We strengthen Danish civil society and local southern partners' capacity building and learning
We strengthen Danish civil society and local southern partners' capacity building and learning
Application for large grants in 2024:
We are now closed for large applications (DKK 100,000-400,000) in 2024. A New deadline for applications will be announced in 2025. Keep yourself updated on our website or subscribe to our newsletter (DA) here.
Application for small grants in 2024:
You can 3-4 yearly. Upcoming deadlines:
- November 29 th. at 23.59 hrs
Please note that in this last round of the year, there are only funds left in the pool to finance one application of 50,000.
Do you want to know more?
Reach out to
Jesper Hildebrandt Brix
Senior Ledelsesrådgiver / Koordinator
WHAT CAN YOU APPLY FOR?
The grant supports projects that strengthen Danish civil society organizations in delivering professionally strong and effective initiatives through innovation, learning, and capacity building, as well as advocacy on strategic and current development and humanitarian themes in the South. Funding is available for projects of two different amounts.
WHO CAN APPLY?
Civil society organizations based in Denmark that meet the requirements for partner organizations for grants and networks (Danish) and have activities in or with the South.
Read more about the types of organizations that can apply for the Fund for Capacity Building in the guidelines.
HOW DO YOU APPLY?
You apply by filling out the application form below. There is a separate application form for both large and small grants.
Before applying, please review the guidelines to ensure that your project and activities meet the formal requirements of the fund.
All applications must be submitted via the application form below. Please note that filled-in data is not saved actively.
WHEN CAN YOU APPLY?
Applications for small grants are accepted on an ongoing basis.
The deadline for the next application round for large grants is March 22, 2024 at 23:59.
FIND GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION FORMS BELOW.
Do you want to know more?
EMMA BYRNE
Strategic Advisor and responsible for the Fund for Capacity Building
About the Fund for Capacity Building
The Fund for Capacity Building (hereafter the Fund) supports capacity building in Danish civil society organizations with humanitarian or development activities in OECD-DAC countries and their local partner organizations in the South. The fund is financed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by Global Focus.
PURPOSE OF THE FUND
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To strengthen Danish civil society organizations in delivering professionally strong and effective initiatives.
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To support members' advocacy on strategic and current development and humanitarian issues in the South.
With the fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and Global Focus wish to strengthen the implementation of Danish development aid. This means that the guidelines that define which projects can receive funding are broad within the extent to which the purpose of the application is assessed to contribute to the overall objectives of the fund. The decisive criterion for support is that the identified need that the project aims to address must be relevant to the activities that the applicant organization carries out in countries in the Global South.
You can apply for funding for projects of two different amounts:
1. 100,000-400,000 DKK
2. Up to 50,000 DKK
THE FUND'S GUIDELINES
Guidelines are available for each of the fund's grant sizes.
Read the relevant guidelines before applying.
In the guidelines you will find important information about the fund's priorities as well as descriptions of the fund's requirements, formalities, the application and assessment process and administrative guidelines.
Currently, the guidelines are in Danish. English versions are coming soon.
APPLICATIONS FOR LARGE GRANTS
between DKK 100,000-400,000
between DKK 100,000-400,000
Application round for large grants in 2024
We are now closed for large applications (DKK 100,000-400,000) in 2024. A New deadline for applications will be announced in 2025. Keep yourself updated on our website or subscribe to our newsletter (DA) here.
Here you will find current formats and guidelines when you either apply for, have received or need to report on a large grant from the fund. Applications and reports in 2022 and 2023 must be prepared according to these formats.
Large grants: refer to grants between DKK 100,000-400,000. Large grants are awarded in two annual application rounds.
General requirements:
- Applications must follow the fund's existing formats and consist of an application form, budget and implementation plan. Application formats can be downloaded below.
- The grant recipient's management of the grant must follow the administrative guidelines updated in 2024. Requests for payment of grants, budget changes or changes to the project period as well as the final reporting must follow the fund's formats and guidelines. All of these can be accessed below.
- Language: all formats are available in Danish (English versions will be available in 2024), and applications can be submitted in Danish or English.
The grant system
The purpose of Global Focus' grants committee is to make decisions on the eligibility of applications for the large grants under the fund for capacity building on the basis of applications and recommendations from Global Focus' secretariat.
