SRHR Advocacy: The AmplifyChange Strengthening Grant

It is the small and medium-sized organizations that are at the forefront of so many advances in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, but most struggle to scale up their operations and expand their impact. AmplifyChange Strengthening Grant is tailored to these needs: capacity building for organizations, strengthening their programmes, and continued effective advocacy for the advancement of their communities' SRHR. This grant provides seed money that would facilitate various organizations to scale up their scope and deepen their influence in SRHR advocacy across eligible countries.

What Is the Strengthening Grant?

Strengthening grants are a kind of grant that AmplifyChange, a fund committed to supporting the advocacy for SRHR around the world, gives out. This kind of grant targets small to medium-sized organizations with established programs that need extra resources to build capacity, scale up their operations, and thus increase the impact on SRHR. The Strengthening Grant is particularly designed for those organizations whose average annual expenditure ranges between GBP 250,000 and GBP 500,000. It offers funding of up to GBP 100,000 to help these organizations move their SRHR initiatives to the next level.

Key Objectives of the Strengthening Grant

1. Capacity Building: This grant looks toward those projects that focus on the organizational structure, strengthening the general capacity of the organization in terms of leadership, governance, and operational systems.
2. Scaling Programs: The Strengthening Grant supports organizations to scale their existing SRHR programs to achieve expanded coverage and depth.
3. Sustainability: AmplifyChange further builds a more sustainable future for these organizations with its targeted funding so as to ensure their long-term existence and thereby advocacy for SRHR issues.

Eligibility Criteria for the Strengthening Grant

To start with, applicants must fulfill a set of very specific eligibility requirements to be eligible for the Strengthening Grant. These ensure funding is targeted at organizations which have potential for and capacity for increased growth and impact in SRHR advocacy:

• Location: Your organization should be registered and implement a project in an AmplifyChange eligible country. Eligible countries are generally low and middle income countries where SRHR issues will be pressing and underfunded.
• Financial Size: These are organizations that have an average actual expenditure ranging between GBP 250,000 and GBP 500,000 for the last two years. For instance, if your actual expenditure in 2021 was GBP 450,000 and in 2022 was GBP 600,000, then the average is GBP 525,000, hence over and above the eligibility threshold.
• Financial Justification: Evidence-applicants are required to provide financial documents in support, such as an audited report or profit and loss statement that shows annual expenditure.
• Bank Account: Your organization should have an already existing bank account where the funds from the grant could be transferred into.

The above criteria ensure the Strengthening Grant supports organizations that are ready to scale up operations and increase their impact on SRHR issues, but along with or in respect to requirements for financial transparency that allow for a responsible grant management.

How to Apply for the Strengthening Grant

The entire approach to the application process under the Strengthening Grant ensures that opportunities are available and transparent, with no unnecessary administrative obstacles to prevent eligible organizations from applying for funding. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to apply:

1. Visit the Grant Page: Please visit AmplifyChange's Strengthening Grant listing, where you can read more about the purpose of the grant eligibility criteria and descriptions of the kinds of projects that will be or have been funded.
2. Prepare Financial Documents: Be prepared to provide documentation of your organization's yearly expense from the past two years in the form of an audited financial statement or a profit and loss statement.
3. Submit Your Application: Applications are submitted via the AmplifyChange Online Application System, where you will be required to provide information about your organization and the project you are proposing, and how the funding will enable you to scale-up your SRHR work.
4. Application Review: Once the application is submitted, it will be placed before the grant committee at AmplifyChange for review. If your project gets selected for funding, you will receive the grant and can carry out the implementation of your project within the specified timeline.

What AmplifyChange Looks for in Applications

While eligibility is important, successful applications to the Strengthening Grant must also be able to clearly define how their proposed project will result in measurable impact. Applications will be assessed by AmplifyChange against the following critical success factors:

1. Capacity-Building Emphasis: The application should bring out that the grant will be useful in strengthening the capacity of your organization in governance, leadership, or operational areas.
2. Scalability: The project needs to identify how it will scale up the U&S of existing SRHR programs, including clear goals and strategies to reach more people.
3. Sustainability: Projects that focus on building the organization's sustainability in the longer term—through improving financial resilience, building partnerships, or enhancing program effectiveness—are favored.
4. Impact on SRHR: The project your organization is proposing must focus on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, especially in marginalized groups. AmplifyChange will look for projects using an approach toward gender equality, accessing sexual health services, and advocating for SRHR.

How Fluxx Supports Efficient Grant Management for AmplifyChange

A grant program of this caliber and value, like the Strengthening Grant, needs a robust, yet efficient system to manage such a process. This is where Fluxx comes in: AmplifyChange's grant management platform, Fluxx simplifies the process all the way from application submission to project reporting, thus making it easier to manage the grants for organizations.

Key benefits of using Fluxx for AmplifyChange include:

• Smarter Application Process: Fluxx creates a space where organizations can apply for grants and follow through with the process in one place, allowing access to all completed documents.
• Real-time communication: Through Fluxx, applicants get a chance to interact more directly with AmplifyChange staff for questions, clarity, and guidance through the grant period.
• Monitoring and Reporting: Fluxx provides the grantee organizations, upon the issuance of grants, an avenue to track project milestones, carry out reporting, and document respective outcomes per their work, therefore guaranteeing accountability and transparency.

AmplifyChange uses Fluxx to make its grant programs efficient and allows the organization that was granted-in this case, the Strengthening Grant-to focus on the actual implementation of their projects and hence achieve its goals on SRHR.

Amplifying the Impact of SRHR Advocacy

The Strengthening Grant from AmplifyChange is crucial in supporting similar small and medium-sized organizations to scale their SRHR advocacy. A grant like this provides the potential for ring-fenced funding, allowing organizations to scale operations, build capacity, and have more pronounced impacts around SRHR issues within their communities. Whether working to advance access to sexual health services, achieve full gender equality, or realize reproductive rights, AmplifyChange offers the tools needed to affect lasting change.

If your organization is ready to take its next step in SRHR advocacy, more information on how to apply for the Amplify Change Strengthening Grant can be found on their website.