We are no longer accepting applications.

A major part of Rising Voices’ mission to support and nurture underrepresented communities so that they can begin to take full advantage of participatory digital media tools has been our microgrants for citizen media outreach projects. Since 2007, these small grants provide an opportunity for individuals, grassroots groups, networks, and other organizations without significant access to larger funding to be able to pass along knowledge by teaching others in their community in the use of these tools, as well as to provide ongoing support.

Rising Voices is pleased to announce the 2012 open call for microgrant proposals, and we are currently accepting project proposals for funding up to $4,000 USD for global projects.

Who is Eligible to Apply

This funding opportunity is open to private individuals, groups, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). We encourage partnerships between individuals and organizations. For example, if an NGO does not have experienced citizen media trainers on staff, it would be extremely important that it seeks collaboration with the local blogging community to find the right trainer(s) with the necessary skills. Individual applicants might also find it highly beneficial to partner with organizations from the communities they plan to serve in order to strengthen the project's impact and to have access to potential project participants.

There is no requirement for an organization to be legally registered, but we do require selected projects to have access to a bank account that is able to receive international bank transfers.

What Kind of Projects May be Funded

Rising Voices seeks project proposals that share our mission of bringing voices from new communities, as well as underrepresented language groups to the online global conversation through the use of participatory citizen media. The project's primary activities should be to provide citizen media training workshops to the target community, as well vital ongoing support and mentoring. Please see our roster of current and alumni grantee projects for examples of previously funded projects.

Examples of potential projects may include:

• Organizing a citizen media “boot camp” with experienced local bloggers to train and mentor participants from underrepresented communities that will result in a local network of support.
• Working with an indigenous community to teach and encourage new generations to begin to use Twitter to connect with others as a way to preserve and promote their native language online.
• Partnering with a local library with a computer to lab to invite community members to discuss local problems and solutions, and train them how to create a group blog to take these conversations to the wider community.
• Organizing a series of digital photography group walks where residents can document life in their community together and create an online Flickr photography exhibit.
• Teaching local residents to record and edit audio recordings on Audacity for a community podcast that can be uploaded online, as well as distributed to local radio stations for a wider reach.

Project ideas are not limited to these, and we encourage you to be creative, yet realistic in your proposals.

Application Process

Interested applicants should complete the online proposal application form (link here), which should also include a detailed budget. It is extremely important that applicants follow the word count guidelines for each of the questions.

If you would like to download the application questions to complete offline in order to upload later, please view or download the text document here (Google Doc format). However, all applications must be submitted online, and we cannot accept any additional attachments. Once you have submitted the application, you will see a confirmation screen like this. While we welcome and encourage projects from all corners of the global, all applications must be completed in English due to the common language of our selection committee.

Rising Voices outreach grants will range from $2,000-4,000 USD. Please be as thoughtful, specific, and realistic as possible when drafting your budgets. Applicants are encouraged to submit budgets for less than the maximum $4,000 USD as smaller grants allow us to fund more projects.

The application deadline is February 3rd, 2012 at 11:59 PM GMT (Please double check the time zone equivalent in your region). The proposals will be reviewed by a committee of Global Voices staff and volunteers, as well as members of previous Rising Voices grantees. We hope to be able to announce the grant recipients by February 28, 2012.

Expectations of Successful Grantees

Successful projects will be prominently featured on the Global Voices networks. Grantees will be required to sign a grant agreement, which will outline accounting, reporting, and other terms and conditions regarding how funds will be distributed. Grantees will also be required to post regular project updates to the Rising Voices website, be in regular communication with Rising Voices staff, as well as actively participate in the Rising Voices community.

Feel free to ask questions in the comments section below or by sending an email to eddie [at] globalvoicesonline [dot] org.

Good luck!