Funding opportunities

We invest in and support research and innovative programmes from around the world. We also invest in purpose-related companies to help them maximise their positive impact, recognising the need for a thriving, socially and environmentally conscious private sector to ensure young people’s wellbeing.

Active funding opportunities

Fit4Future: Phase II

Fondation Botnar is launching the second phase of its Fit4Future programme, and we are looking for bold, innovative projects that harness digital technologies and AI. Read more.

Location: This call is open to initiatives from Romania, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, Indonesia, Vietnam, Colombia, and Ecuador

Deadline: 10 February 2025, 15:00 CET

Funding Instruments

Fondation Botnar distinguishes between different types of funding.

Implementation and Research Grants

Implementation grants involve longer-term projects that generate scalable impact, while research grants support research projects across innovation, validation and implementation.

Co-funding

Together with other foundations and donors, Fondation Botnar joins funding efforts to achieve change.

Strategic Partnerships

Fondation Botnar has several strategic partnerships, initiatives, and programmes to co-create positive impact with key partners.

Basic Grants

Fondation Botnar supports smaller, one-off innovative projects that explore new methods of working and utilise proven methods for sustainable impact.

Investing in purpose-related ventures

As part of our market-based approach to philanthropy , we invest in early-stage start-up companies that have the potential to positively shift the health, education, and technology sectors, maximising their impact on the livelihoods and wellbeing of young people in low- and middle-income countries.

What we do not fund

Fondation Botnar does not fund or support the following:

Religious and faith-based organisations
Political organisations
Organisations that discriminate against specific individuals or groups of people
Projects in war zones and areas where the safety of project workers is threatened by armed conflict
Pure infrastructure projects
Disaster relief*
Projects that replace government funding
Institutions, organisations, NGOs or companies that endanger the health or integrity of individuals with their activities (for example, in areas such as smoking, alcohol, drugs, weapons, prostitution, pornography, and violence)

In addition, please note that Fondation Botnar does not provide general funding in support of organisations, only specific projects. Further, applicants are only eligible for funding by Fondation Botnar if their project has a clear not-for-profit purpose.

*Fondation Botnar has made a special commitment to support specific global research efforts in response to COVID-19 until the end of 2020. Read more about our commitments here.

Important FAQs

I have an idea for a grant that I think would fit Fondation Botnar’s strategy perfectly, what should I do?

Thanks for your interest! For the moment we don’t accept unsolicited applications for funding. Applications are accepted by invitation only. Moreover, Fondation Botnar does occasionally open calls for applications, details of which will be published on our website. In such cases, before applying for a grant, please ensure that you have checked our website and read the questions below carefully. Please also kindly note our geographical focus.

To be considered for funding, a reminder that any application submitted to Fondation Botnar needs to comply with the following conditions:

Receiving a grant from Fondation Botnar means that you commit to upholding our values and principles.
Applicants must ensure that innovations are affordable, accessible and equitable for the targeted young people. Project proposals leveraging digital technology should adhere to Principles for Digital Development and ensure that the funded developments serve the public good.

What is the geographic focus area?

Romania, Ecuador, Colombia, Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

What kind of entities do you fund?

At Fondation Botnar we collaborate with a range of stakeholders such as not-for-profit organisations, public institutions, academic or research entities in the country of implementation, international or multilateral organisations, government / public authorities and other implementation partners, as required.

We also may collaborate with for-profit technology providers and NGOs for a service provision, advisory, implementation research support, and capacity strengthening role with the lead applicants.

Applicants pooling expertise in a consortium (for example, a public-private partnership) are welcome to apply.

For-profit members of an applying consortium should remember that Fondation Botnar requires grantees to ensure that innovations are affordable, accessible, and equitable for the targeted young people. Project proposals leveraging digital technology should adhere to Principles for Digital Development and ensure that the funded developments serve the public good. Please see Fondation Botnar’s Global Access Approach here.

In addition, Fondation Botnar does Venture Philanthropy investments in purpose-related start-ups. These should be early-stage (pre-seed to Series A). We primarily use equity instruments or convertibles for the investments. We are always a minority shareholder, never a lead investor. The company’s operations need to be in our focus countries, Low – and Middle-Income Countries. Such investments are different from programmatic funding, as described above.

Do you fund research projects?

We fund implementation science or research projects, but strongly encourage projects that combine this type of research with implementation, stakeholder engagement or policy work, for the benefit of young people between 10 and 24 years of age.

What kind of information/documents do I need to provide for an application?

If you are invited to submit an application, then you will be told the type of information and documents required at each application stage can be found in our Grant Application & Management System in the “More Info” section. Once the application window opens and you have registered as a user you can download a PDF version of the application forms.

Is co-funding required? What exactly counts as co-funding? For example, is an in-kind contribution from applicant organisations accepted as co-funding?

Applications for projects that have co-funding are strongly encouraged and will be given preference. Exceptional programmes that show co-funding in-kind will also be considered. However, a lack of co-funding will not disqualify a programme from being funded.

How long do you typically fund a programme?

Projects are usually funded for a duration of three years but can be longer.