In fulfilment of its mission to support and develop the women’s movement in Bulgaria and to promote sustainable social change, leading to the achievement of de facto gender equality, the Bulgarian Fund for Women announces an open call for Core Funding for organisations working for women’s rights in order to improve their financial sustainability, capacity, planning skills and measuring the impact of their activities.
We, from the Bulgarian Fund for Women, know that social change takes time, resources and dedication. The organisations we support need a sustainable administrative and organisational structure in the form of а team and salaries, office and equipment to fulfil their mission. That is why we prioritize long-term and flexible funding and support the building of a movement of strong women’s groups and organisations to make change possible.
GENERAL INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES FOR APPLICATION
The total value of this open call is BGN 200,000, and the amount of funding can vary between BGN 12,000 and 40,000. The funding period is 12 months, and we’d offer the opportunity for further support if the set targets and impact indicators are achieved in the first year.
Organisations that meet the following criteria are invited to participate in the competition:
- the organisation is registered under the Law on Non-Profit Legal Entities for public benefit;
- the organisation works from a feminist perspective and/or from a women’s rights perspective;
- the organisation is run by women, girls and/or LBTI people and the groups whose needs and rights you work for are part of its team;
- promoting the human rights of women, girls, LBTI people is the organisation’s main mission, not the focus of some of its programs;
- the organisation actively works for structural and social change;
- the organisation focuses on issues that are insufficiently addressed, underestimated and/or disputed.
Entries from the following organisations will be considered a priority:
- organisations with an annual budget below BGN 50,000;
- organisations based outside the capital, working in small cities or working at national level;
- organisations working in the intersection between women’s rights, girls’ rights, LBTI people and social justice, ethnicity, vulnerable groups, environmental justice;
- organisations working to create and mobilize communities in support of women’s and girls’ rights in Bulgaria.
How will the application process go?
The first stage is filling in a Concept Form, which contains general information about the organisation and the team, the mission, the strategic development plans, basic financial information about the applicant and the total amount of the requested funding.
Upon approval of your concept, you move on to the second application stage, which includes a detailed description of your concept and a detailed budget. We will contact you to discuss your application and to assist you in preparing the complete documentation, which contains:
- application form with specific goals and indicators for measuring success;
- organisational budget form for 2022 + provisional budget for 2023;
- organisational strategy;
- other accompanying documents (sample declarations, annual financial statements, Articles of Association, etc.).
The second stage of the application process includes a study of the organisation, an in person or online meeting with the managing body(s) of the organisation, negotiations are possible regarding the goals, success indicators, budget items or the total budget, etc.
The final decision for financing will be made by the Board of Trustees of BFW, based on recommendations prepared by the program team of the Fund.
Deadlines for application and announcement of results:
- the deadline for submitting a Concept Form is 23:59 on October 10, 2021 (Sunday);
- announcement and contact with the approved candidates, invited in the second stage of the Competition – until October 25, 2021;
- scheduling of detailed concepts and organisational budget for two years by the organisations admitted to the second round – by November 21, 2021.
- announcement of the final selection of organisations for funding – December 20, 2021.
- conclusion of contracts and transfer of funds – December 20 – 31 2021
Documents:
Concept form – the form must be submitted in the file formats supported by Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), and all restrictions on the symbols must be observed. Forms submitted in PDF format will not be accepted.
Declaration of authenticity and protection of personal data – the declaration is an integral part of the package of documents and must be sent together with the Concept Form, signed and stamped by the legal representative of the applicant organisation.
We are expecting your documents by 23:59 on October 10, 2021 (Sunday) by e-mail: grants@bgfundforwomen.org, with subject subject of the e-mail: CORE FUNDING 2021.
Additional information
Incomplete concepts or those submitted after the deadline will not be considered. Bulgarian Fund for Women will publish information about the organisations approved for the second round on the foundation’s website and will contact them directly.
BFW does not provide personal feedback to organisations whose concepts are not among the approved and does not publish reasons for refusing to fund certain project proposals.
In case of insufficient number of organisations received and/or approved for funding, Bulgarian Fund for Women reserves the right to change the terms of the competition, including the amount of funding and the general budget.
BFW is a controller of personal data and processes such data in accordance with the legislation on personal data protection and Regulation (EU) 2016/679. You can get acquainted with our policy for personal data processing HERE.
You can get acquainted with the General Terms and Conditions of BFW for granting gratuitous financing for organisational and/or administrative needs of organisations HERE.
If you need additional information or have specific questions, please email us at: grants@bgfundforwomen.org. The team does not have the opportunity to give consultations by phone.
Thank you for the financial support and trust of Mama Cash, Sigrid Rausing Trust, OSF and corporate donors who made this open call possible!
