Grants to Strengthen Organizations' Digital Resilience

The grant programme, implemented through the CIVICUS Crisis Response Fund and the Digital Democracy Initiative, aims to strengthen the resilience of civil society organizations facing civic space challenges in the digital age.

The programme supports activities that:

• proactively prevent or mitigate restrictions, threats, and barriers affecting civic space;
• help civil society organizations continue their work toward a more inclusive democracy;
• address digital threats, risks to digital civic rights, and challenges to civic participation;
• use digital technologies to strengthen digital resilience and respond to broader civic space threats, including offline threats.

The provided materials do not specify a scoring system or numerical evaluation scale. Instead, they define the eligibility criteria that applicants and proposed initiatives must satisfy.

Key application requirements include:

• the applicant must be a local civil society organization, group, or social movement (formal or informal) working to expand civic and democratic freedoms and promote inclusive democracy;
• priority is given to underrepresented or marginalized groups, including women, youth, grassroots initiatives, and LGBTQI+ communities;
• applicants must be based in Global South countries receiving Official Development Assistance, with priority for countries where civic space is restricted;
• applicants must demonstrate a verifiable imminent civic space threat or a need to strengthen digital resilience;
• proposals must focus on digital resilience responses or activities rather than advocacy initiatives or unrestricted core funding;
• proposed activities must be implemented within six months;
• applicants must have an organizational bank account (or an approved alternative funding arrangement) and be able to track grant expenditures, including monthly financial reporting;
• organizations must not have received funding from the CIVICUS Crisis Response Fund within the previous two years.

The grant programme provides funding for both individual organizations and joint applications.

Key funding conditions include:

• up to USD 10,000 for a single organization submitting an individual application;
• up to USD 20,000 for joint applications submitted by two or more organizations;
• grant funds must be used within six months;
• applications are accepted throughout the year and are reviewed on a rolling basis.

The grant programme supports projects aimed at strengthening the digital resilience of civil society organisations and responding to digital and broader civic space threats.

Supported activities include:

• creating safe online spaces and other solutions that enable civil society actors to continue their work safely online;
• delivering training in digital security, digital skills, digital well-being, and resilience;
• conducting digital security assessments with expert guidance and capacity support to address identified risks;
• providing equipment, software licences, and other technology tools to strengthen digital protection;
• legal and other response measures to address online attacks, harassment, and the criminalisation of online expression;
• providing psychosocial support for organisations and individuals affected by online attacks and digital threats;
• initiatives promoting digital access and equality, particularly for marginalised groups;
• developing strategies to respond to legal and regulatory threats affecting civic freedoms in the digital space;
• other activities designed to prevent or mitigate digital threats, threats to digital civic rights, civic participation, inclusive democracy, and broader civic space threats through the use of digital technology and strengthened digital resilience.

• Submit an application at any time during the year.
• Eligibility and partner verification.
• Application assessment.
• Expected processing, contracting and first disbursement within 8 weeks.
• Signing the grant agreement.
• Project implementation (up to 6 months).

Applicants may submit funding applications throughout the year by following the established application procedure.

The process includes the following steps:

• review the eligibility criteria and confirm that the organisation meets all requirements;
• download the application templates:
  • the application form (Word) to prepare responses;
  • the budget template (Excel) to develop the budget proposal;
• prepare the application offline using the downloadable templates. Since the online application form cannot be saved and resumed later, applicants are encouraged to prepare all responses in advance;
• submit the application through the online application form, copy the prepared responses into the required fields, upload the completed budget file, and submit the application.

Grantees are expected to ensure proper planning and tracking of grant expenditures throughout the implementation period.

Key requirements include:

• applicants must be able to plan and monitor the use of CRF–DDI grant funding;
• monthly receipt-based financial reports must be submitted to CIVICUS;
• the reporting process should demonstrate that grant funds are being used in accordance with the approved purpose and the programme requirements.

Applicants must meet the programme eligibility requirements. Successful applicants must sign the grant agreement in English, comply with its conditions and submit interim and final narrative and financial reports in English.