Where NGOs in Africa Can Find Grants and Calls for Proposals (2026)

Where are calls for proposals for NGOs in Africa posted?

The open calls with real money behind them come from a few places. The EU posts its grant calls on the Funding & Tenders Portal. UN agencies post calls for partners on the UN Partner Portal, and the UN’s humanitarian pooled funds run their own partner rounds. Some embassies run small-grant programs with yearly windows. A handful of African and international funders publish calls on their own websites.

Funding has shifted since 2025. USAID stopped carrying out foreign assistance on July 1, 2025, and the State Department took over the programs it kept (Congressional Research Service). Many US embassy small-grant programs that local NGOs relied on now show as closed or have been taken offline. For example, the US Embassy in Tanzania says it is “currently NOT accepting applications” for its Special Self-Help fund (US Embassy Tanzania). When we searched Grants.gov on October 26, 2026, we found no posted opportunities from 12 US embassies in Africa. That makes the EU, the UN, other governments, and private funders more important than before.

How do EU calls for proposals work for African NGOs?

The EU funds civil society through calls run by its delegations in each country. You find them by searching the Funding & Tenders Portal, register your organization in PADOR and the EU Participant Register (which gives you a PIC), and usually submit online through the EU’s PROSPECT system. EU grants usually cover only part of the costs, so expect to find some co-financing.

Two calls show how they work. The “ROOTS Zambia” call has a total budget of €6.83 million and a deadline of December 8, 2026 (EU portal). The lead applicant must be a non-profit civil society organization. A lead from outside Zambia must partner with at least one co-applicant established in Zambia, and grants in its first lot range from €1.6 million to €2.4 million (call guidelines). A call for civil society organizations in Benin has a €2.54 million budget and closes November 17, 2026 (EU portal).

Calls come and go. Nigeria’s 2026 civil society and human rights call closed in July (EU portal), and there was no open call for Kenya on the portal when we checked. Most EU calls are a few million euros, split into grants that are large for a small NGO. Smaller organizations often take part as co-applicants with a larger lead. Our guide to writing a concept note covers the first round of an EU call.

Can local NGOs get UN humanitarian pooled funds?

Yes, if you work in a country with a humanitarian response. OCHA’s country-based pooled funds give money directly to national and international NGOs as well as UN agencies (OCHA). In Africa they run in Somalia, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Two regional funds cover Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Chad in West and Central Africa, and Mozambique in Eastern and Southern Africa.

Local organizations get a large share. OCHA says the funds gave 55% of their money to local and national NGOs in 2025, the highest share ever (OCHA). But you can’t just apply. You first need to pass a capacity assessment and become an eligible partner. The Somalia fund, for example, says it “does not accept direct applications” for partnership or capacity assessments. Cluster coordinators refer active partners to it (Somalia Humanitarian Fund). Get to know the fund’s team and the humanitarian clusters in your sector, and watch for the next call for new partners.

Which embassies give small grants to local NGOs?

Several governments run small-grant programs through their embassies. They open once a year, country by country, so check each embassy’s page:

• Japan: its Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects funds buildings, equipment, and related training. In Kenya, local NGOs, schools, and medical institutions registered for at least two years can apply from August 1 to January 31, for about KSH 15 million per project (Embassy of Japan in Kenya). In Tanzania, the maximum is about 10 million yen (Embassy of Japan in Tanzania).
• Canada: the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives says “most CFLI funding is for local civil society organizations,” with projects averaging $31,000. Each country has its own deadline, and every round listed on its page is closed (Government of Canada).
• Australia: the Direct Aid Program funds community groups and NGOs (DFAT). The Nairobi high commission covers Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda, with grants up to AUD 60,000. Its 2026–27 round ran from July 16 to August 16, 2026 (Australian High Commission, Nairobi).

Mark next year’s likely windows on your calendar now. Embassy rounds tend to be short, and the best applications are drafted before they open.

Do private foundations and African funders accept applications?

Some do, but many don’t take unsolicited proposals. The Segal Family Foundation works through “a trusted network of referrals” (Segal). The Mastercard Foundation issues its own expressions of interest and requests for proposals instead (Mastercard Foundation). TrustAfrica lists unsolicited proposals under what it does not fund, but it does publish specific calls (TrustAfrica). The African Women’s Development Fund’s last call closed in 2025 (AWDF).

Some funders are open all year. Urgent Action Fund–Africa says it gives grants “throughout the year” with “no funding cycle”, for groups that are at least 70% women and women-led. Its grants are up to $12,000 for rapid response and up to $20,000 for advocacy (UAF-Africa).

GlobalGiving isn’t a grant program. It’s a fundraising platform open to registered nonprofits worldwide that pass its due diligence. It keeps a 5% to 12% support fee on donations, plus 3% for payment processing (GlobalGiving).

How do you find US foundations that fund your country?

US private foundations must list every grant they pay on their tax return, Form 990-PF, with each recipient’s name and address. That makes it possible to see which foundations already give in your country and field. On the 2025 form, the grants list is Part XIV, line 3. Line 2 has a box the foundation checks if it gives only to organizations it has picked itself and “does not accept unsolicited requests for funds” (Form 990-PF).

You can read these returns on ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer without paying. Candid’s search tool does the same work faster but costs from $100 a month billed yearly, or $219 billed monthly (Candid). Our guide on how to find grants walks through the method.

A US foundation that wants to fund you directly will need either an equivalency determination or expenditure responsibility. Our guide to equivalency determination vs expenditure responsibility explains what you’ll be asked for.

How do you spot a fake grant offer?

Real funders don’t charge you to apply or to receive a grant. The US Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers ask for “processing or other fees” and that government agencies “will not demand that you pay to get a grant” (FTC). The US Embassy in Tanzania states that “there is no cost to apply” to its program (US Embassy Tanzania).

Be wary of any offer that arrives without your applying, asks for a fee or bank details up front, or comes from a free email account. Check the call on the funder’s official website before you reply.

How do you keep up with new calls?

Set up the free alerts. The EU portal lets you save searches, UNGM lists UN grant calls and calls for implementing partners alongside its tenders, and the World Bank and AfDB send email alerts for project notices. Our guide to donor tenders in Africa covers those registrations. Then check the embassy and foundation pages in this post every few months, because their windows open and close on their own schedules. We also keep a list of open calls for African NGOs, checked at each funder’s site and updated weekly.

Frequently asked questions

References: EU INTPA, looking for funding; OCHA country-based pooled funds; OCHA 2025 review; Canada Fund for Local Initiatives; Japan GGP, Kenya; Australia Direct Aid Program; UAF-Africa FAQ; Form 990-PF (2025); FTC grant scam alert. Status of each program checked October 26, 2026.

This article is general information. It is not legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice, and reading it does not make you our client. Laws, regulations, and funder policies change, so check the cited sources and your own award terms before you act. Aventis West is not a law firm or an accounting firm. For advice on your own situation, talk to a qualified attorney or CPA. See our terms of use.