Spark Fund Grants – Call for Applications
Posted by Bukola Daike on August 4, 2021 at 1:56 pm
Mama Cash supports up-and-coming feminist* activism in the Netherlands, Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao Saba, Sint Eustasius or Sint Maarten (ABCSSS islands) with small grants. These grants, from Mama Cash’s Spark Fund, are intended to strengthen the bold work of self-led groups in the Netherlands and the ABCSSS islands working on the rights of women, girls, trans people and intersex people. Mama Cash will accept applications for funding between August 2nd and August 29th 2021 at 11:59 pm CEST. The grants range from €1,000 to €3,000 per project.
You can submit your request via an online application form, as a video recording or audio recording. Mama Cash accepts applications in English and Dutch. If you prefer to not submit your application in English or Dutch, you can contact us at spark@mamacash.org and we will work with you to submit the application in your preferred language.
If you wish to apply please see the selection criteria and priority first.
The criteria for eligibility for the Spark Fund grants are as follows:
- Groups led by women, girls, trans people and intersex people. Those whose rights are at stake are the decision makers in the project.
Example: If a group is working on trans rights, trans people should be the ones deciding upon the group’s activities and how the group’s money should be spent. The spokespersons for the group, as well as those being paid, should be trans people. Non- trans people can also work for the group in different capacities providing they are not the ones leading it. - Groups working from a feminist and/or a women’s, girls, trans or intersex rights perspective.
Example: A proposal for a project to work on women and housing issues puts the experiences of women at the core of its work. The group identifies the specific barriers women face in accessing decent and affordable housing. They also speak to the challenges of different groups of women (e.g. both urban and rural) in accessing housing. The experiences of women and the issues they face are at the core of the project, rather than being included as just one of its many elements, and the proposed solutions reflect this perspective. - Groups working on urgent and contested political issues in the Netherlands or the ABCSSS islands.
Example: A group of Muslim women organise for their rights and try to make their concerns heard in an environment where wearing a hijab, niqab or similar covering is contested by both state bodies and members of the public. - Groups working on structural and systemic change.
Example: A migrant women’s group provides shelter services to other migrant women in order to respond to their immediate needs. But the group also works to tackle the fundamental barriers to accessing such services so that other migrant women they do not or cannot reach will also benefit in the longer term.
In addition, the Spark Fund grants will prioritise:
- Non-formalised/non-registered, nascent groups that have a budget below €30,000 per year, and that have limited resources (e.g. no paid staff, no office space, etc.)
Please note that you do not need a bank account, residence permit or any other form of of identification to submit an application. In addition, your organisation does not have to be registered as a ‘foundation’.
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