گرنت‌های Commonwealth Foundation ۲۰۲۶–۲۷ – تا £60,000

Commonwealth Foundation Grants 2026–27 برای eligible civil-society organisations، networks، coalitions، alliances، platforms و creative collectives در eligible Commonwealth countries است.

Applications Open

23 September 2026، 12:00 GMT.

Deadline

26 October 2026، 12:00 GMT.

Expected Project Start

between 1 August and 30 September 2027.

Two Funding Streams

• Individual Organisation Grants:

£15,000–£30,000 per year، for up to 2 years. Maximum possible over two years: £60,000.

For eligible not-for-profit civil society or creative organisations implementing standalone projects.

• Collective Action Grants:

£15,000–£20,000 per year، for up to 2 years. New in 2026–27.

For eligible networks، coalitions، alliances، platforms and creative collectives working collectively.

Strategic Impact Areas

Project must advance at least one

• Climate & Environmental Justice:

may include

• climate/environmental injustice.
• participation in climate decisions.
• environmental rights.
• just energy transitions.
• Indigenous/local knowledge.
• environmental accountability.
• access to justice.

• Economic Inclusion:

may include

• sustainable livelihoods.
• entrepreneurship.
• decent jobs/labour rights.
• youth economic opportunity.
• reduced inequality.
• women/youth in economic policymaking.
• inclusive economic policies.
• creative industries/economy.
• youth-led economic initiatives.

• Freedom of Expression:

may include

• expression، association and assembly.
• access to information.
• media freedom.
• digital rights.
• online safety.
• civic participation.
• transparent governance.

Cross-Cutting Requirements

• gender and intersectionality must shape project design and implementation.
• consider age، disability، race، ethnicity، socioeconomic status، geography and related dimensions.
• Commonwealth small states are a priority.
• youth-led organisations and projects with meaningful youth leadership/participation are encouraged.

Programme Purpose

support projects that influence

• public policy.
• public discourse.
• behaviours.
• decision-making.

through

• constructive engagement with governments/decision-makers; and/or
• creative advocacy.

Creative Advocacy

intentional use of creative practice to influence discourse، policy، behaviours or decisions for positive social، cultural or political change.

Individual Organisation Eligibility

Applicant generally must

• be not-for-profit civil society or creative organisation.
• be registered in eligible Commonwealth Foundation member country.
• have been registered/operating at least 3 years.
• have at least 3 years relevant experience.
• have significant experience in project communities.
• average annual income over previous 2 years below £2.5 million.
• requested grant must not exceed 70% of applicant’s average annual income over previous 2 years.

Collective Action Eligibility

• eligible not-for-profit network/coalition/alliance/platform of CSOs، community groups، creative actors or collectives.
• registered in eligible member country; OR
• if network/collective is unregistered، nominate eligible registered member organisation as lead applicant.
• at least 3 years demonstrable relevant experience.

Project Geography

project must be implemented in applicant/lead applicant’s country of registration. May also include activities in additional eligible Commonwealth Foundation member countries. Multi-country projects require strong local participation in every implementation country.

Current Foundation Grant Restriction

organisations currently implementing a Commonwealth Foundation grant، or which recently finished but have not received final payment، are not eligible.

One-Application Rule

An organisation، network or collective may only appear in ONE application under this open call، either as lead applicant or partner. Cannot apply simultaneously for Individual and Collective Action grants.

Partnerships

welcome where they improve scale، depth، reach or impact. Partners do not need to be registered.

Possible partners

• registered CSOs/creative organisations.
• grassroots/community groups.
• informal groups.
• social movements.
• networks.
• artists.
• storytellers.
• creative practitioners.
• advocates.

Government/business entities cannot be formal project partners، although informal collaboration with government/private sector may be used where helpful.

Lead Applicant

must be eligible/registered and will sign grant agreement and hold legal/financial responsibility.

Projects Not Funded

• electioneering or partisan political communications.
• hatred، discrimination or violence.
• projects primarily focused on service delivery.
• activities solely to train/build capacity of government officials/private-sector actors.
• creative projects without social/political change purpose.
• projects primarily for private profit.
• exchanges between developed countries.
• core organisational costs as the primary purpose.

Applicants should review full exclusions.

Training Government Officials

project funds cannot be used for government-official training. If necessary to project objectives، secure another funding source for those costs and explain it.

Existing Projects

Foundation may support extension/addition to an existing initiative if it meets criteria. Applicants must identify existing work and explain added value. For non-creative applicants، simply adding a creative-advocacy component to an existing project is not enough to qualify.

Required Application

online through SurveyMonkey Apply only. Applications by email/post are not accepted.

Before Applying

check organisation and country eligibility using official page/map.

SurveyMonkey Apply

create account unless one already exists from previous application. Complete online form and explicitly click Submit—filling form alone does NOT submit.

Submission Confirmation

successful submission should trigger email from

[email protected]

If not received

• application may not have been submitted.
• email may have gone to different address.
• check spam.

If still unresolved contact

[email protected]

Required Documents

For All Applicants

• completed online application.
• completed logic model using Foundation template.
• registration certificate of applicant/lead applicant.

If certificate does not show not-for-profit status، provide other evidence such as articles of association. Shortlisted applicants with originals not in English may need certified translation.

