About

Applications are now open for the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) to support projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes.

The large majority of UNDEF funds go to local civil society organizations -- both in the transition and consolidation phases of democratization. In this way, UNDEF plays a novel and unique role in complementing the UN's other, more traditional work -- the work with Governments -- to strengthen democratic governance around the world.

Themes and Constituencies

• Projects fall under one or more of seven main themes: 

  • Civic engagement for climate action 

  • Rule of law and human rights 

  • Media and freedom of information 

  • Women Leadership 

  • Youth engagement 

  • Strengthening civil society interaction with Government

  • Electoral processes (elections scheduled mid -2026 at the earliest) 

• And in one or more of the following constituencies at risk of being left behind: 

  • Women 

  • Youth 

  • Journalists and Media organizations 

  • Minorities: ethnic, religious and other groups at risk of being left behind 

  • People with disabilities 

  • Civil society actors & Community of practice

Funding Information

• Applicants must request an amount within a range of 100,000 USD and 200,000 USD for any given proposal.

• In principle, UNDEF grants will be allocated for projects with default duration of two years. However, it is acceptable to UNDEF if a successful applicant completes a project in less than two years.

Ineligible Activities

• UNDEF will not prioritize project proposals that focus on the following activities:

  • Projects that do not promote democracy

  • Projects filling a funding gap in existing activities or programmes 

  • Projects focused primarily on research 

  • Projects co-financed with other donors

Priority Countries and Regional Balance

• Strong preference will be given to applicants from countries and regions where the challenges of democracy are more critical, such as countries emerging from conflict, new and restored democracies, the Least Developed Countries (as per the official classification of the UNOHRLLS), Low Income Countries (“Low Income Economies” as per the World Bank’s official classification based on Gross National Income per capita) and Middle Income Countries (“Lower and Upper Middle-income Economies”, idem).

Eligibility

• Local and Global/Regional Projects 

  • UNDEF will invite proposals for projects that either take place in one country only (local) or occur in several specified states of a region or sub-region (regional) or intend to operate at the global level (global). UNDEF will reserve at least 80% of its programmable resources in each funding round for projects taking place in one country and will allocate no more than 20% to global/regional projects.

• Types of applicants 

  • UNDEF funds projects implemented by non-UN organizations, not individuals, profit-making or government entities. Eligible applicants must be duly constituted nationally or internationally and have legal status. 

  • At the project proposal stage, you will be required to indicate the type of organization applying for funding: 

    • Civil Society Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations engaged in promoting democracy

    • Independent and Constitutional Bodies, (3) Global and Regional inter-government bodies, organizations and associations other than the United Nations

Post Date: February 03, 2025