Call for Proposal: Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund

The Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) will fund qualifying projects in Lebanon.

The WPHF is a global pooled funding mechanism which aims to re-energize action and stimulate a significant increase in financing for women’s participation, leadership, and empowerment in peace and security processes and humanitarian response. The overall goal of the WPHF’s theory of change is to contribute to peaceful and gender equal societies. Achievement of this goal will require that women are empowered to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from conflict prevention, crisis response, peacebuilding, and recovery.

The focus of this WPHF call for proposals is on women’s participation in Beirut’s explosion response and recovery process. Special attention will be provided to applications from small women-led organization and women’s rights organization and proposals that target in their approaches women and girls who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, such as those marginalized and excluded due to poverty, ethnicity, disability, age, geography, sexual orientation, lack of citizenship or because of their migratory status. The call encourages joint applications.

The proposal submitted must be aligned to the following WPHF Impact area:

• Impact Area 6 (Peacebuilding & Recovery): Improved socio-economic recovery and political participation of women and girls in peacebuilding contexts.

More specifically, the Call for Proposals will focus on funding the initiatives which (projects can target one or more of the below areas):

• Ensure that women’s knowledge, expertise, skills, perspectives and needs are acknowledged and integrated into the response particularly at the district level.
• Ensure that women participate in the political recovery following the explosion.
• Ensure that the risk of exclusion from relief and recovery due to lack of formal documentation is addressed, including for the children of undocumented women and men.

Duration of Grants

All national civil society organizations can apply for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 18 months.

Location

Projects should be implemented in the following location(s): - Beirut Governorate- Bourj Hammoud and Sin El Fil area in Mount Lebanon Governorate. Other parts of Lebanon, providing an explanation as to why they have been directly or indirectly affected by the impact of the Beirut port explosion and the need.

Size of grants

The WPHF will grant around a total 630,000 USD over 18 months to Lebanon. Requested funds from WPHF in project proposals should be between the below tier threshold:

1. Tier I: Organizations applying independently: No less than 20,000 USD and no more than 100,000 USD
2. Tier II: Organizations applying under a consortium: no less than 100,000 USD and no more than 200,000 USD.

Eligibility, Application, and Selection Process

Who is eligible to apply and receive funding? 

National and local women- led, women’s rights, feminist, or civil society organizations (CSOs) with a proven track record working with women and girls in their diversity, are eligible to apply. Grassroot and local community-based organizations are particularly encouraged to apply. Joint projects are allowed and encouraged.

To be considered a “Women’s Rights or Feminist Organization,” the organization’s official mission/vision statement must reflect its commitment to addressing multiple/intersecting forms of discrimination and advancing gender equality and women’s rights. The organization must aim to address the underlying drivers/systems/structures, including patriarchy and gendered power dynamics, those that perpetuate gender-based violence, and work to transform these.

“Women-led organization” must be headed by a woman as director/head of organization.

Other CSOs must demonstrate experience in addressing violence against women and girls, gender inequalities and/or women’s rights.

The call for proposal is especially targeting and encouraging small and newly emerging organizations. Youth-led and youth focused organizations are encouraged to apply. The call for proposal encourages the design of inclusive projects that ensure the meaningful participation of women in all their diversity, including refugee, migrant workers, stateless, disabled, elderly and LBQT women.

The following are NOT eligible to apply for a grant from the WPHF:

• Organizations with a 2019 yearly budget of one million USD (or equivalent in LBP) and above;
• Organizations that are currently receiving funding under the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund or have received funding in the last two years
• International NGOs or branches of International NGOs;
• Government agencies or institutions;
• UN agencies or UN Country Teams;
• Private individuals;
• Private sector entities;
• Organizations proposing a multi-country intervention;
• Organizations proposing an intervention in a country different from the eligible country;
• Lead-organizations that are not legally registered in the country/territory of implementation (for organizations that are applying as a consortium, only the lead-organization is required to be registered).
• Universities and Educational institutions

Where, when and how to apply for the Call for Proposals?

• The deadline for submission of proposals is 8 March 2021. Applications received after that date will not be considered.
• Applications are accepted in Arabic, English and French (English preferably). Only applications in these languages will be accepted.
• You may not make changes to your application after it is submitted.
• Application packages should be emailed to: cfp.lebanon@unwomen.org
• Applications can be submitted in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. No other formats will be accepted. Legal registration certificates can be submitted in jpeg, doc., docx., or pdf format. All documents should be submitted together as a package.
• The UN Women Lebanon Office will aim to acknowledge receipt of application within three days of receipt. Please DO NOT resend your application unless you do not receive a confirm of receipt within three days.
• Questions regarding the Call for Proposal can be sent via the following email: cfp.lebanon@unwomen.org. Please allow a minimum of 48 hours for responses to any questions.

CHECK THE "CALL FOR PROPOSALS" DOCUMENT ON THIS PAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION & SELECTION PROCESS, ON THE REQUIRED COMPONENTS OF THE APPLICATION PACKAGE AND THE EVALUATION CRITERIA. USEFUL RESOURCES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE.