The WISE SSG Program aims to offer small grants to women-run CSOs and grassroots organizations and/or organizations focusing on Women,  Girls' and Minority issues, gender inclusion and economic development to address, prevent and combat Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Violent Extremism (VE) in the targeted communities.

“Women Initiative for Security and Equity’’ (WISE) program is supported by the United States Department of State and implemented by the Mercy Corps Georgia in partnership with Impact Innovations Institute’s Initiatives Foundation (IMINI). The project aims at supporting the community, which works on women’s rights and raises awareness on combating gender-based violence (GBV) and violent extremism (VE), as well as identifies and responds to various forms of violence, which negatively affects gender equality and formation of an inclusive, democratic society.

IMINI is opening a call for 3 small scale grants up to 570,000 AMD each.

Activities:

The Program will encourage the applicant from Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and grassroots movements to  apply to the open, merit-based competition in Armenia with a focus on GBV and VE issues through:

• Education, training, and skills development programs for the targeted communities, schools, and VETs, offering courses and training programs to the students, school, and VET teachers.
• Social and mass media campaigns using local resources to better address the issues, raise awareness, and combat GBV and VE in the communities.
• Working with local governments and coordination between the communities and municipalities for creating better response mechanisms to GBV and VE

The selected CSOs will aim to focus and fit their awareness raising activities around the “16 Days of Activism” campaign in Armenia. The deadline for the final report from the CSOs to IMINI will be January 15th, 2023.

Eligibility:

• Given the Armenian legislation, grants can only be provided to the registered entities, hence individual applications will not be eligible.
• CBOs or grassroots organization, public and state-controlled institutions of VET education, and public and state institutions of Secondary education in Armenia are eligible to apply;
• Self Organized Groups of activists with intention to either create their own NGO or to engage and join with an already existing NGO. Must have at least 6 months experience of proven activism in the field of GBV or VE.
• 70% of the employees of the applicant organization must be female
• The applicant organizations must be nonprofit;
• The applicant organization must have more than 6 months of experience working in the selected field.
• The length of the Small Scale project must not exceed 3 months.
• The applicants of the project must be 18+
• The project must be based within the Shirak region of Armenia. Within the timeline of your project, you will have access to IMINI facilities in Gyumri to work and carry out any events. You will also have access to desktop computers inside the Safe YOU office.

The priority will be given to the applicants who will cooperate with local or national level state and public organizations for regional development, education, innovation, culture, health, conflict resolution, and/or environmental protection, as well as partner with international and national non-governmental sectors.

Limitations:

• Operational/Equipment Costs: Funds cannot be used for operational/equipment costs (e.g. office rent, utilities)
• Do no harm: Funds cannot be used for any activities that may cause harm to any groups of beneficiaries or to the environment.
• Individual Scholarships or Personal Stipends: Grants may not be used to provide direct financial support or scholarships to individuals for personal use.
• Religious or Political Activities: Grant cannot be used to fund religious activities or support the promotion of specific religious or political beliefs.

How to participate:

In order to participate in the SSG competition, the interested CBOs and Grassroots organizations must:

• Complete,  sign, and submit the electronic application;
• Submit information for the applying organization and individuals/groups of people, who will be involved in the Small scale grant program. ( CVs and SOWs)
• In the case of co-funding, provide the information of the co-founder, donor, and partner organization/s and the project involvement of the above organizations.
• Other documents that may be relevant for the application and assist in informed decision-making of the program.

The applications must be submitted electronically and must be sent to the email : WISEGrants@mercycorps.org . The application for the Small Scale Grants Program is available for download below.

The submitted applications must not exceed 20 MB and must be sent with the subject line: “The SSG Application 2023 Armenia”

Key Dates:

• The electronic applications must be submitted through the email to WISEGrants@mercycorps.or in Armenian or English languages between July 21 – September 11, 2023. The applications will no longer be considered if submitted after the stated deadline.
• The review and selection of submitted applications will be finalized by September 25th, 2023.
• The information session for the Grantees will be offered on October 2nd, 2023.

The final Grant Agreements between the parties will be signed on October 9th, 2023, during the project launch event in Gyumri.

Download SSG Call in Armenian
Download SSG Call in English
Download SSG Application form in Armenian
Download SSG Application form in English