Core Grants for civil society organizations in the MENA Region (closes 4 May)
Minority Rights Group
Posted on Apr 2, 2025
Minority Rights Group is accepting applications from human rights and minority rights/minority groups led civil society and nonprofit organizations based in Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco and Palestine for core grants. These grants are available for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that want to invest in their organizational development, organizational infrastructures or to effectively develop their institutional capacity. As part of our programme Minorities, Accountability and Civic Space (MACS), the core grants aim to enable grassroots organizations to improve the organizational infrastructure of organizations to allow them to operate efficiently and hence allow them to advance their work in democracy and human rights.
Essential information
Budget available: Each grant awarded will be 11,000 euros, and all selected projects are required to operate within this fixed budget.
Timeline: The duration of the grant will be 12 months.
How to apply: Organizations wishing to apply for these grants should submit an application form and a budget, using the form on this webpage. You can apply in English, Arabic or French. For any enquiries, please click here to email the MACS team.
Deadline: 4/5/2025
Eligibility
For your application to be considered, applicants must:
- Be a human rights or minority rights/minority-led organization.
- Be a non-for-profit civil society organization (official registration is not necessary).
- Be based in one of the project countries: Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco, Tunisia.
- Be a community-based organization and/or an NGO that has a track record of working with disadvantaged ethnic, religious, or cultural minorities or marginalized groups such as migrants, refugees, LGBTI, or persons with disabilities, and rooted in these marginalized communities.
- Be committed to involving various minorities and other marginalized communities in their broader activities.
- Must have basic skills and capacities in project management, risk management and financial management, and donor reporting.
- Be an organization that has no public debt, complies with anti-corruption measures, and proves absence of conflict of interest.
- Have the ability to receive funding, either through their own organization or an agreed upon alternative arrangement which aligns with approved internal protocol.
- Must have noticeable experience in financial and narrative reports development and M&E.
Eligible costs
This grant will cover costs that contribute to the organization’s development and its infrastructure including, but not limited to:
- Developing the digital and institutional infrastructure of the organization
- Establishing and/ or updating operational systems
- Improve financial management systems and accounting
- Digitalization of operations
- Purchase of office equipment
- Staff development and training
- Revision of internal system policies and processes
- Paying staff and/or consultants’ time to develop institutional capacities
- Improve digital security systems of the organization
- Administration and registration costs (for unregistered organizations)
Selection Criteria
- Organizations will be selected based on their demonstrated need for institutional capacity building and infrastructural development.
- A thorough explanation of the needs of the organization that the core grant is aimed to address is needed.
- The proposal should demonstrate clearly how this grant will increase the organizational capacity, efficiency, and function of the organization.
- The proposal should have a clear logic explained through; stated objectives, outcomes, and implementation strategy.
- The proposal should clearly justify a budget that represents value for money and efficiency.
- The proposal should show how the grant will ensure the sustainability of the organization even after the intervention is over.
- The proposal should highlight how the organization ensures gender and minority rights mainstreaming in its work.
- Intersectional aspects of the organization’s target groups will be considered.
- The granted organizations must commit to the following if accepted for this grant:
- Must commit to undergoing institutional capacity training provided by an organization that MRG selects.
- Must commit to engage their employees in the organizational mentoring program at a later stage.
- Must commit to attending the in-country workshop and meeting for subgrantees that MRG and partners CFI and Attalaki will organize in Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia.
Anticipated Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
| 1 April 2025 | Call for proposals |
| 4 May 2025 | Application deadline |
| 26 May 2025 | Shortlisted applicants finalized and notified |
| 9 June 2025 | Contracts and welcome package sent |
| 20 June 2025 | Transfer first Tranche of Funds |
| 12 months | Distribution of Funds |
| 2 Weeks after Grant Ends | Final Narrative and Financial Reports Due |
Apply here
We look forward to reviewing your application.
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Treatment of Information
The data will be treated confidentially in line with GDPR policies. Only MRG and its implementing partners will have access to the information provided in order to facilitate the selection process. These include The Civic Forum Institute in Palestine and Attalaki in Tunisia.
Minority Rights Group (MRG) is the leading human rights organization working with ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and indigenous peoples worldwide.
Attalaki is the leading organization in Tunisia working on freedom of religion and belief and a key player in defending the rights of religious minorities and making their voices heard.
Civic Forum Institute (CFI) is a Palestinian non-governmental focused on building democracy and developing democratic institutions in Palestine.
This programme is funded by the European Union.
Featured image: People celebrate Yennayer in Rabat, Morocco. Sunday, 14 January 2024. Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo.