Funding Guidelines & Review Process

Below are the funding guidelines and a description of the review process that the Firelight Foundation uses to solicit proposals from and award grants to organizations that address the needs of children orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. Each year, our Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and staff review and revise these guidelines to reflect Firelight’s goals and to clarify our funding criteria. Please refer to our website for the most current version of the guidelines and application.

Funding Criteria
The mission of the Firelight Foundation is to support children in need. We believe that every child, regardless of race, religion, gender, or country, deserves the promise of a future. Our focus is children affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. We give one-year grants of $1,000 to $10,000 to community-based initiatives that work directly and effectively to support the fundamental needs and rights of children from birth to age 21 years who have been orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS. We believe that grassroots programs arising in direct response to real needs within the local community are often the most effective. Firelight supports this vital work with initial one-year grants. Firelight extends regrants to grantee-partners working in areas of continued need that have demonstrated effective service delivery, fulfilled Firelight’s reporting requirements, and submitted compelling regrant applications.

The Firelight Foundation looks for

• Programs that directly serve the needs of vulnerable children
• Grassroots responses that motivate a community to mobilize and contribute resources to address its needs
• Programs that demonstrate strong leadership and community ownership
• Organizations with a history of effective community action
• Programs where children take part in decision-making, advocacy, and leadership
• Innovative responses to the situations of children affected by HIV/AIDS

The Firelight Foundation believes that children develop best when raised within families and communities; therefore, we rarely fund orphanages. In exceptional cases, there may be reasons why institutional care is in the best interest of a child. We are often asked for food aid, medical care, and housing. We understand the urgency of these needs, but we are not a relief agency. If an organization requests such assistance, we ask them to explain how the planned activities will be addressed in a sustainable and integrated way. Similarly, we receive many requests for school fees. Firelight rarely funds requests for school fees alone. If an organization seeks such assistance, we ask how the organization plans to address children’s other needs and what will happen after a year of funding for basic schooling is completed.

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES
Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
The primary geographic focus of our grantmaking is Sub-Saharan Africa, the current epicenter of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In order for us to focus our efforts in an effective and sustained manner, we will only accept letters of inquiry from seven countries: Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. We will refuse inquiries from other countries unless an organization has already received a Firelight grant or we have asked the organization for a proposal.

AREAS NOT FUNDED
Firelight does not fund individuals, organizations, or programs designed to influence legislation or elect public officials; programs that limit participation based on race, religion, gender, or nationality; academic or medical research; or fundraising drives or endowments. We rarely fund U.S.-based organizations or branches of international non-governmental organizations.

The APPLICATION AND DECISION PROCESS
Firelight reviews proposals and awards new grants and regrants every six months.

New Grants: The Letter of Inquiry and Full Proposal
Firelight has always had the goal of making our application process simple and accessible to grassroots organizations. Applicants from our seven focus countries first submit a two- or three-page Letter of Inquiry that briefly describes their organization and the project or program for which funding is requested. Letter of Inquiry Guidelines are updated annually. These Guidelines appear on Firelight’s website (www.firelightfoundation.org), circulate through topical listservs, and are emailed and mailed out by the Foundation upon request. Firelight receives approximately 300 Letters of Inquiry each year. About 20% of these applicant organizations are asked to submit full proposals for more in-depth consideration by Firelight’s staff and Advisory Board. A full proposal provides detailed information about the applicant organization, the situation of vulnerable children served by the organization, and the activities proposed for funding, including a timeline and budget. In 2004, Firelight awarded just over 40 new grants.

Regrants
Organizations applying for continued funding from Firelight submit regrant proposals. These proposals include much of the same information as the new grant proposals, but also describe how the proposed activities build upon the work funded under the previous Firelight grant and how the activities fit within the organization’s longer-term vision and plans. Grantee-partners who have reported on their previous grants and who are otherwise in good standing with Firelight are considered for continued funding. Those partners who offer direct services to children, who benefit from extensive community involvement, and who demonstrate evolving organizational capacity are likely to be regranted. In 2004, Firelight awarded approximately 60 regrants.

The Decision Process
The staff analyzes proposals according to our funding criteria and country strategy documents. They engage in a due diligence process that includes a thorough review of an applicant’s organizational management, past and proposed activities, and budgetary information. They prepare proposal summaries that include an overall assessment of the application based on references from our in-country assessors, referees, and donors familiar with the applicant group. Our Advisory Board reviews these summary recommendations and makes a final recommendation for funding to the Board of Directors.

GRANT AWARDS
As a private foundation that makes overseas grants, the Firelight Foundation has detailed contract and reporting requirements for successful applicants. In order to receive grant funds, an organization must sign a grant contract and provide financial information, and where applicable they must complete an affidavit describing their charitable status, and furnish a copy of their by-laws. All grantee-partners receiving funds from Firelight commit to regular financial and narrative reporting on the grant award.