The committee consists of four representatives from Global Focus' member organizations with relevant professional background and one representative from CISU. All members are elected for a two-year period.
The fund's grants committee
- Mette Kjærtinge, CISU (chair)
- Rikke Nagell, Aids-Fondet
- Lene Vendelbo, Amnesty International Denmark
- Karen Andersen, Oxfam Ibis
- Camilla Nielsen-Englyst, 100% for børnene
Read more about grant criteria and the grant system in the Guidelines for large grants (Danish).
When your project is ending:
- Final narrative report
Format for reporting for big grants (Danish) - Audit instructions
UM instruks 4b (Danish) - Accounting format
For financial reporting, we encourage you to use the budget format adapted with columns that include any revised budget and actual spend.
APPLICATIONS FOR SMALL GRANTS
up to DKK 50,000
up to DKK 50,000
Application rounds for small grants
You can 3-4 yearly. Upcoming deadlines:
- November 29 th. at 23.59 hrs
Please note that in this last round of the year, there are only funds left in the pool to finance one application of 50,000.
Here you will find current formats and guidelines when you either apply for, have received, or need to report on a large grant from the fund. Applications and reports in 2022 and 2023 must be prepared according to these formats.
Small grants: refer to grants up to and including DKK 50,000 and have a continuous application deadline.
General requirements:
- Applications must follow the fund's existing formats and consist of an application form and budget. Application formats can be downloaded below.
- The grant recipient's management of the grant must follow the administrative guidelines updated in 2024. Requests for payment of grants, budget changes or changes to the project period as well as the final reporting must follow the fund's formats and guidelines. All of these can be accessed below.
- Language: all formats are available in Danish (English versions will be available in 2024), and applications can be submitted in Danish or English.
The grant system
The grant system for small grants operates independently of the grant committee. Advice and administration are handled exclusively by the Global Focus Fund Administrator, while the Director of Global Focus has the grant-making authority. In the event of the disqualification of the Director, the grant authority is transferred to the Executive Committee of Global Focus.
Read more about grant criteria and the grant system in the Guidelines for small grants here.
When your project is ending:
- Final narrative report
Format for reporting for small grants (Danish) (up to DKK 50,000) - Audit instructions
UM instruks 4b (Danish) - Accounting format
For financial reporting, we encourage you to use the budget format adapted with columns that include any revised budget and actual spend.
FAQ
No, it is not a requirement to be a member of Global Focus. Find more information about who can apply for this fund at the top of the page under 'Who can apply?' or in the guidelines.
First, read the guidelines for the size of the grant your organization wants to apply for. Then download the budget format, which also contains a guide. If you have further questions, please contact the fund responsible via email at
The primary purpose of the Fund for Capacity Building is to strengthen Danish civil society organizations in delivering professionally strong and effective initiatives, as well as to support advocacy within strategic and current development and humanitarian themes in the South.
The fund places great emphasis on the project being related to the applicant organizations' activities in the South, but the fund does not finance a high degree of travel activities to the South.
The learning product is a tangible product - digital, physical or both - that brings together the knowledge and learning generated by the project in a way that other organizations can benefit from it.
For the large grants, the learning product weighs heavily in the assessment of the applications, and applicant organizations must ensure that the learning product is of a nature that also enables the implementation of the project's learning in other organizations. Learning products in the form of reports are generally not accepted.
For smaller projects of up to DKK 50,000, a smaller learning product must be prepared than for large grants, summarizing the most important learnings and outcomes from the activity. It is not a requirement that learning products for projects of this size are translated into a foreign language.
Inspiration for different types of learning products can be found here (Danish).
For large grants, applicants can expect to receive a response no later than five weeks after the application deadline via email. Holiday periods are not included in the five weeks.
For small grants, applicants can expect a response within 10 working days. Applications are received but not processed during vacation periods.
Get help with your application
Before the fund's deadline, Global Focus offers advice that prepares applicants to apply for the fund. Inquiries regarding counseling must be made well in advance of the deadline for the large grants to ensure the fund administrator's capacity to advise all projects that may wish to apply.
If you want verbal advice, please contact us with your question via email at
An online information meeting is always held prior to the application round for large grants. Keep an eye on this website and Global Focus' newsletter for more information.