July 10, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Diana Samarasan, Founding Executive Director
Telephone: +1-617-261-4593
Email: dsamarasan@disabilityrightsfund.org
BOSTON, MA – The Disability Rights Fund (DRF) – a grantmaking collaborative between donors and the global disability community which supports the human rights of persons with disabilities – today announced its second 2014 grants round, “Our Voices, Our Rights, Our Future.” Grantmaking in this round will be targeted to disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) in Bangladesh, 14 Pacific Island countries, Rwanda, Uganda, and Peru. The deadline for proposals is August 21, 2014.
The broad objective of the Fund is to empower DPOs in the developing world to participate in ratification, implementation and monitoring of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD).
In the second round of 2014 grantmaking, applicant organizations from Rwanda and 14 Pacific Island Countries (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu) may apply for grants through an open Request for Proposals process. Organizations from Bangladesh, Peru and Uganda may apply by invitation only.
Organizations may apply as:
a) Single organizations or partnerships for one-year Small Grants;
b) State (in federal systems), regional, or district-level DPO-led coalitions for up to two-year Mid-Level Coalition Grants; and/or
c) National DPO-led coalitions for up to two-year National Coalition Grants.
Small grants will range from USD 5,000 to 20,000 and will support efforts to increase DPO participation in decision-making and to implement projects on specific articles of the CPRD. Mid-level Coalition grants will range between USD 30,000 – 40,000 per year (60,000 – 80,000 over two years) and will support passage of specific legislation or policy to accord with the CRPD at state, provincial, regional or district levels, and achievement of governmental budgetary measures at these levels to implement the CRPD. National Coalition grants will range from USD 30,000 to 50,000 per year (60,000 – 100,000 over two years) and will support advocacy toward ratification of the CRPD/Optional Protocol, passage of specific national legislation to accord with the CRPD, the production of or follow up to civil society reports to UN human rights monitoring mechanisms (including the CRPD Committee, other treaty bodies, and the Human Rights Council), and advocacy to national or international agencies responsible for development planning to ensure that the CRPD is taken into consideration in strategy and goal development & assessment.
Interested organizations are urged to review the full eligibility criteria and application details posted at the Fund’s website, http://www.disabilityrightsfund.org/grantmaking. Any questions on the proposal process should be directed to info@disabilityrightsfund.org.
Since 2008, with its sister fund, the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund – which supports advocacy for ratification and legislative change in DRF’s target countries – nearly $13 million has been granted to organizations in 28 countries (Bangladesh, Cook Islands, Ecuador, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kiribati, Lebanon, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Namibia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Rwanda, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, and Vanuatu).
Fund supporters include: the American Jewish World Service, the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Leir Charitable Foundations, the Foundation to Promote Open Society, part of the Open Society Foundations, The Sigrid Rausing Trust, and UK Aid.
