CRIF Call for Proposals: Decolonize! 2024 (Up To $7,500 Grants)

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The Children’s Rights Innovation Fund (CPIF) invites children and youth activists to apply for the second iteration of decolonize!, CRIF’s first grant portfolio.

This funding stream focuses on racism, colonialism, and anti-Blackness as root harms and continued threats to the well-being of children and youth globally. This year’s decolonize! grant targets black youth from Caribbean, Kenya and Nigeria who are using art to create change, resist, and build more just communities.

Through decolonize!, CRIF funds child and youth organizers to resist these forces and build more just communities. The first iteration of the decolonize! portfolio funded 26 groups and organizations led by children and youth organizers across West Africa and the Americas. This iteration of decolonize! focuses on the use of arts as a tool for social change, recognising that “Artists are creators; activists hope to create change and that makes them an artist.

decolonize! will offer direct funding support to youth activists. In response to this call for proposals, young leaders may apply for core and project-based funding for up to $7,500. These grants will be awarded based on decisions made by a cohort of 6 peer youth activists and organizers (“The Collaborative”) who have set the parameters for this fund.

Types of Grants

Applicants may choose one of the following grants to apply for:

Core Grants

Flexible funding
Can be used for operations (e.g. paying your team, supplies, zoom account, etc)
Can support existing projects or new projects
Only available to youth-led groups and organizations

Project-based Grants

Funds should be used for a specific project
Can support existing projects or new projects
Only available to youth-led initiatives and campaigns only, but can be within an organization that is not youth-led
Does not need to be a new project – can be for work already underway

CRIF Decolonize! Funding Information

CRIF is accepting proposals from Black children and youth activists for grants ranging between USD S1.000 and $7,500.

What type of work will this fund support?

They know that art is defined in many different ways, and “every activist is an artist.” They also know that anti-Blackness, racism and colonialism can look very different from place to place. For this iteration of decolonize!, they want to focus on projects and organizations which are focused on cultural preservation initiatives. This could be work that focuses on culture directly but could also be work focused on language customs, collaboration and community building. feminist struggle and social change and/or afro-futurism.
They hope to fund any work that fits the above criteria and is led by Black children and youth. That could mean work that addresses other issues as well, such as climate justice, gender justice, land rights, sexual and reproductive health, racial bullying, discrimination of any kind or arts and culture. They are also interested in funding a wide range of projects that can also include school-based organizing, public awareness campaigns, literature of all kinds, including comics, blogs and podcasts. peer-to-peer learning spaces, or anything else you might be working on.

Eligibility Criteria for CRIF Decolonize!

CRIF is excited to support the dreams of Black child and youth activists. If they had unlimited funding, they would support anyone who applied. They’re unfortunately not able to do that, and so, in conversation with the Collaborative, they thought carefully about who amongst them are most exposed to risk and harm-those who are most vulnerable-as well as those who are ordinarily excluded from opportunities like these. With that in mind. they invite you to apply if you:
Identify as an activist of Black. African. and/or African descent.
Arc aged 30 or below and doing work in service of and/or in collaboration with children and youth, ages 13-25. They want to specially invite youth and child activists who are from the LCBTQ+ community, and those living with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities to apply.
You are an informal collective, Unregistered, or Registered organization
Informal group, network or collective: a group that comes together for a specific project or campaign that is most likely temporary or will disband once the goal is achieved
Unregistered: an organization not registered your jurisdiction
Registered: an organization registered or fiscally sponsored by a registered organization
Reside in vulnerable rural or urban areas, as well as slums, or ghettos within the Caribbean, Kenya or Nigeria.
Are in some way affiliated with a community-based or social movement organization or organized group that supports Black, African & African descent children and youth. This could mean that you are employed by the organization, you volunteer with them or that you have joined with them in support of their work for at least six (6) months in total. The organization should be able to confirm your relationship to them, if asked.
They specifically want to support community and school-based organizing, direct support, arts. and cultural development. play and sport, and rights education but would love to hear from you, even if you’re not sure that your project idea fits exactly into those categories.