Does Karibu have more than one grantmaking program?
Yes, Karibu has three primary grantmaking programs.
- Asia, Latin-America, Middle East, and Global Grant
- Africa Grant
- Urgent Action Grant (current partners)
These FAQs relate to the Asia, Latin-America, Middle East, and Global Grants. There is also the “Africa Grant” – Karibu’s African-led participatory grantmaking program. African activists and civil society members lead the decision-making process around grants. The program its own routines, decision-making processes, and eligibility requirements all found here.
Why is there a different program for Africa than Asia, Latin-America, Middle East, and Global?
Karibu’s African grantmaking program is an African-led and co-designed program that was formally launched in 2025. It was launched after a successful three year participatory grantmaking pilot project that moved decision making power to movements in Africa.
The program’s “Core Group” (consisting of African activists and civil society members) defines its own routines, decision-making processes, and eligibility requirements. You can read more background for the program here.
Is Karibu currently accepting applications for new grantee partners?
Karibu currently does not have any open calls for applications for new grantee partnerships in Asia, Latin-America, Middle East or Global.
We have a limited number of smaller, “new partnership grants” – where applications for consideration are accepted by invitation only. If you would like to inform us about a specific project or initiative that you think is relevant (and fits the eligibility criteria and focus of Karibu’s grants), you are welcome to fill out a short note of interest within Karibu’s grantmaking system.
What happens after I submit a “note of interest” in Karibu’s GMS?
If first-time applicants would like to inform us about a specific project or initiative, you are welcome to fill out a short note of interest within Karibu’s grantmaking system.
Although Karibu will read all of these notes, please note that this is not considered an application, however, and Karibu unfortunately cannot guarantee a response to each note of interest.
A small number of “notes of interests” will be invited to submit full applications for consideration.
Do I have to submit my application via the Grant Management System?
Yes, all applications should be submitted via the grant management system(GMS) in full before they can be considered.
More information about the “Africa Grant” will be available in around May 2025.
If you have any questions about technical use of our GMS, feel free to send us an email at post@karibu.no. You can also send a short “WhatsApp” message to +47 906 35 204.
Is my initiative eligible for support?
The Karibu Foundation supports activities and movements that are anchored in the Global South, which are providing alternatives to the dominant paradigms of power, distribution, and development. Projects that Karibu supports are primarily related to the areas of information exchanges, mobilizing efforts, legislative and research efforts, bridge-building, dialogue, and capacity building.
Karibu prioritizes projects that are South-South in nature (one or more countries or territories in collaboration).
Karibu prioritizes particular focus on the root causes of injustice, and how systems are interconnected (systemic approach).
What initiatives are not eligible for support?
Karibu does not give support to the regular operation of development projects, such as health, education, infrastructure, agriculture and/or community capacity building.
We also do not support projects connected to an individual, such as scholarships for education.
As a general rule, we do not provide support to organizations or networks that are based in the Global North.
Also, in most cases we do not provide support to projects that are working only nationally or locally in scope, as Karibu prioritizes projects that are South-South in nature (one or more countries or territories in collaboration).
If you have any questions about this, feel free to send us an email at post@karibu.no. Please note, however, that given the large amount of emails that Karibu receives and staff constraints, we cannot guarantee that we can respond to all inquires about individual projects.
What should be included in an application to Karibu?
Within the grant application system, you will see a number of questions that will give us a short presentation of the project, its contents, and the specific request to Karibu.
At the end of the initial questions, you will be asked to attach a concept note and a complete budget related to the project.
Karibu does not at this time require a particular format for the concept note and budget, and accepts most formats. Nevertheless, in order to process an application, some basic information should be included in the documentation given by the applying organization/network. You can download these guidelines here: Application and Budget Guidelines
Has anything changed from previous grant processes?
The grant application and materials are inspired by and drawn from Karibu’s participatory grantmaking efforts with movements in the Global South over the past few years. We have extended the option for longer-term funding support, now up to 24 months. While the maximum annual grant is now USD 20,000 to allow us to support more groups, we have made the budgets significantly more flexible, with up to half available for core support (salaries, office rent, insurances, group care, etc).
Is there a standard grant amount given by Karibu?
Karibu does not provide a standard (fixed) amount for grants. Each application is processed on a case-by-case basis, and a grant from Karibu will be determined based on various factors and in communication with the applicant organization. Grants, however, tend to range from 5,000 USD to maximum 20,000 USD annually.
Can I apply for Core Costs?
Grants for Asia, Latin-America, Middle East and Global processes are generally flexible, allowing up to half of the funding to be used for core costs such as salaries, office rent, and insurance. This flexibility is aimed to support movements as they make decisions that best align with their unique needs and priorities.
Is there additional documentation I should be prepared to submit to Karibu?
In some situations (mainly for new grant seekers), Karibu will also request a narrative presentation of the organization or network’s history, goals and decision-making structures, as well as an overall financial report of the partner’s operation for the last one or two years.
If I have previously applied and didn’t receive a grant, may I apply again?
Please note that Karibu is unfortunately not receiving applications from new potential grantee partners in 2025. Only a select number of “notes of interests” will be invited to submit full applications.
Please note that if you have previously not been successful, and there have been no substantive changes to the application, it is unlikely that Karibu would consider support with a new application.
Is there a deadline for application submission?
The Karibu board meets approximately three times each semester to consider funding requests on a rolling basis. All applications to Karibu must therefore be submitted at least 4 weeks in advance of each Board meeting in order to be eligible for consideration, unless otherwise stated. Concrete deadlines for each Board meeting are posted here.
Applications must be sent to us in good time, so that our processing can be completed well in advance of suggested project start dates.
You can find the dates of Board meetings on our website here.
What happens after I submit my application?
The Karibu secretariat will review the information that has been sent to us to deem if the application is eligible for consideration. Eligible applications will then be reviewed by the secretariat, and a select number of positive recommendations are presented to the Board of Karibu for consideration.
The Board of Karibu makes the final decision related to project funding on our Asia, Latin-America, Middle East, and Global Grants.
Will all eligible applications be presented to the Board for consideration?
No, unfortunately. Not all applications will be presented to the Board for consideration, based on various considerations.
How much time does it take before I hear back from Karibu about my application?
Projects that have been granted support will normally hear back from Karibu within 3 weeks of the Board’s meeting, after the minutes of the Board meeting have been formally approved. It can sometimes take longer to hear back from us.
What are the reporting requirements if I receive a grant from Karibu?
The reporting requirements (and deadlines) are outlined in contracts with Karibu, and all documents should be uploaded to the Grant Management System (GMS). There may be auditing requirements based on the size of the grant. You can download these guidelines related to our reporting requirements here: Reporting Requirement Guidelines
What if I only have a starting concept, and not a complete application or concept note?
If you have any questions about this, feel free to send us an email at post@karibu.no.
Given the large amount of emails that Karibu receives and staff constraints, however, we cannot guarantee that we can respond to all inquires about individual projects.
Please note that it is expected that all potential applicants have read these guidelines before submitting an application to Karibu. FAQs are updated as of 3 February 2025.