• board/trustee information:

names، roles، responsibilities، contact details. If no board/trustees، submit appropriate governance structure.

India

applicants should comply with Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) or have preparations for valid FCRA registration to receive overseas charitable funding.

Financial Documents

If grant request is exactly £15,000/year

may submit

• latest audited accounts؛ OR
• most recent annual accounts.

Annual accounts must include

• balance sheet.
• profit/loss statement.
• notes.
• signed by Board or principal executive officer.
• not older than December 2024.

If grant exceeds £15,000/year

must submit most recent audited accounts including

• accounts.
• external auditor’s opinion.
• signatures by auditor and Board/principal executive officer.
• not older than December 2024.

Project audits or independently verified accounts cannot replace organisation audited accounts. Accounts from affiliated entity registered in another country are not accepted.

Collective Action Additional Documents

• collective structure.
• governance.
• secretariat organisation where applicable.
• full current membership list.

Creative Applicant Portfolio

small sample demonstrating practice/relevance

maximum

• 6 images.
• 5 minutes video/audio.
• 5 pages writing/other relevant material.
• links to digital/interactive/web work may be used.

For each example include title، date، role and description ≤75 words. No need to make new portfolio; production quality not assessed. For collaborative work، explain contribution.

All organisational/financial documents must relate to same legal entity serving as lead applicant.

Incomplete applications are not considered.

Can Individual + Collective Grant Be Applied For?

No. One organisation/network/collective can only be included in one application.

Can Partnerships Be Used?

Yes. For Collective Action، partners are those directly delivering work; not every member must be listed as partner.

Can Unregistered Groups Partner?

Yes. But grant agreement remains with registered lead applicant.

Artists/Creative Practitioners

If part of eligible registered not-for-profit organisation، may apply to either appropriate grant stream. They can also partner in creative-advocacy proposals.

Grant Amount Limits

• Collective: £15k–£20k/year.
• Individual: £15k–£30k/year.
• max duration 2 years.
• requested grant ≤70% of lead applicant average annual income over past two years.
• average annual income must be <£2.5m.

Capacity Strengthening

Open-call grants are project grants، not core organisational support. For Individual Organisation Grants، shortlisted applicants may propose capacity-strengthening initiatives up to 5% of requested grant to improve organisational effectiveness. Collective Action shortlisted applicants may also suggest capacity-strengthening measures supporting collective action. No need to include these at first stage.

Monitoring/Reporting

successful applicants develop monitoring plan with Foundation guidance, using simplified Results Based Management and Outcome Harvesting approaches.

One-year project

• end-of-project narrative report.
• financial report.

Multi-year project

• annual narrative + financial report.
• final narrative + financial report.

Final schedules set in grant agreement.

Eligibility of Countries

Foundation’s arrears policy excludes organisations from member countries not in good financial standing. Use official eligible-country map.

Assessment

Foundation typically receives around 3,000 applications.

Assessment criteria include

• all eligibility requirements met.
• good advocacy track record.
• clear problem definition.
• clear and persuasive proposed approach.
• evidence of consultation with intended beneficiaries.
• timely، relevant and feasible plan.
• organisational capacity to deliver.
• serious commitment to gender equality.

Shortlisting

by end of February 2027. Shortlisted applicants asked for additional information including detailed project budget. If not contacted by end February، application is unsuccessful.

Final Decisions

successful applicants informed by end of June 2027. Grant agreements expected soon afterward. Implementation begins August–September 2027.

AI Guidance

Foundation advises using AI only as support for

• editing.
• grammar.
• research.
• readability.
• summarising.

Applications must remain grounded in

• organisation’s own understanding.
• lived experience.
• community knowledge.
• genuine engagement.
• real organisational journey.
• verifiable evidence.
• realistic planning.

AI use neither advantages nor disadvantages applicant; assessment remains human-led. Generic AI narratives are not a substitute for authentic organisational/community knowledge.

Safeguarding

Applicants must identify safeguarding risks and explain prevention، management and response. Shortlisted applicants must provide safeguarding policies/procedures or develop appropriate measures as a condition of funding.

Application Timeline

• 23 Sep 2026، 12 PM GMT: opens.
• 26 Oct 2026، 12 PM GMT: closes.
• Feb 2027: shortlist contact.
• Jun 2027: final results.
• Aug–Sep 2027: project start.

Help

[email protected]

Important

No submission after deadline. Do not rely on last-minute support because Foundation receives high volume of final-day queries.

All applications must include the following additional documentation: A logic model (using the template provided here). A clear copy of the applicant’s or lead applicant’s registration certificate.

Individual Organisation Grants Applicants must generally: Be a not-for-profit civil society or creative organisation Be registered in an eligible Commonwealth Foundation member country Have been registered and operating for at least three years

We will only consider completed applications that have been submitted using the online application system. Before applying, you need to set up a SurveyMonkey Apply account. To set up your account, click ‘register’ on the website here. Complete the online application form To apply, you will first need to log in to your SurveyMonkey Apply account and complete and submit an online application form on the website here. The application and supporting documents cannot be emailed to the Foundation. Applications open at 12pm GMT on 23 September 2026 and close at 12pm GMT on 26 October 2026.