Application information and guidelines

The Bulgarian Fund for Women announces a call for financing projects that develop activities to prevent and overcome violence against women and girls and other vulnerable groups in Bulgaria. The total budget of the call is BGN 160,000. The maximum funding a project can receive is up to BGN 20,000. The time for the implementation of the projects is 18 months (from November 2022 to April 2024) and the application deadline is Wednesday, 12 October 2022 I 23:59 CET.

About

The current call is being held in fulfilment of the vision of the BFW for all women and girls to live in a fair and equal world, in which their voices are heard and their choices are counted. The initiative is part of the strategic activities of the BFW to achieve gender equality and a society free of gender-based violence, discrimination and inequalities by supporting civil organizations and collectives that challenge the status quo and work for systemic change for women, girls and all vulnerable and marginalized communities (disabled people, ethnic communities, LGBTI+ people, refugees, migrants, people living below the poverty line, etc.) in Bulgaria.

The focus of the competition are projects that develop one or more of the following priority areas:

1. Advocacy to change legislation / (local) policies aimed at achieving gender equality, combating domestic violence, gender-based violence and discrimination, and access to justice for vulnerable groups;
2. Protection and support of women and girls who have experienced domestic, sexual or other types of gender-based violence, as well as strategies for social integration and prevention of their secondary victimization;
3. Increasing knowledge and prevention of gender-based violence and stereotypes among young people and other vulnerable groups such as people with different opportunities, ethnic communities, LGBTI+ people, refugees, migrants, etc.;
4. Raising public awareness and activity on the topics of overcoming social inequalities, gender inequality, gender-based discrimination and violence;
5. Feminist knowledge production which addresses the structural inequalities associated with discourses of “gender-based violence” and/or “gender-based discrimination.”

Eligible for funding are a wide range of activities such as service delivery/development and consultation, support circles, conferences, round tables and workshops, petitions, marches, campaigns, training, research, opinions, analyses, reports, podcasts, educational videos, volunteering, artivism, etc. (the list is not exhaustive).

The aims and activities of each project have to demonstrate a feminist approach, a clear understanding and addressing of the discourses of ‘violence against women’, ‘gender-based violence’ and/or ‘gender-based discrimination’, and aim to achieve sustainable social change. The guiding principles should be equality, non-discrimination and the empowerment of girls and women, especially representatives of vulnerable and/or marginalized groups.

We encourage candidates to embrace the intersectionality of feminist issues. We promote projects with an inclusive approach that relies on the real empowerment of the target groups – it is necessary that they are not treated as passive beneficiaries of the project activities, but as active drivers and participants in the desired change.

The total budget of the current competition is BGN 160,000, and it will finance projects up to BGN 20,000. The time for the implementation of the projects is 18 months (from November 2022 to April 2024) and the application deadline is Wednesday, 12 October 2022 I 23:59 CET.

In case of an insufficient number of projects received and/or approved for funding, the Bulgarian Fund for Women reserves the right to change the conditions of the competition, including the amount of funding and the general budget.

Application conditions

Eligible candidates: Only organizations registered under the Law on Non-Profit Legal Entities and for public benefit can submit applications for the call.

Applicant organizations and their partners must be:

• with a clear feminist profile and applying an intersectional approach;
• working in the field of women’s rights and human rights, the empowerment of women and girls and the fight against gender-based violence;
• working to prevent and overcome the multiple discrimination and/or marginalization of women, girls and other vulnerable groups (LGBTI+, Roma, organizations of people with different opportunities, etc.);
• managed by women or whose leadership has more than 70% of women in decision-making positions.

In judging, preference will be given to:

• organizations and collectives whose activities are carried out outside Sofia;
• newly created women’s organizations and those whose activity has been carried out for less than 3 years;
• organizations whose annual budget is less than BGN 50,000.

Partnerships:

Participation in partnership with other NGOs for public benefit and/or unregistered groups/collectives is encouraged. Partners – legal entities, may have an independent budget, described in the budget form of this Competition. Upon approval of the application, we will expect the conclusion of partnership agreements between the lead organization (applicant) and the partner(s). The lead organization will be responsible for reporting to all project partners.

The participation of unregistered groups/collectives is admissible only if it is in partnership with non-profit legal entities, registered for public benefit, with which the financing contract will be concluded. Collectives will be reported on behalf of the organization that submitted the project proposal.

Evaluation criteria:

• Administrative compliance with the requirements of the competition – completed and formatted project proposal form (in Word) and budget form (in Excel) according to the requirements of the BFS; attached signed and stamped Declaration of credibility and protection of personal data (in pdf);
• Organizations and/or collectives whose mission is the protection and promotion of women’s rights and human rights, the empowerment of women and girls and the fight against gender-based violence;
• Relation of the objectives and activities of the project with the priorities of the current competition;
• Realistic goals and expected results;
• Refined budget 
• Refined budget, according to the administrative costs and the costs of the implementation of the activities.

Additional evaluation points will be given to project proposals that:

• will be implemented in partnership with an organization or unregistered group/collective;
• rely on an intersectional approach;
• address the needs of groups of women and/or girls subject to multiple discrimination and marginalization;
• mobilize communities and contribute to the strengthening and growth of the women’s movement in Bulgaria.

The project evaluation committee will consist of members of the Board of Trustees and the BFW team, and of external experts who will be announced when the results are published.

Application

The application package consists of a project proposal form, a budget form and a declaration of credibility and protection of personal data. The application deadline is Wednesday, 12 October 2022 I 23:59 CET. All documents need to be sent to grants@bgfundforwomen.org with the subject: Competition to eliminate violence against women.

Documents and application forms (in Bulgarian):

• Information and guidelines for applying to the competition;
• General terms and conditions of the Bulgarian Fund for Women for granting free targeted funding;
• Project proposal form – the form must be submitted in Word format (project proposal forms submitted in .pdf format will not be accepted), and all character restrictions must be respected;
• Budget Form – The form must be submitted in Excel format (budget forms submitted in .pdf format will not be accepted);
• Declaration of credibility and protection of personal data – the declaration is an integral part of the package of documents and must be sent together with the Project Proposal Form and the Budget Form, with the signature and seal of the legal representative of the applicant organization. The declaration must be in .pdf format.

Deadlines:

• 13 September – 12 October 2022 – call for project proposals (application forms submitted after 23:59 on 12 October will not be considered);
• October 13 – 28, 2022 – evaluation of project proposals;
• October 31, 2022 – announcement of results;
• By November 10, 2022 – signing of financing contracts and disbursement of funds;
• By the end of April 2024 – the implementation of the projects.

More information

All approved organizations conclude a Targeted Funding Agreement with the Bulgarian Women’s Fund. Within 20 days after the completion of the projects, the organizations must send a narrative and financial report according to the sample instructions that they will receive in advance from the BFW.

The support of the Bulgarian Fund for Women must be reflected in all communication activities and materials of the project, according to the terms of the financing agreement.

BFW is an administrator of personal data and processes such data in accordance with the legislation on the protection of personal data and with Regulation (EU) 2016/679. You can familiarize yourself with our personal data processing policy HERE.

The call takes place thanks to the support of OAK Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust,  Urgent Action Fund, The Dokova and Dokov for Future Foundation, Avon Bulgaria.

For additional information and questions related to the call, please get in touch at grants@bgfundforwomen.org. Information and consultations by phone will not be provided. We wish everyone success!