Community Based Organization Call Criteria

This particular funding window targets interested and qualified community-based social movements, youth clubs, farmer’s associations, cooperative associations, faith-based organizations, private-sector associations, media organizations and trader’s associations, that are able to implement projects that contribute to achievement of at least one of the Foundations result areas. The Tilitonse Foundation recognizes the high potential for delivering on its outcomes and impacts through community-based organizations. Among other features, CBOs are mostly membership-based (hence they experience the problems themselves), demonstrate a high volunteering spirit, and deliver results within their well rooted constituency bases, and hence potentially very effective agents of citizen voice and accountability. 

Selection Process

In order to give opportunity to as many CBOs in Malawi as possible to access this funding opportunity, the Foundation has put in place criteria targeting the CBOs. Further, having observed the capacity gaps that exist among CBOs, the Foundation will facilitate capacity development support in the application process for this strategic window. CBOs shall be required to submit concept notes that are evaluated using the set criteria. Focus of the evaluation is to identify best ideas that could be further developed into simple and effective governance interventions at the local levels. The Board will approve the recommended concept notes and all shortlisted CBOs at this stage will be assured of funding provided they pass the due diligence appraisal that determines the final award of the grant. The shortlisted applicants will receive technical support from the Foundation with the assistance of mentors to develop full proposal and project documents. The mentors will be identified by the Foundation under its capacity development support. The Foundation will develop a database of ‘Mentors’, who comprise organizations and individuals with various expertise and skills. These mentors will support the CBOs in different areas including:

  1. Technical and program areas such as planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, information and knowledge management.
  2. Financial management and accounting systems. 
  3. Helping CBO staff to understand and apply concepts especially with regards to governance. system.
  4. Ability to analyze the local and wider politics and how projects are situated in them, and how to properly adjust projects to have influence on these contexts. 

A group of shortlisted grant applicants from CBOs will carefully be matched with the available mentors to work with them to improve the quality of the project documents. A proposal development guidance session will be organized by the Foundation targeting the shortlisted CBOs and the identified mentors. This will provide the initial interaction between the mentors and the allocated CBOs. The full proposals will be reviewed by the Foundation and where necessary further guidance will be provided to both the mentor and the organization to refine the project documents to the requirements of the Foundation standards.