SMALL GRANT PROGRAMME GUIDELINES 

CESRA Africa has now launched a funding opportunity for small,  African-registered, Accredited grassroots charities and not-for-profit organizations doing outstanding development work.

CONTENTS

• History of the Grant
• Our Grant Making Mission
• General Guidelines
• The Small Grant Programme

HISTORY OF THE GRANT

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Those words are as true today as they were when the great philosopher Lao Tzu wrote them in 1986.

In Africa, some charitable organizations have used the same words to operate the charities on that guideline.

Those are the charities we have interest in because they have mastered the art of helping people to help themselves

Such charities have no extravagant expenditure in things that don’t matter, but every penny they receive goes directly to the program they care about.

MISSION

• The Foundation seeks to be an independent and effective grantmaker
• The Foundation seeks to be clear and transparent in its activities
• To support activities which have been demonstrated to work and can be replicated but are also open to creative approaches
• The Foundation seeks to promote self-reliance and independence in charitable organizations and groups
• The Foundation strives to be approachable, responsive and professional in all its dealings

GENERAL GUIDELINES

The following information is intended to provide a full overview because our grantmaking programs target small and simple projects

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA: The area of operation for our small grant programme is charities based in any part of Africa.

WHO CAN APPLY?

If you are An African registered charity, with a turnover of less than $30,000, delivering projects in one of the above categories you may submit an application.

1. The charity must be a member of CSR Accredited Charity. That means they meet all our standards of charity accountability. Find out how to get accredited by CESRA 
2. Must agree to submit annual auditing or independent examination of accounts.
3. Must Agree to showcase the project funded in our publication and on our website

GRANT PROGRAMMES 

Our small grant programme currently make grants to charities with an income of less than $30,000

If your charity has an income of more than $30,000 please refer Available Grants from other agencies at our Grants page.

OUR FUNDING PRIORITIES:

we value projects that develop, expand and replicate a tried and tested approach but we are also interested in supporting creative solutions to problems that seem to be entrenched and elude resolution.

We value projects that are preventative and provide early intervention. We favor projects that respond to a well researched and clear need, provide intervention based on evidence of what works, are able to demonstrate value for money and have a clear understanding of short-term effects and long-term impact of the intervention they propose.

We value projects that involve Community Mobilization to transform the mindset of the people it serves from dependency and clientelism to a  process of building confidence and local value creation in a community that is self-dependent.

WHAT WE DO NOT FUND:

• General appeals
• Running costs
• To buy land or vehicles
• Individuals
• Grantmaking charities
• Loan and deficits
• Endowments
• Building
• Retrospectively, i.e. costs already incurred prior to receiving a decision from the Foundation

WHEN TO APPLY:

Applications are considered every two to three months.

RE-APPLYING:

Charities that have previously received a grant or applied unsuccessfully are asked to wait two years before applying. Unsuccessful applicants may not re-apply with the same project.

CESRA SMALL CHARITY GRANTS PRIORITY

Our small grant programme makes more rapid grants to smaller charities delivering projects at the community/grass-roots level in the following areas:

• Primary education for less fortunate children
• Health, sanitation, environment and clean drinking water
• Child and mother care, including street children and maternity services;
• Poverty alleviation, especially revenue-generating projects.
• Orphanages and safe homes
• African diseases ie malaria and other highly infectious diseases affecting the continent.

PROJECT COUNTRIES

applications are accepted from the following countries of Africa

How much can I apply for?

The grants are valued from  $2,000 -$5,000

APPLICANTS MUST BE CESRA ACCREDITED