GRANTMAKING

Rapid Response Grant making is the flagship and core programme of UAF-Africa. As the first rapid response Fund on the continent, UAF-Africa adds value to the work of women’s rights activists and organisations through provision of financial and technical resources at critical moments of need. Financial resources are made available to women’s rights organisations to enable strategic and time urgent interventions to preserve and advance women’s human rights and to protect the lives of women’s human rights defenders targeted for their activism.
The Fund provides financial support for strategic interventions in the following funding priority areas:

• Advancement of women’s human rights in situations of conflict and post conflict including escalating violence, political volatility, civil unrest among other conflict situations.
• Precedent-setting legal or legislative interventions (e.g. instituting court action or lobbying to challenge a new retrogressive proposed law/bill).
• Protection of women’s human rights defenders at risk as a direct result of their work.

Grant proposals must be:

•   Strategic – the action is related to a pre-determined plan to create long-term structural change that will advance women’s human rights.
• Unanticipated & Time Urgent – the situation or opportunity is unanticipated/unexpected and action must happen quickly to be effective. An event (positive or negative) that could not have been (pre) planned for in the course of work.
•   Sustainable - the group illustrates the capacity to carry out the proposed action effectively, and can secure funding for future work related to the strategy.
•  Supported - the group has the support of other known groups involved in women’s human rights or related fields, locally or globally.

UAF-Africa receives and processes requests in English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese and Arabic- the 5 official AU languages. Our advanced funding mechanisms ensure that we respond to all requests within 48 hours. We disburse funds to successful applicants within 5 working days and requests for funding are received and reviewed 365 days a year. Thus far we have disbursed over 400 grants to 46 countries across the continent. Our due diligence process is supported by advisors in various countries who provide invaluable information on the situation presented to us and capacity of groups to carry out their work.

UAF–Africa ardently believes in the power of women to activate social change. We have positioned ourselves strategically to bolster women’s efforts, support them as agents of change and work with them to ensure deep and lasting transformation to achieve an equal world for all.

Please view our Frequently Asked Questions  (FAQs) to read more about how we fund in our Rapid Response Grantmaking Programme. To go to FAQs page, click here