Application Procedures

How to Apply for a Grant

The Small Grants Program is administered by participating World Bank Country Offices. Not all Country Offices participate in the Small Grants Program. Guidelines and application forms are available from the participating World Bank Country Office in January. The Small Grants Program makes decisions only once a year by June. Applicant organizations should apply at least four to six months in advance of the date of the grant activity. Applicants are advised to read the criteria and the application form carefully before submitting an application to the participating Country Office. Requests and proposals should not be sent to the World Bank Office office in Washington, D.C.

Before You Apply

The Small Grants Program is able to fund only a small percentage of the requests it receives. Many requests are declined, not because they lack merit, but because they do not match either the current objectives, or the criteria of the Small Grants Program. Your activity may fall within the objectives and criteria, but be denied because the demand far surpasses the availability of funds. Before applying, take time to read the guidelines to determine if there is a match. Please also determine (by calling the World Bank Country Office or checking the World Bank website) whether the country in which your program operates has a Small Grants Program.

Who Can Apply?

• Civil society organizations based in a developing country and working on issues of development can apply for a grant.
  
  
• Civil society organizations must be in good standing, as well as have a record of achievement in the community and record of financial probity;
  
  
• Priority will be given to organizations not supported by the Program in previous years (organizations are not eligible for more than three grants from the Small Grants Program within a five-year period).
  
  
• The World Bank Small Grants Program is able to fund only a small percentage of the requests it receives. The demand for grants greatly exceeds the availability of funds.

What Kind of Activities are Supported?

The Small Grants Program supports activities whose primary objective is civic engagement (See Learning about Civic Engagement). In addition:

• Activities may include, but are not limited to workshops and seminars to enhance civic engagement skills and/or knowledge; appropriate communication campaigns to influence policymaking or public service delivery; or innovative networking efforts to build the capacity of the particular sector.
  
  
• The activity should be completed within one year of the date the grant is awarded.
  
  
• Priority shall be given to organizations that have not been supported by the Program in previous years.

What Kind of Activities are not Supported?

Small Grants can not fund: Research programs, formal academic training programs, operational projects, ongoing institutional core support (such as equipment), scholarships, fellowships, study programs, individuals applying on their own behalf, or nonlegal entities. Proposed activities should not compete with or substitute for regular World Bank instruments; the proposed activity should be clearly distinguishable from the Bank's regular programs.

What Size of Grants are Awarded?

Most grants are in the range of $3,000 to $7,000 with a maximum of $15,000. The Small Grants Program rarely funds more than half of the proposed budget for an activity, and therefore prefers that its grants help leverage additional contributions from other sources. Applicant organizations are asked to describe how a grant from the World Bank might help them to raise matching funds from other donors.

• Examples of Activities Supported by the Small Grants Program
  
  
• Participating Country Offices
  
  
• Contact Addresses for Country Offices
  
  
• Contact Names of NGO/CS Specialists in World Bank Country Offices