Despite billions of dollars spent on armed responses to terrorism over the past two decades, the world is not a safer place. Today’s global environment is more conducive to violent extremism than at any point since the Arab Spring. The risk today is more diverse, disseminated, and disparate. Now is the time to double down on our investments in resilience, to protect our future from violent extremism.

WITH A NEW INVESTMENT OF USD 80 MILLION OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, GCERF WILL:

RESILIENCE AT RISK

Over the past decade, GCERF’s investment in prevention efforts has provided better alternatives for nearly 4 million young people at direct risk of radicalisation and strengthened the resilience of vulnerable communities against the force of violent extremist ideologies. However, the resilience we are building is increasingly at risk. 

Within the communities we support, there is a growing sense of abandonment, for example in the Sahel, and an increased sense of injustice, especially over Gaza. In Tunisia, for example, there has been a sharp increase in violent behaviour in schools. Climate change is also impacting livelihoods far more quickly than predicted. And in many cases social and economic disparities persist and are widening. Now is the time to increase the investment in resilience to preserve the progress made in reducing the global impact of terrorism and violent extremism and guard against future risks. 

WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY

When women and girls are given opportunities, they become effective leaders in efforts to prevent violent extremism (PVE) and agents of change, including when they renounce their own allegiances. GCERF facilitates their participation in prevention efforts by supporting organisations that provide awareness-raising, leadership training, psycho-social support, and skills building for women and girls. 48% of the people reached through our programmes are women and girls. Over one-third of the organisations receiving GCERF grants are led by women and youth, and we are committed to increase the proportion to 40% by 2025.

25
Countries
124
Grants Signed
3800000
Total Beneficiaries
382
Local Partners

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

As our Case for Investment makes clear, GCERF’s return on investment is remarkable. Over the past decade, GCERF has invested around USD 160 million to impact around 4 million people at direct risk of radicalisation and recruitment, representing an average of about USD 40 per person at risk. GCERF has gone beyond theory to demonstrate how PVE works and is a far more cost-effective means of confronting violent extremism than reactive security responses. Since 2019, the number of GCERF partner countries has tripled and the number of direct beneficiaries doubled, while our budget has increased by only 30%, and operating expenses have consistently remained below 15%.

As the only multilateral pooled fund dedicated to preventing violent extremism, we have developed a unique model of investment centered on localisation. We provide grants to civil society organisations, co-design projects with them to ensure relevance to the local context, and encourage their active participation in the national policy planning processes. We are also increasingly promoting local expertise in monitoring and evaluation. Our multi-level, multi-layered monitoring and evaluation system that tracks global, national/regional, and grant level results provides continuous feedback on programme effectiveness, identifying areas for improvement, and ensuring that objectives are consistently achieved. 

Across 25 countries and thousands of communities, GCERF’s investments illustrate the potential for a more peaceful future when the right resources are mobilised.  A fully funded GCERF, with an investment of USD 80 million, will continue to demonstrate a strong return on investment by strengthening community resilience against extremism, and funding peace, security, and development initiatives in communities at risk, in countries where violent extremism is a constant threat or could take root and spread. 

585000
Individuals have actively participated in interfaith and intercommunity dialogues aimed at enhancing social cohesion
196000
Individuals trained on PVE, conflict resolution and critical thinking skills
57000
Individuals supported with tools, seed grants and job skilling to improve their livelihoods
4500
Individuals trained on trauma and violence informed care, rehabilitation & reintegration services

INVEST IN RESILIENCE

GCERF is the world-leader in building community resilience against violent extremism, but sustaining resilience requires a consolidated effort. A further investment of USD 80 million to 100 million will scale up the impact of prevention efforts as outlined in the case for investment.

By investing in GCERF, you are contributing directly to crisis prevention, stabilisation, and peacebuilding, and supporting grassroots initiatives that lay the foundations for lasting peace.

TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR FIRST REPLENISHMENT (2021-24)