Providing urgent support where it is needed most.
Who supports this sub-fund ?
Movement Building is made possible by the commitment of Bodossaki Foundation, Fondation CHANEL, Fondation de France, Fondation RAJA-DAnièle Marcovici, King Baudouin Foundation, and L’Oréal Fund for Women.
The challenge
Across Europe, democracy is in decline. Key indicators such as the rule of law, the quality of elections, and media freedom are weakening, although the extent varies between countries.
Within this fragile context, the anti-gender movement has gained ground, rolling back human rights and further accelerating democratic erosion. At the same time, civic space is shrinking. Budget cuts, censorship, and targeted smear campaigns are making it harder for women, trans, and non-binary-led grassroots organisations to sustain their critical work.
When grassroots gender equality organisations are equipped to withstand destabilising pressures and seize opportunities to drive progress, democracy becomes more resilient. Advancing gender equality requires not only countering the millions funnelled into anti-gender and anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups but also ensuring that marginalised communities receive the support they need in times of uncertainty.
Our contribution
Protecting hard-won progress
We provide critical resources to grassroots gender equality organisations protecting hard-won progress against new threats and attacks.
Building resilience
We support grassroots gender equality organisations to withstand, respond to, and recover from external destabilising pressures. This can be through innovation, adaption, or collaboration.
Seizing new opportunities
We enable gender equality organisations to act quickly, decisively, and creatively when opportunities arise to advance gender equality.
Key figures
delivered to partners so far.
organisations supported with Europe-wide impact.
What we fund
Opportunity grants
These grants enable organisations to take advantage of political momentum, unlock new funding for the ecosystem, strengthen their public presence, or explore emerging issues when the right moment arises. Opportunity grants make it possible to move fast, think creatively, and amplify impact.
Emergency grants
These grants support organisations facing an unexpected and urgent threat that endangers the people they serve, jeopardises their ability to operate, or risks major setbacks for gender equality. Emergency grants help organisations act quickly where safety, stability, or hard-won progress are at stake.
Check if you are eligible
Is your organisation facing an unexpected emergency or wants to seize a timely opportunity? If so, please complete this short quiz and pre-application form.
The quiz is quick and straightforward, and will let you know immediately whether your organisation is eligible to continue. Eligible organisations can then express interest by sharing some basic information about their organisation and project in the form. You can find the questions for both here.
Please note that only eligible organisations will be considered. Due to expected high levels of interest, the Alliance team will only contact organisations that are a good fit. Completing this form does not guarantee funding.
1
Review the eligibility criteria
In the FAQ below.
2
Take the quiz
Answer 10 short questions to check if you are eligible.
3
• If eligible:
Submit basic information about your organisation and initiative in the pre-application form.
• If not eligible:
The quiz will notify you immediately.
4
Review process
Based on your answers in the quiz and form, our team will determine if you can move forward to the full application stage.
Our team will review your information within two weeks.
5
Invitation to apply
If your organisation is a good fit, you will receive the full application form.
If you don’t hear from us within two weeks, your submission was not successful.
You may try again only when a new emergency or opportunity arises.
6
Full application
Your application will be reviewed and due diligence will be conducted.
Submitting a full application does not guarantee funding.
We aim to give a final answer within two to four weeks.
Frequently asked question
What situations qualify as an emergency?
The following situations qualify as an emergency:
- To provide life-saving services to marginalised women and people during a crisis such as a conflict, climate disaster, pandemic, or economic collapse.
- Risk of closure of a key grassroots intersectional gender equality organisation due to loss of substantial funding or unwarranted pressure by the authorities.
- Physical or digital security risks of staff or members, including but not limited to: Doxing, online hate, harassment, surveillance, violence, legal persecution.
- A political crisis where anti-gender forces could seize power and decisively reverse progress for gender equality.
What situations qualify as an opportunity?
By opportunity, we understand proposals aiming to:
- Seize political momentum to advance gender equality at pan European or national level.
- Leverage a timely opportunity to unlock or attract additional or sustained funding for gender equality organisations.
- Make the most of a key moment to boost social media presence, influence narratives, and strengthen press or public outreach.
- Pilot a new approach or explore an emerging issue when the right opportunity arises.
My organisation has a planned activity for which we have not yet secured funding. Would this be eligible for funding?
Planned activities are only eligible if their original funding has been lost due to significant budget cuts. Otherwise, no. The activity must be unanticipated and time-sensitive, arising in response to a specific political context.
Which countries must applicant organisations be based in?
Eligible organisations must be based and operating in one of the following:
EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, or Armenia.
What types of organisations are eligible?
Legally registered small and medium-sized grassroots or community-led organisations working on gender equality.
What is a grassroots organisation?
Grassroots organisations are defined as being strongly grounded in, having direct relationships with and being accountable to the communities they support.
What is a community-led organisation?
Community-led organisations are those where a majority of leadership roles are held by people from the supported community, or organisations that use participatory approaches in their work.
What counts as a small or medium-sized organisation?
Small and medium organisations are defined as having an annual budget under the following amounts (thresholds are based on the national cost of living and labour costs):
- Organisations based in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden or the UK: 600 000€
- Organisations based in Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Armenia: 450 000€
Are regranting organisations eligible?
Yes. Regranting organisations are exempt from the budget thresholds but must allocate the majority of the requested budget to regranting.
Which communities must eligible organisations support?
Organisations supporting marginalised people defined as women, transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming people who are low-income; from migrant, racialised or ethnic minority backgrounds; victims of violence; from rural or disadvantaged areas; living with disabilities; or perceived as young or old.
Do organisations need to use a specific approach to gender equality?
Yes. Organisations must work with an intersectional perspective, meaning they must recognise that people experience overlapping systems of oppression (such as sexism, racism, classism, ableism, and homophobia) that shape their lives and access to power, and use a gender-transformative approach, which empowers individuals while also addressing the systems and norms that uphold gender inequality.
How much can an organisation request?
Each proposal must request a minimum of €10.000 and a maximum of €30.000.
You cannot request less than €10.000 or more than €30.000.
What is the eligible duration for a grant?
Supported initiatives must be implemented within a year of the grant attribution.
Can organisations request project or core funding?
You can request project or core funding. For core support, all types of costs are accepted, including costs incurred by the organisation not targeted at specific activities/projects, such as salaries, staff training, rent, office costs, and equipment.
I have completed the eligibility quiz and submitted an expression of interest, now what?
The Alliance team will review your expression of interest. If it is deemed to be a good fit, you will be contacted within two weeks of submission and asked to submit a full application. If you are not contacted within two weeks, your submission was not successful at this time. Due to limited resources, the Alliance cannot fund all applications.
My organisation has previously benefited from an Emergency or Opportunity Grant from the Alliance for Gender Equality in Europe. Can I apply for another?
No, each organisation may only benefit from a one-time Emergency or Opportunity grant. This serves to ensure that the Alliance’s limited resources can support as many organisations as possible.
Can the grant be used for co-financing a larger project?
No. The aim of these grants is to support a new or unexpected need.
Can a new organisation apply for the grant?
A newly created organisation can apply for the grant.
Can an organisation apply in a language other than English?
You can apply in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin.
Can current grantee partners of the Alliance for Gender Equality in Europe apply for an Emergency or Opportunity grant?
No, current grantee partners of the Alliance may not apply for an Emergency or Opportunity grant.
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