Call for Applications | Early-stage CSOs

 

Azim Premji Foundation invites grant applications from early-stage, not-for-profit organisations working in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and districts in northeast Karnataka (Bagalakote, Ballari, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Koppala, Raichur, Vijayapura, Vijayanagar and Yadgir).

Azim Premji Foundation’s vision is to contribute towards a more just, equitable, humane, and sustainable society. Our grants work is aligned with this vision and strongly built on our core values. 

One of our goals is to foster vibrancy in the Civil Society ecosystem, enabling new people with new ideas, who are keen to contribute towards addressing the socio-economic development challenges of the most vulnerable and marginalised communities. We intend to support those who have recently set up organisations that work directly with vulnerable or marginalised communities in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and districts in northeast Karnataka (Bagalakote, Ballari, Bidar, Kalaburagi, Koppala, Raichur, Vijayapura, Vijayanagar and Yadgir).

Our focus is on aiding early-stage organisations, registered on or after 1 March 2019, with small grants. This is the stage when organisations usually struggle to find financial support, limiting the possibility of innovation and new energy. This support will enable them to experiment, refine intervention design and plans, demonstrate early effects in the lives of people, and strengthen their organisational and financial systems and processes.

You must be someone (individual or small group) who has already been engaging in the social sector, having demonstrated commitment and effort, even in voluntary capacity in the past few years.  

Eligibility Criteria:

Organisations that meet the below criteria are eligible to apply:

  • Are registered as a Society / Trust / Section 8 company on or after 1 March 2019 (zero to 5 years since registration).
  • Have valid 12A.
  • Have an average annual expenditure of INR 25 lakh or less.
  • Have direct engagement with a vulnerable or marginalised community.
  • Do NOT work directly in education or health (for example, running schools or coaching centres for children of vulnerable communities, running health centres in interior or backward areas). These are areas of work we do not support.
  • Are NOT a social enterprise.
  • Are NOT existing or past partners of the Foundation or already under consideration for a grant.

Application Process and Timeline:

Eligible and interested organisations can apply as follows-

  1. Click on https://appi.fluxx.io/apply/registration and submit your application by following the steps outlined in the instructions document.
    Note: Remember to select the ‘ES-CSO’ option (last one) in the drop-down menu for ‘Choose your areas of work - 1/3*’
  2. Submit your application latest by 31 May 2024.
    Note: All applications will be reviewed in the order in which we receive them. Those shortlisted will be contacted by the team from the Foundation.

For any queries regarding the application process, please contact our partner support team at:
Helpline: 080-47178617 (Monday-Friday, 10 AM - 5 PM),
Email: philanthropy.registrations@azimpremjifoundation.org