Finding Funding for Projects in Africa
If Your Organization is Based in Africa:
If you work for an organization based in Africa, you can identify potential funding sources several ways. Some of the strategies–like combing through a donor database–will be identical to those used by a U.S.-based organization. Other strategies are going to be region specific.
- To find potential sources of funding, the first step is to identify funders that give money to organizations based in Africa. The donors listed to the left have all funded projects based in Africa. The list has been broken into four broad project categories: agriculture, education, HIV/AIDS, and women. To uncover potential funders, begin your research by visiting the websites of each of the donors listed under the category relevant to your work. On the donor websites you should be able to find information about the donor’s programmatic interests, the names of past grantees, and information about current funding opportunities.
- A shortcut to identifying potential donors is to find out who is funding other community-based organizations in your geographic area. Starting with the donors who fund projects in your geographic area helps to focus your list of prospective donors.
- Foreign governments often give money directly to national governments in Africa with the stipulation that that money be used to fund community-based projects. In addition to reaching out to other community-based organizations to find out who their funders are, try to meet with government officials to find out about grant mechanisms administered by the government at the local, regional, or national level.
- A regional resource to check out is the African Development Bank (AfDB). Civil society organizations at the community level may have opportunities to participate in AfDB-funded projects.
AGRICULTURE
- Associated Country Women of the World
- AusAID
- Bel Foundation
- Belgian Development Cooperation
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Canadian International Food Security Research Fund
- Conservation, Food, and Health Foundation
- Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs: Netherlands Enterprise Agency
- European Commission: EuropeAid
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Fruit Tree Planting Foundation
- Japan Fund for Global Environment
- Monsanto Fund
- NextWorldNow Community Investments
- Purely OverSeas Trust
- Roncalli International Foundation
- Seed Foundation
- Swedish International Development Agency
- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
- United Kingdom Department for International Development
- World Bank
CONSERVATION
- African Bird Club
- Blue Action Fund
- Club300 Bird Protection
- Crowder-Messersmith Fund
- Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund
- International Elephant Foundation
- Save Our Species
- SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund
- Sophie Danforth Conservation Biology Fund
DISABILITY SERVICES
EDUCATION
- Adobe Event Sponsorship Program
- Air France Corporate Foundation
- Anadarko Petroleum Corporate Giving Program
- Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND)
- atDta Foundation
- AusAID
- Austrian Development Agency
- Belgian Development Cooperation
- Better World Books Literacy and Education in Action Program (LEAP)
- Boeing Company Corporate Giving Program
- Brother’s Brother Foundation
- Cargill Corporate Contributions Program
- Coca-Cola Foundation
- ConocoPhillips Corporate Contributions Program
- Danish Mission Council Development Department
- Dow Chemical Company Foundation
- Drosos Foundation
- Dr. Scholl Foundation
- Dubai Cares
- DuPont Pioneer Giving Program
- Eaton Charitable Fund
- Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
- Fluor Corporation Contributions Program/Fluor Foundation
- Fondation d’entreprise Hermès
- Ford Foundation
- French Development Agency
- GDF SUEZ Foundation
- Global Fund for Women
- Hilden Charitable Fund
- Hivos
- Husky Corporate Social Responsibility Program
- Irish Aid
- Jephcott Charitable Trust
- King Faisal Foundation
- Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
- New Zealand Aid Programme
- Nippon Foundation
- Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
- Open Society Foundations
- Purely OverSeas Trust
- Qualcomm Corporate Giving
- Robert Bosch Stiftung
- Roche Corporate Giving Program
- Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation
- Swedish International Development Agency
- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
- UBS Optimus Foundation
- UNFCU Foundation
- United Kingdom Department for International Development
- Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund (VGIF)
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION
- D-Prize
- Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
- Global Innovation Fund
- Global Philanthropy Alliance
- Roddenberry Foundation
ENVIRONMENT
- Africa Climate Change Fund
- Alcoa Foundation
- Coca-Cola Foundation
- Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
- Global Environment Facility: Small Grants Programme
- Jack Kimmel International Grant Program
- Lush Charity Pot
- Minor Foundation for Major Challenges
- Rainforest Fund
- Wallace Global Fund
HEALTH & HIV/AIDS
- African Women’s Development Fund
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation
- Cigna Foundation: World of Difference Grants
- Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation(Malawi)
- Elton John AIDS Foundation
- Fondation Mérieux
- Ford Foundation
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
- Hear the World Foundation
- Irish Aid
- Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
- Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund
- Stephen Lewis Foundation
- UHAI: The East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative
- U.K. Department for International Development
- United States Agency for International Development
- ViiV Healthcare
- Y+
HUMAN RIGHTS
- Abilis Foundation
- Akiba Uhaki Foundation (restricted to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania)
- Arab Human Rights Fund (restricted to the 22 member countries of the Arab League)
- Disability Rights Fund
- The Fund to End Violence Against Children
- Global Fund for Children
- Lush Charity Pot
- The Other Foundation
- Rainforest Fund
- Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund (VGIF)
WOMEN
- ABILIS Foundation
- Action for World Solidarity
- African Women’s Development Fund
- Alexia Foundation for World Peace
- Amplify Change
- Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND)
- Arthur B. Schultz Foundation
- Associated Country Women of the World
- AusAID
- Austrian Development Agency
- Belgian Development Cooperation
- Coca-Cola Foundation
- Commonwealth Foundation
- COMO Foundation
- Danida
- Danish Mission Council Development Department
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- Dining for Women
- Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs
- Fledgling Fund
- Ford Foundation
- FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund
- Global Fund for Women
- Hilden Charitable Fund
- Hivos
- Indigenous Women’s Fund
- Irish Aid
- Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Foundation
- Karl Kahane Foundation (KKF)
- KIOS
- Maypole Fund
- Norwegian Human Rights Fund
- Open Meadows Foundation
- Open Society Foundations
- Pro Victimis Foundation
- Sexual Violence Research Initiative
- Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation
- Swedish International Development Agency
- UN Women: UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women
- UNFCU Foundation
- United Nations Democracy Fund
- Urgent Action Fund
- Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund
- Wallace Global Fund
- Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America