OBJECTIVES:

The Grassroots365 funding strand aims to:

• To support hyperlocal innovations in and through sport that drive community-led sustainable development.
• Diversifying the voices shaping the innovation agenda by investing in the contributions of community-based innovators.
• Using grassroots groups to test, sustain, and scale their social innovations that reinvent sport for sustainable development.

Who can register?

The target audience for the Grassroots365 funding strand is intentionally broad, so as to remain accessible to smaller, community-based groups that have innovations or groundbreaking ideas on how to promote sustainable development through sport. The target audience for applicants includes:

• Community-based hyperlocal groups
• Registered or unregistered groups
• Individuals

Examples Collectives, associations, social enterprises, non-profit organizations, charities, sports clubs, teams, athletes, coaches.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

• Candidates must demonstrate an innovation (or idea for an innovation) that uses sport to contribute to community-based sustainable development.
  • Innovations can be at different stages/levels (seed, testing, scaling).
  • Innovations should be driven and led by community-based groups or individuals.
• Candidates should be willing to share their learnings and contribute to the development of the O365 Innovation Center through the Knowledge and Exchange Center.
• Groups:
  • Candidate groups must have an annual organizational income of US$150,000 or less. Priority will be given to grassroots and locally led organizations.
  • Your group can only apply for a grant that is equal to or less than 50% of your annual organizational income (for example, if your organization's annual income for 2023 is $20,000, then you are only eligible to apply for $10,000).
• Individuals:
  • Candidates must be over 18 years of age.
  • Registered individuals can only apply for a grant of US$$ 5,000.

*Please note that if you are requesting funds exceeding US$$ 10,000 and are an unregistered group, you will need to nominate a registered organization that can act as your fiscal host/sponsor.

*Please note that if you or your group have never received funding before, you will only be eligible to apply for the US$ 5,000 grant.

How much can you request?

Applicants may apply for grants at levels of US$$ 5,000, US$$ 10,000 or US$$ 15,000. Innovations at any stage (e.g., seed, testing, scaling) may apply for any grant size. Grant periods will be 1 year (12 months). Recipients will be asked to consider the needs of their specific innovation when determining the amount to apply for.

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

The following criteria will be used to evaluate funding applications:

• A clear alignment of the group/individual's work with the mission and vision of the Olympism365 Innovation Hub.
• A clear and comprehensive presentation of the problem or gap that the innovation is addressing, with clear, context-specific, and credible evidence.
• A clear description of the proposed development of innovation or an innovative approach to sport for sustainable development.
• A clear presentation of the impact of innovation, demonstrating positive or beneficial changes for the target group and problem, highlighting the unique value of innovation as a solution.
• A clear demonstration of the candidate's capacity for innovation and potential capacity for innovation. In the candidate's context, a demonstration of their approach as innovative, unique, or emerging, and going beyond core programming.
• A clear budget proposal for the funding request outlining how the funds would be used to support the group/individual in achieving their objectives and contributing to their sustainability, with links to the identified problem, target, and Sustainable Development Goals.

LANGUAGE:

We strive to ensure that the Olympism365 Innovation Center includes groups from around the world, and language accessibility is a big part of that. Due to limitations in our internal capacity, written applications will be reviewed in English. We encourage applicants to use technology-based translation tools to translate their application before submission, and we will ask in your application if you used such a tool so that it can be considered in the review and scoring process. For data protection purposes, only narrative and descriptive responses should be translated using technology-based tools. Personal data should not be processed through technology-based translation tools. 

Use any translation tool you feel comfortable with. We recommend DeepL ( https://www.deepl.com/en/translator ) as a free tool for up to 33 languages. 

The working language of the Innovation Center will be English, and Monitoring and Evaluation will be conducted in English, although we will also recommend translation tools to facilitate this process for innovators and innovations that represent a diversity of languages.

How can I contact us?

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us. m.weinland@womenwin.org  to get more support.

Consult the  Grassroots365 Funding Stream Information Guide  For more information on eligibility criteria and the application process.