Hlanganisa Community Fund for Social and Gender Justice 

Open Call for Proposals 

Climate and Energy Justice 

(Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe)

Hlanganisa Community Fund for Social and Gender Justice (Hlanganisa) is a renowned intermediary grant maker that supports community development through provision of small grants and accompaniment to community-based organisations (CBOs). Our mission is to support women’s rights centred, impactful, community led programmes to build resilient, sustainable communities who use their voice and agency to advance good governance, and social justice. The focus of this call is to get vital perspectives on climate justice and work with grassroots organisations to enhance the community solutions to respond to climate change. 

Climate change is a global phenomenon, with local impact. Southern Africa has been identified as a ‘climate change hotspot’, increasingly facing the devastation of climate change. This is characterized by temperature increases and hydrological extremes, manifests as droughts and floods. These often result in public health calamities, food insecurity, energy poverty and other social pressures impacting livelihoods. Women are disproportionately impacted by climate change because of higher poverty levels, high dependence on natural resources, increased burden of care in cases of water borne diseases and heightened vulnerability to sexual violence in situations of displacement. 

As a result of climate change, many rural communities, women in particular, face devastation that threatens their access to natural resources, energy and food security.  Hlanganisa invites community-based organisations and social movements seeking to contribute to renewable energy and food secure communities in the context of climate change to apply for grant support. Coupled with the necessity of technical and financial resources, Hlanganisa recognizes that rural communities in Africa disproportionately experience the negative impact of climate change and that community-based organisations are strategically positioned to contribute to resilience and adaptation.

Hlanganisa grantmaking approach for climate change adaptation embraces the International Institute for Environment and Development’s eight locally led adaptation principles that underscore the importance of community leadership and ownership in sustainable development. 

Hlanganisa will support initiatives rooted in African realities such as;

1. Climate resilient farming practices; Hlanganisa encourages applicants already advocacy efforts harnessing indigenous knowledge systems, seed banks, water harvesting, utilisation of alternative energy.
2. Community-based adaptation for food-secure and energy-secure communities; Applicants are encouraged to prioritise women’s active involvement in resilience and fostering sustainable development.
3. Education and awareness on resilience and adaptation; Community-based organisations and movements at grassroots level have the potential to be knowledge hubs for climate and energy justice. Hlanganisa will fund local climate action exploring innovative ways of navigating the impact of climate change. 
4. Women’s leadership and participation in the climate change discourse; Hlanganisa will support initiatives that recognise the importance of women’s inclusion in leadership and decision-making at a local level. 
5. Women access to land; Women are feeling the impact of rising living costs more than ever, making food security and sovereignty even more vital. There is an urgent need to scale up our advocacy work for women’s land rights. Possible activities can include advocacy initiatives around specific practices, cultural systems, national policies and legislation.

BASIC CRITERIA FOR APPLICANTS 

All applicants must comply with all the criteria listed below. 

Eligibility Criteria: 

Hlanganisa will not be accepting proposals that do not meet the criteria listed below:  

1. Registered community-based organisation in Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe that have been addressing climate crisis at grassroots community level and have climate justice programming for more than 3 years.   
2. Have strong leadership, participation and empowerment by people serving marginalised communities (particularly women and girls with disabilities) that have endured the burden of climate change. 
3. A clear grassroots-led effort to build or strengthen climate justice at grassroots community level.   
4. Applicants should have an existing governance structure in place. 
5. Have a vision for gender transformation. 
6. Ability to deliver programme activities and provide reports within the timelines required. 
7. Have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics. 
8. Willingness to receive support to strengthen the institutional and programme capacity of the organization or grassroots formal groupings.  

Proposals for the following will not be considered for support:  

1. Direct fiscal support to government departments. 
2. Municipal, regional, or national government institutions. 
3. Tertiary Institutions  
4. Bursaries and business funding  
5. Early childhood development / education institutions  
6. Individual entrepreneurs and enterprises  
7. Home-based care projects 
8. Loans and seed funding 
9. Projects or work that is discriminatory in any form  
10. Initiatives that support, oppose or engage in political, religious and commercial activity

Grant Size and Funding Duration  

Eligible applicants should submit an online application with a workplan and budget of no more than R100 000.00 and the duration is 15 months, starting from 01 November 2024. Considerations should be made for the following costs when budgeting:  

1. Institutional costs  
2. Direct programme and activity costs  
3. Workshops, events, exchange visits, peer learning 
4. Small infrastructure development and small items of equipment. 

Application Process  

Applicants are encouraged to complete the online application as soon as possible. The application process outlined below will guide the application process for this call for proposals. 

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