funding civil society organisations
Become a GCERF Grant Recipient
When GCERF opens a new funding cycle, all calls for expressions of interest are published here with full details on geographic focus, thematic priorities, eligibility, and application requirements.
Opportunities
1 Million USD
24-28 Months
30 April 2026
Our funding mechanism
Consolidated Core Funding Mechanism
GCERF supports impactful, community-driven projects by funding and providing targeted support to civil society organisations (CSOs), either to individual CSOs or through Principal Recipients (PRs), who are often larger CSOs leading consortia of partner organisations. PRs must show strong community involvement and a clear plan to support and build the capacity of their partners known as Sub-recipients (SRs) to receive funding.
SRs are smaller, grassroots organisations with deep local knowledge and expertise. GCERF provides funding directly to grantees or PRs, who may then distribute funds to SRs as part of their programme.
GCERF does not fund national governments, or for profit organisations. To be eligible, applicants should have the appropriate legal registration and must commit to abide by GCERF’s Code of Conduct.
Country Support Mechanism
Once a decision is made by the GCERF Governing Board to engage in a new country, a Country Support Mechanism (CSM) is established to support GCERF with programmatic decision–making and coordination with key stakeholders. CSMs are chaired by a government representative and can include donor, civil society, and private sector participants.
Emergency Grant Funding
In new GCERF partner countries, the Secretariat may decide to provide immediate emergency funding to address immediate needs if doing so may decrease radicalisation and recruitment by violent extremist and terrorist groups.
HOW IT WORKS
GCERF''S GRANT-MAKING CYCLE
GCERF’s grant–making cycle consists of six phases, each with its own compliance requirements. The phases are interrelated: changes to one phase may entail changes toother phases or to the entire programme.