African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) Small Grants Programme (SGP)

The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) has a ‘Small Grants Programme’ (SGP) which supports community/rural-based women's groups that would otherwise not be able to access AWDF's main funding programme. The SGP also supports emerging or emergency issues, i.e., community disasters, activities that require a rapid response, etc. Currently the SGP is operational in Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria.

The AWDF funds work in six thematic areas:

• Women’s Human Rights
• Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods
• Governance, Peace, and Security
• Reproductive Health and Rights
• HIV/AIDS
• Arts, Culture, and Sports.

The small grants are for specific projects or items that the group needs and range from US$1,000 - US$5,000. The AWDF makes grants in three cycles: March, August, and November. Applications can be sent in at any time.

Beneficiaries of the SGP have to meet the following criteria:

• They must be women's groups and led by women.
• They should have been in existence for at least three years.
• The groups have to be recommended by the leadership of a larger organisation, i.e. one of AWDF's grantees, or a respected member of the community such as a Member of Parliament.
• They should have basic leadership structures in place, a bank account, and a certificate of registration as an organisation.