A forward on the Disability Rights Fund

Disability Rights Fund Releases 2009 Request for Proposals: 3 New Countries Targeted in First Round

Contact: Diana Samarasan, Director
Telephone: 617-261-4593
Email: dsamarasan@disabilityrightsfund.org <mailto:dsamarasan@disabilityrightsfund.org>


The Disability Rights Fund (DRF)—a groundbreaking grantmaking collaborative supporting the human rights of people with disabilities—today announced its first 2009 grants round, "Raising Our Voice," targeted at disabled persons' organizations (DPOs) in three countries: India, Mexico and Ukraine.

The broad objective of the Fund—which was officially launched in March 2008—is to empower DPOs in the developing world and Eastern Europe/former Soviet Union to participate in ratification, implementation and monitoring of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD).

In 2008, the Fund made one-year grants to 33 organizations in 7 countries (Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru; Ghana, Namibia, Uganda; Bangladesh), totaling USD 800,000. Grants ranged from USD 5000 - 50,000 and supported CRPD awareness-raising, strengthening coalitions and networks, and rights advocacy.

In the first round of 2009 grantmaking, applicant organizations may apply within one of two categories: a) single organizations or partnerships and b) national DPO coalitions. Grants to single organizations will range from USD 5,000 to 30,000 and support efforts to build voice and visibility and to develop rights-based advocacy and monitoring on the CRPD. Grants to national DPO coalitions will range from USD 30,000 to 70,000 and will support advocacy toward ratification of the CRPD, passage of specific legislation to accord with the CRPD, or the production of shadow reports.

Interested organizations are urged to review the full eligibility criteria and application details posted at the Fund's website, http://www.disabilityrightsfund.org/grant.html <http://www.disabilityrightsfund.org/grant.html> . Any questions on the proposal process should be directed to info@disabilityrightsfund.org <mailto:info@disabilityrightsfund.org> by March 16. The deadline for applications is April 16, 2009.

As a donor representative on the DRF Steering Committee stated, "The launch of DRF's 2009 grantmaking process marks an exciting expansion of our grantmaking to DPOs in three new countries and an effort to support both more marginalized sectors of the disability community and national coalitions advancing the rights of persons with disabilities."

DRF's donors include the American Jewish World Service, an anonymous founding donor, the Open Society Institute, The Sigrid Rausing Trust, and the United Kingdom Department for International Development.




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