Abot-Kamay Community Solidarity Fund

The Abot-Kamay Community Solidarity Fund is designed to help organizations with their ideas, activities, or projects related to localization, sustainability, power challenge, and community philanthropy in accordance with the AAT program's overarching vision of creating an enabling environment that encourages and responds to the agency of the people and community-led actions thereby achieving powershift in the course. The fund intends to (1) invest in and support experimentation of ideas and strategies for increasing the usage of and support towards community philanthropy approaches, and (2) inform and influence key stakeholders in the country and globally.

A central focus of this programme is learning how to partner and build better alliances with the goals of equity and sustainability. To do so, we aim to build a programme that supports new partnerships holistically; both through small grants and non-financial support. For example, the programme will put in place various capacity support activities (peer-to-peer mentoring, coaching, training, etc.) to support organizations starting from grant application to project closure. In addition, we will work with partner organizations in developing accountability mechanisms that encourage not only vertical (with donor/back donor) but horizontal accountability (among community members) as well. We approach these partnerships with the understanding that the community partners’ knowledge and experience is paramount and we have a lot to learn from them to ensure our joint work and partnerships are impactful.

We are currently exploring funding options for the next ACSF batch and have not yet confirmed a definite source. Call for Application: July 1, 2022 Online Launch: July 19, 2022 Deadline of submission: August 1, 2022 Shortlisting: 3rd week of August 2022 Submission of shortlisted orgs to the selection committee: 4th week of August 2022 Announcement of awardees: 2nd week of September 2022 Island-wide orientation and signing of contracts: 2nd week of September 2022 Strategic Reflection (all awardees): March 2023 Linking and Learning: May 2023 Exit planning: August 2023 Lessons Learned Workshop (Sharing of Learnings and Reflections): September 2023 End of implementation: October 2023 Project closure: December 2023

Interested organizations will be requested to submit a simple Expression of Interest (EOI) in their local language either via email, a google form, or via a self-made video that includes the following: Overview of the organization, A summary of the issue they are trying to address Objective(s) of the proposed idea, project, or activity and how it will support community philanthropy/ community-led change Why this is important for the community and what can we learn through this grant How do they define impact? Collaborators Proposed timeline Indicative budget Types of Grants Depending on the type of grants, the program is looking at the possibility of supporting between 30 to 60 organizations. The implementation period for successful awardees will be from October 2022 to October 2023. Activity grant: US$5,000 and below Provide funding for one-time, stand-alone, and short-term activities of the grantee, consistent with both the grantee and AAT objectives. Microgrant: US$5,000 - US$10,000 per proposal Provide funding for continuing or programmatic set of activities of the grantee, consistent with both grantee and AAT objectives. Partnership grants: US$10,000-20,000 (up to 10k per organization) Funding will be provided to 2 or more organizations who apply in partnership with the intention of co-creating and collaborating on testing an idea Fiscal Sponsorship grants: US$5,000 - US$10,000 per proposal In the absence of a government-issued registration, the organization should have a fiscal sponsor or support organization. Download and accomplish the Expression of Interest template and email it to communityphilanthropy@cdp.org.ph: English Tagalog Cebuano You may also submit your EOI by filling up this Google Form. Community-based organizations that need further help in drafting their EOIs may email us at communityphilanthropy@cdp.org.ph. They may leave their contact numbers and our staff will contact them directly. If interested organizations would like support in their applications, the Community Solidarity Fund would be happy to work with them through the application submission process.

Partnerships are at the heart of this fund. The ACSF strives to partner with a variety of types of organizations of different sizes and themes. It will focus on sectors and vulnerable communities that are least served - IP communities, persons with disability, fisherfolks, farmers, women, young people, etc. The program will be awarding grants primarily to Philippine-based organizations. Local organizations including non-government organizations, community-based or grassroots organizations, networks, and academic institutions are eligible grantees. In addition, the following eligibility criteria for organizations may apply. This Fund views eligibility on some requirements, not as a pass or fail, but rather as a learning opportunity. If potential partner organizations do not meet some of these criteria, the program will work in partnership to see if/how we can help partners build out processes to meet the criteria. The partner has a strong relationship with and understanding of the community or communities they work within. Must be a registered organization with oversight bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Cooperative Development Authority, Department of Labor and Employment, etc. In the absence of a government-issued registration, we can work with the organization to find a fiscal sponsor. The organization has active leadership and oversight and accountability mechanisms or is willing to work in partnership to build these processes out Verification with the system for award management (SAM) and check using the Office of Foreign Assets and Control Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list (OFAC-SDN), and the United Nations Security Council Consolidated List.

We fundamentally believe that change led by communities will always be more contextually appropriate and therefore more impactful and sustainable. Therefore this Abot-Kamay Community Solidarity Fund is designed to ensure communities and community organizations are centered and leading on community philanthropy efforts. Through this grantmaking facility, hosted by the Center for Disaster Preparedness in partnership with the communities/community organizations, we aim to better understand the community-led change landscape in the Philippines, and to elevate, connect, and strengthen the ideas and various efforts with a longer term view on sustainability. The Philippines is the nexus of the humanitarian and development sectors. The geographic focus will be based on need - where poverty, disaster, and conflict have created a multi-crisis context. The community fund aims to focus on a variety of emerging areas such as capacity building, learning, advocacy and influencing, livelihood/ economic opportunities, mapping and feasibility, strengthening between disasters, and strengthening partnerships between large and small/marginalized organizations, organizational development/strengthening and consolidation. Grants will be awarded up to $10,000 for individual organizations and up to $20,000 for 2 or more organizations that apply as a partnership.

The Assets, Agency and Trust (AAT) programme aims to understand, explore, support, and link actions and ideas on local resource mobilization and community philanthropy in the Philippines. Through this workstream, the programme intends to (1) invest and support experimentation of ideas and strategies for increasing the usage of and support towards community philanthropy approaches, and (2) inform and influence key stakeholders in the country and globally in line with the programme’s overarching vision of creating an enabling environment that encourages and responds to the agency of the people and community-led actions. The programme is managed by a Consortium that includes the Center for Disaster Preparedness Philippines, Global Fund for Community Foundations, GlobalGiving, and the Nonprofit Finance Fund. AAT is funded by Local Works, USAID’s flagship programme supporting locally-led development initiatives. Local Works is aimed at (1) developing and testing flexible and adaptive solutions to overcome operational challenges to advance locally-owned development within USAID, (2) exploring and using systems approaches to achieve sustainable outcomes with local actors; (3) launching new programming that focuses on and testing approaches to local leadership and ownership, and (4) adapting existing programming to enable greater local ownership of the development process and improved results. To find out more information and to apply please visit: https://cdp.org.ph/community-philanthropy