Call for Proposals - Plan International Nigeria Youth Support Fund 2024 at Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian non-profit organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood, and enable children to prepare for - and respond to - crises and adversity. We believe in the power and potential of every child, but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination.

Title: Call for Proposals - Plan International Nigeria Youth Support Fund 2024

Location: Nigeria
Department: Programme and Partnership
Headed by: Programme and Partnership Manager
Grade: None
Duration: 6 months-May to October, 2024
Starting Date: TBD

Introduction
Plan International Nigeria is an independent development and humanitarian non-profit organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International Nigeria recently refreshed and updated its Country Strategy for the period FY2024-FY2028. This was done following the launch of the Plan Global Strategy in 2022. The new Country Strategy “Girls are empowered to take action and drive change” reflects Plan Nigeria’s focus over the next five years and reflects key changes in the organizational objectives that align with its membership journey. Within this strategy Plan Nigeria aims to reach 20 million girls to LEARN, LEAD, DECIDE AND THRIVE while ensuring robust and strategic partnerships with youth groups.

In recognition of the importance of youth engagement in driving this change, we are excited to announce an open call for proposals aimed at supporting youth-led organizations in Nigeria.

This initiative seeks to empower young leaders especially girls and social entrepreneurs who are actively working on issues around women and girls.

Why Focus on Youth?
Youth are a vital group that should be involved in bringing about the change we want to see in our society for several reasons:

• Innovation and Creativity: Youth often bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to complex challenges. Their creativity can lead to new and effective solutions to negative social norms around them.
• Long-term Impact: Supporting youth initiatives creates a long-term impact as these individuals will continue to contribute to their communities throughout their lives.
• Capacity Development: Investing in youth capacity building strengthens the future leadership in governance, programming and influencing efforts.

For the purpose of this call, "youth" refers to individuals between the ages of 18 and 30.

Objective

• The objective of launching this call for proposals for the Youth Support Fund 2024 in Nigeria is to empower and amplify the voices of young leaders especially girls in all diversities, who are uniquely positioned to drive impactful and innovative initiatives in addressing issues that concern women and girls in their communities.
• By providing a platform for youth to showcase their creative solutions, we aim to foster a culture of empowering young people and encourage sustainable practices.
• This initiative not only harnesses the energy and passion of Nigerian youth but also recognizes their potential to lead transformative change in their communities around issues that affect women and girls, ultimately shaping a more sustainable and prosperous future for the country.

Thematic Focus
The thematic focus for this call is on any of the listed areas:

• Education
• Protection,
• Climate Change
• Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights.

Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for a grant award, the applicant must:

• Be registered with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of Nigeria or be part of a recognized network and have an organizational bank account.
• Be youth-led organization (as defined in this document).  Members can be younger or older so long as the leadership is within the stipulated age range.
• Have relevant experience and proven records of working with communities and groups in activities related to women and girls in their communities.

Project Implementation
Project Implementation Period:

• It is expected that projects will be implemented for Six months (6) - May to October 2024.
• Funded organizations will execute their projects in line with proposed timelines and budgets, with a strong emphasis on youth leadership.

Monitoring and Reporting:

• Funded organizations will provide quarterly progress and financial reports and participate in monitoring and evaluation activities.
• The proposal should include participatory beneficiaries' engagement in for monitoring and accountability.

Funding Limit:

• Applicants can request for grant amounts ranging between 3 million to 7 million Naira.

Ineligible Costs:
Kindly note that the following costs will be deemed ineligible for funding:-

• Purchase of land, buildings, rent Deposit for assets
• Purchase of physical assets (vehicles, laptops, etc.)
• Operating and administrative expenses for another organisation
• International travel
• Contingencies, miscellaneous expenses
• Upgrading of facilities
• Indirect costs and organisational overheads
• Debt and debt service charges
• Insurance costs
• Currency exchange rate losses
• Costs or charges incurred due to financial transfer.

Grant Disbursement:

• Grants will be disbursed by Plan International Nigeria to cover the cost of delivery of your project to your organization’s verified account.
• You should provide a breakdown on how much you need to deliver the activities using the budget template in Annex 2.

Assessment Criteria

• Proposals received under this call will be reviewed by Plan International proposal review committee, who will use the outlined criteria to assess and select the most promising projects. The assessment criteria for this call are set out below. Each criterion is scored on a scale of 0 to
• All proposals received will be ranked and further assessed based on strategic fit, diversity and inclusion.

Assessment Scoring

To ensure that the funded projects align with Plan International Area of Global Distinctiveness (AOGD), proposals will be evaluated based on the following categories:

Application Closing Date
5pm WAT, Friday 29th March, 2024.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified youth-led organizations are invited to submit the following below in a zipped/compressed folder (labeled in your organization’s name) and send as an email attachment to: Nigeria.Consultant@plan-international.org. Subject of your email should read "Plan International Nigeria Youth Support Fund 2024"

• A proposal using the proposal template (Annex 1) and labeled in your organization’s name.
• A budget using the budget template (Annex 2) and labeled in your organization’s nam

Call Details
Click here for Further information about this proposal and templates.

Note

• Any proposal not submitted in this format will be disqualified.
• Please ensure that you read the call and instructions thoroughly before applying.
• Only successful applicants would be notified
• Girls led organization under the age range are highly encouraged to apply.
• Plan International Nigeria reserves the right to determine the final winners of the Youth Support Fund 2024 using the indicated criteria.

Q & A Webinar

• Plan Nigeria will host a Questions and Answers webinar for the Call for Proposals on Wednesday 20th March at 10am. Click here to register (Zoom)