GRANT OPPORTUNITY OF ABOUT USD 25,000 FOR YOUTH-LED ORGANIZATION



Are you a youth and you have a non-governmental organization (NGO) comprising youths that you are managing? Do you have a project that will focus on Grassroots development and address social problems such as youth unemployment and poverty? Will your project enhance access  to  affordable  housing  and  secure  land  tenure,  safer  cities  and  participation  in  decision making. Youth-led Development should give young people valuable skills such as project management and teamwork, thus boosting their ability to acquire jobs and participate actively in society. Then, this is an opportunity for you to apply for UN HABITAT Youth Grant to finance your Project. The UN-HABITAT Youth Fund is a programme initiated by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme  (UN-HABITAT)  to  support  urban  youths  in  developing  countries  with  the  aim  of advancing  the  achievement  of  the  Millennium  Development  Goals  and  the  Habitat  Agenda. The Urban Youth Fund has an annual budget of USD 1 million allocated for grants to youth-led projects in the developing world.  The Fund is established with support from the Government of Norway and the resolution was the fund should support those young people who need assistance the most, in particular the most vulnerable in urban slums. The fund is administered by a secretariat within UN-HABITAT in Nairobi, Kenya.
ELIGIBILITY
Eligible Organizations
The intended beneficiaries of the fund are young men and women aged 15-32 living in urban areas in the developing world. The fund reaches these individuals through legally registered, youth-led, non-profit organizations.
Youth-Led: Applicant organizations must be led by young people aged 15-32 years. However, adults above the age of 32 years may still take part in the organization and youth-adult partnerships are highly encouraged.
Legally Registered: Applicant organizations must be legally registered for at least one (1) year by the relevant national, regional or local authority.
Non-Profit & Non-Governmental: Applicants must be non-profit, non-governmental organizations. UN institutions, governmental organizations and private enterprises may engage in partnerships with youth-led organizations applying for a grant.
Developing Countries: Applicant organizations must be legally registered in one of the following developing regions: Africa; Latin-America and the Caribbean; Asia (excluding Japan); Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand).
Inclusion of Girls & Young Women: Applicant organizations must involve girls and young women in decision-making at all levels of the organization. This includes senior management level and board.
Valid Bank Account: The applicant organization must have a bank account in the name of the organization. This name has to be identical to the name of the legal registration certificate. A bank account in any other name will lead to disqualification of the application.
Facilitating Organization: Applicant organizations that lack a valid registration certificate or bank account, but fulfill all other eligibility criteria, may apply in partnership with another organization that will serve as the facilitating organization. In this case, the facilitating organization will enter into a grant agreement with UN-HABITAT and receive the grant on behalf of the applicant organization. Civil society organizations or local governments may all serve as facilitating organizations.
Religious Evangelization: Organizations that carry out religious evangelization are not eligible to apply for a grant. However, development organizations affiliated to religious bodies may apply.
Political Parties: Organizations that are affiliated to political parties are not eligible to apply for a grant.
Eligible Projects
Proposed projects must fulfill the all the following criteria to be eligible for a grant: 
Youth-led: Projects must be created, managed and implemented by young people aged 15-32 years. However, adults above the age of 32 years may still take part in the project and youth-adult partnerships are highly encouraged.
Relevance of the Project Fund: Projects must contribute to sustainable urban development within one of the following areas:
i. Urban Land, Legislation and Governance (Training in governance & Democracy)
ii. Urban Planning and Design (Creating youth space & Youth friendly cities)
iii. Urban Economy (Employment, Job & business training)
            iv. Urban Basic Services (Recycling, water, sewage and IT services)
v. Housing and Slum Upgrading (Lobbying for access to affordable housing, training in construction)
vi. Risk Reduction and Rehabilitation (Training & services for youth at Risk, drugs, alcohol & prostitution)
vii. Research and Capacity Development (Training, building networks & research)
Urban Settlement: Projects must be implemented within a city or town with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
Involvement of Young People with Fewer Opportunities: Projects must target disadvantaged youth with fewer opportunities, especially those living in urban slums.
Involvement of Girls and Young Women: Projects must include girls and young women among targeted beneficiaries.
AWARD CRITERIA
Projects submitted to the UN-HABITAT Youth Fund will be assessed against the following criteria:
1. Impact towards the priorities of the Fund (40%)
2. Quality of project design (50%)
3. Organizational capacity (10%)
FUNDING
The project budget must be drafted according to the following rules:
Activity Costs
Activity  costs  are  any  costs  directly  linked  to  the  implementation  of  project  activities.  Activity costs may constitute a minimum of 90 percent of total project expenditure and must be described in detail in the budget.  Examples  of  activity  costs  are  expenses  related  to  the  construction  of buildings,  purchase  of  essential  equipment  for  the  project,  costs  related  to  the  organization  of training  courses  and  seminars,  expenses  met  in  developing  handbooks  or  tools,  or  other  costs related to activities that are essential to the implementation of the project.
Administration costs
Administration  costs  are  any  costs  linked  to  the  administration  of  the  project  and  not  specific activities  in  the  project.  Administration  costs  may  constitute  a  maximum  of  10  percent  of  total project expenditure and must be described in detail in the budget. Examples of administration costs are salaries and volunteer allowances, office supplies, internet and telephone bills, costs of regular meetings, reporting costs, etc.
Non-eligible costs
The following project costs are not eligible for support by the Urban Youth Fund: 
Ø  Costs  related  to  the  participation  of  young  people  at  international  conferences,  sports competitions, art festivals, or similar events;
Ø  Costs related to the participation of international volunteers in local projects, such as flights, visa fees, accommodation and boarding, etc;
Ø  Costs related to the purchase of equipment that is not essential to the implementation of the project or that can be hired for the project period at a lower cost 
Ø  Salaries and volunteer allowances exceeding the 10% allowed for administration costs.

APPLICATION
Download Application Guide for more on application procedure HERE
Apply online HERE

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