The Other Foundation invite applications for grants from individuals or organizations in thirteen eligible southern African countries to support work that advances or defends the freedom, equality, and social inclusion of homosexual and bisexual women and men, and transgender and intersex people.

In addition, a small number of grants will be made available to prevent the reversal of gains in LGBTI organizing, visibility, and advocacy as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The thirteen eligible countries from which grant applications will be accepted are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Focus Areas

Although proposals for innovative work in general will be considered, activities that focus on the following areas will be given priority consideration, as a result of funds having been ring-fenced for these focus areas:

• Supporting parents of LGBTI people to become public advocacy champions for freedom, equality, and social inclusion of LGBTI people.
• Engaging religious organizations about the equal human dignity, safety and social inclusion of LGBTI people.
• Directly and indirectly engaging traditional cultural leaders about the equal human dignity, safety, and social inclusion of LGBTI people.
• Initiatives that advance the economic empowerment of LGBTI people through the development and inclusion of LGBTI-owned small businesses in corporate supply chains, the development of workplace LGBTI affinity groups as advocacy champions for workplace inclusion and supply chain diversity, work with labor unions to promote diversity and inclusion, and research that helps to improve company practices on diversity and inclusion from an LGBTI perspective.
• Advocacy campaigns focused on harmful social attitudes or national public policies that discriminate against LGBTI people.
• Philanthropy development to support activism for LGBTI equality and social inclusion.
• Initiatives that address discrimination and violence specifically towards lesbian women and transgender and intersex people.

 The specific focus areas for COVID-19 response grants are:

• Implementation of organizational adaptation, innovation, and sustainability strategies and practices for longer-term resilience, including but not limited to support for remote work, virtual gatherings, and digital security.
• Documentation of human rights abuses as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and referral of cases to the relevant authorities or advocacy groups.
• Limited support for the procurement of masks, sanitizers, temperature measurement devices, and other equipment necessary to combating the spread of COVID-19 to grantee staff and volunteers to enable them to continue working where they can.

Funding Groups

The Foundation has a particular interest in funding groups that:

• Start new initiatives or develop new alliances with other LGBTI organizations and/or allies outside the LGBTI movement, especially in campaign-type advocacy;
• Demonstrates collaboration with other non-LGBTI civil society organizations and/or direct engagement with policymakers and private businesses; and
• Develop new knowledge by doing primary research or using data that has already been generated.

Funding Information

The Foundation will have about ZAR9 Million for grant allocations in this round of grant-making.

Criteria

• Grant applications will only be accepted in the Namaqualand Daisy, Inyosi / Honey Bee, and Hungwe / Fish Eagle grant categories.
• Applications for Mosu / Umbrella Tree grants will not be accepted through this open call for proposals.

For more information, visit The Other Foundation.