights and gender equality in Bulgaria.
A total amount of BGN 172,578 will be distributed among them within a year to strengthen their capacity and teams and to develop their capacity to support vulnerable groups of women and girls.
The organizations that are approved for funding are:
- “Ekaterina Karavelova” Foundation (64 points) – they created the movement “SHE in Bulgaria” that operates as a volunteer network of local teams in 11 cities (Plovdiv, Varna, Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo, Sandanski, Pleven, Stara Zagora, Lovech, Vidin, Vratsa and Montana). Every month the local teams organize the event “SHE in…” (the name of the respective city), which gives the opportunity to girls and women with different stories and in different professional fields to share their experiences, challenges but also their success stories. The foundation will receive funding in the amount of BGN 38,418.
- “Action” LGBT Youth Organization (63 points) are dedicated to contributing to change in the lives of LGBTI people in Bulgaria through legislative change and regulation of the rights of same-sex partners and their families, criminalization of hate crimes and legally regulated procedure for gender reassignment. Their vision is to achieve full legal recognition and social inclusion of LGBTI people in Bulgarian society, in which they feel safe and recognized. They develop activities in Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna and Veliko Tarnovo. They will receive funding in the amount of BGN 39,480.
- “Emprove” Foundation (54 points) stands up for women who have been in abusive relationships, helping them to create new, independent life. Their purpose is prevention by awareness and sensibilization of women and girls who are in potentially dangerous relationship and providing them with free support during the process of becoming independent. The organization works to influence public attitudes and provide support for women and girls in such situation, targeting key figures for the empowerment and economic independence, such as employers, relatives, etc. “Emprove” will be funded with BGN 39,880.
- “Learn” Foundation (51 points), more recognizable with their YouTube Channel and the brand LoveGuide – an effective health and sexual education program for teens and young adults. They work with students, parents and teachers from all over the country. Their scope of work cover everything important for young people – changes in the puberty, sexual orientation, sex and safe sex, prevention of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, prevention of sexual violence and exploitation, gender equality, tolerant and responsible attitude towards themselves and towards those with whom they communicate, rights and obligations in sexual relations. “Learn” will receive funding in the amount of BGN 40,000.
- “Hayachi” Association (50 points) develops and improves activities in risky communities in the town of Novi Pazar and in the districts of the villages around the cities of Shumen and Varna. They work for the integration of Roma girls and women. The association is based on the idea of the right to a dignified life for girls, women and families with children at risk. They will receive funding in the amount of BGN 14,801.
The team and the Board of Trustees of the Bulgarian Fund for Women approved the finalists after a two-phase selection procedure. The applications were evaluated according to number of criteria, including: connection of the goals and main activities of the organizations with the priorities of the Core Funding Procedure; thematic areas of work and intersectionality; target groups of the organizations and their participation in the decision-making processes; clear plan for development of the organization and potential for achieving social change.
Online meetings were held with representatives of the organizations to discuss the goals, success indicators, provisionary budget, vision and ability to mobilize additional support.
The BFW thank everyone who participated with their concepts in the initiative! We wish success to the organizations that were not approved for funding, and we will expect their applications in one of our next contests. For more information, please make sure that you follow our page regularly.
Illustration: Your Story
