Travel grants for women entrepreneurs and representatives of women's organizations

The program is organized by the “Women's Opportunities in Ukraine” Charitable Foundation. The goal is to support women working through public/charitable organizations or their own businesses by ensuring participation in international events, exchange of experience, and professional development.

The main tasks include:

• strengthening the position of women's organisations;
• promoting gender equality;
• developing women's entrepreneurship;
• supporting socially important initiatives;
• representing Ukraine at the international level.

Funding under the programme is provided in the form of a travel grant. Taxes may be covered under the travel grant if the grantee is not a staff member of the organisation submitting the application. One organisation may submit a travel grant application for up to two applicants who wish to participate in the same event.

The budget for one travel grant application is USD 1,000 (including taxes). The fund does not cover travel expenses for children accompanying the applicant.

The maximum grant amount is approved by the fund individually after reviewing the request. 

Importantly, the travel grant budget in the application must be completed in UAH.

The fund does not consider travel grants for the following areas:

• businesses related to the beauty industry;
• creative projects (dance, entertainment, music events);
• events involving animals (zoo conferences, exhibitions);
• businesses related to the funeral industry.

The fund disburses the grant in two instalments: the first instalment is the main part of the grant (70%), and the second instalment (30%) is paid after the fund receives a full financial report and the amount of the difference between the actual expenses and the first payment, but not exceeding the approved grant budget.

Under the programme, the following costs may be included in the travel grant application budget:

• transportation costs, including the purchase of economy-class tickets;
• accommodation costs (provided that the stay does not exceed 7 days);
• registration fee for participation in the event;
• travel insurance.

In addition, as part of the preparation for implementing the travel grant, the fund sends the applicant a prepared “travel box” with branded souvenir items that can be used during the event to take eye-catching photos, and recommends receiving communication and content advice from the Communications Director of the “Women’s Opportunities” foundation.

Applications under the programme are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year, and they are reviewed monthly. Applicants are notified about the approval of their application via email or messengers.

The final deadline for submitting a proposal is no later than three weeks before the planned trip. If an application is approved but the grant agreement has not been signed before the trip takes place, the agreement may be signed after the trip, and the funds may be transferred to the grant recipient organisation within the approved budget.

The fund makes a decision on awarding the grant within 14 calendar days.

To apply for the travel grant competition for activists and representatives of women's organisations, please fill out the application form at the link.

Applications are assessed based on the following criteria:

1. Compliance of the applicant’s organisation with the call requirements.
2. The event’s socially significant impact on the development of the organisation and entrepreneurial activity.
3. Relevance of the project/entrepreneurial activity to innovation.
4. Contribution of the grant to the sustainability of the applicant’s organisation or business.

Each criterion is scored on a 0 to 5 scale, where 0 is the minimum score (the application does not meet the criterion at all) and 5 is the maximum score. The total score determines the winner of each selection round.

Each travel grant application is reviewed individually by an expert committee.
The Foundation reserves the right to:

• request additional information from applicants for proper consideration of the application;
• not disclose the reasons for rejecting an application. 

Please attach the following documents confirming your trip and expenses to your application:

• invitation to the event from the host party;
• confirmation of accommodation and travel costs (booking);
• other documents confirming travel expenses;
• valid foreign passport;
• a letter of support from a non-governmental organisation;
• a letter of request if the applicant is a sole proprietor.

Travel grant reporting must be submitted electronically no later than 30 days after the date of return from the trip and must include the following components:

• a narrative report (a completed PDF file in the narrative report format) specifying a detailed list of the main tasks, responsibilities, and scope of work carried out during the trip, which was supported by the Fund’s travel grant, as well as a brief description of the potential future opportunities for the grantee or her NGO/business and the benefits of the trip;
• up to 5 photos illustrating the applicant’s participation in the event/internship/other;
• a financial report (an Excel table listing the expenses);
• supporting documents confirming the expenses incurred (receipts, bank account statements, scanned copies of flight boarding passes), as well as scanned copies of passport pages with border-crossing stamps, an invitation to the event/internship/other, and the programme of the event/internship/other with the specified dates.

The completed financial report and supporting documents (compiled into a single PDF file) should be sent to fund.wo.ua@gmail.com.

According to Article 23 of the NACP. Conflict of interest 4. Participants (founders) and members of the governing bodies of charitable organisations cannot be beneficiaries of charitable programmes.