The Global Fund for Children selects grantee partners based on their demonstrated potential to produce sustainable improvement in the lives of vulnerable children and youth and to serve as a resource or model for other organizations.
Here are the steps in applying for a grant:
STEP 1
The Global Fund for Children selects grantee partners based on their demonstrated potential to produce sustainable improvement in the lives of vulnerable children and youth and to serve as a resource or model for other organizations.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Prospective grantee partners must meet the following eligibility criteria to be considered for their support.
Appropriate size and stage of development
With rare exceptions, a prospective grantee partner’s annual budget should not exceed $200,000. In most cases, new grantee partners have budgets in the $25,000 to $75,000 range. Their aim is to identify organizations at a relatively early stage in their development.
Direct involvement with children and youth
Prospective grantee partners must work directly with children and youth. They do not support groups engaged exclusively in advocacy or research. (They do, however, support organizations that perform both advocacy and direct service.)
Capable management
Prospective grantee partners must have systems and processes for ensuring responsible management of funds. At a minimum, an organization must have basic accounting and reporting systems as well as phone and email access.
Local leadership
Prospective grantee partners must be led by individuals who live and work in the community. They prioritize organizations whose leaders were born and raised in the community. They do not fund the local offices or affiliates of national or international organizations.
Legal status
A prospective grantee partner must be registered with the local or national government as a nonprofit organization. If the political context makes legal registration unfeasible, the organization must demonstrate nonprofit equivalency. They do not provide start-up funding for the creation of new organizations.
SELECTION GUIDELINES
Beyond these basic eligibility criteria, they use the following selection guidelines in identifying organizations that are truly exceptional.
A focus on the most vulnerable
Their grantee partners reach the children of “the last mile”—those who are economically and socially outside the reach of mainstream services and support, including street children, child laborers, AIDS orphans, sex workers, hard-to-reach rural populations, and other vulnerable or marginalized groups.
Community involvement
They prioritize organizations that are rooted in their community and operate with community input, involvement, and investment, embracing the community as an integral part of their success.
Effectiveness
They prioritize organizations that can demonstrate sustained, meaningful improvement in the lives of the children and youth they serve.
Empowerment
They prioritize organizations that engage children and youth as active participants in their own growth and development, rather than as passive recipients of services.
Innovation and creativity
They prioritize organizations that tackle old problems in new ways, demonstrating innovation and creativity in their program strategies and approaches.
Strong leadership
They prioritize organizations that have committed, respected, and dynamic leadership with a vision for change.
Adaptability
They prioritize organizations that generate models, methodologies, and practices that can be adapted and applied to similar issues and challenges in other communities.
Potential for sustainability
TGCF prioritize organizations that have a strategy for ensuring the long-term sustainability of their programs, through donor diversification, mobilization of government funding, community investment, income-generating activities, and other creative measures.
Reputation
They prioritize organizations that are recognized and trusted in their communities.
Organizations that believe they meet these criteria can submit a letter of inquiry at any time. If a letter of inquiry falls within TGFC’s priorities, they will follow up with the organization to solicit a full proposal. Please do not contact them by phone or by email to ask about the status of your letter of inquiry. Due to the volume of inquiries, they cannot respond individually to those not selected for further consideration.
STEP 2
Submit a letter of inquiry.
All potential grantee partners are required to submit a preliminary letter of inquiry, which may be submitted at any time during the year. They use this letter to determine basic eligibility and fit with their selection criteria. Please note that the form cannot load in some internet browsers. If the form does not load, please try accessing it in Google Chrome.
STEP 3
Wait for confirmation from them—if it’s a good fit, they’ll contact you.
If a letter of inquiry falls within their priorities and selection criteria, they will follow up with the organization to solicit a full proposal. Full proposals are accepted by invitation only.
Do not contact them by phone or by email to ask about the status of your letter of inquiry. Due to the volume of inquiries, they cannot respond individually to those not selected for further consideration.
STEP 4
Complete your paperwork.
If the full proposal is approved, they will issue a letter of agreement to the grantee partner, outlining the terms and conditions of the grant. Grantee partners must submit a progress report after nine months and a final report after twelve months, as detailed in the letter of agreement. TGCF will provide specific guidelines for these reports. Failure to submit a report by the due date may result in ineligibility for future grants.
