Request for Proposals: Seed Funding for Trans Youth Inclusion and Participation

Background

Despite the existence of trans- and youth-led organizations in the Asia-Pacific region, restrictive legal and policy frameworks limit their capacity to support young trans people. The COVID-19 pandemic has also led to decreased funding for essential health and social services for trans people, compounding the already limited access to such services for trans youth. 

Based on survey assessments conducted by the Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN), there is a lack of capacity building and development for younger trans people to serve as leaders in their respective organizations and communities. The existing barriers to health and social services for young trans people call for the leadership and meaningful engagement of trans youth to develop appropriate interventions. More efforts must be taken to recognise the realities and intersectionalities of young trans people’s lives, and to enable young trans people to take up leadership roles to address their community’s needs.

In partnership with APTN, under the Project “Transcending Borders: Strengthening trans and gender diverse movements towards transformative leadership, legal protection and trans-competent healthcare in Asia-Pacific and Africa” funded by the Robert Carr Fund (RCF), Youth LEAD aims to provide seed funding (small grants) for trans and youth-led organizations to conduct initiatives to increase the inclusion, participation, and voice of young trans people within their organization. 

Objectives

• To identify opportunities for trans- and youth-led organizations to enhance trans youth inclusion and participation within their organizations;
• To increase the capacity of trans- and youth-led organizations to include trans youth issues and needs in their organizations.

Outcomes

• Opportunities for trans- and youth-led organizations to enhance trans youth inclusion and participation have been identified;
• Trans- and youth-led organizations in Asia-Pacific have increased capacity to include trans youth issues and needs in their organizations.

Activity

The selected organizations will contribute to Project Activity 6.2: 

Seed funding (YKP Small Grants) to participating youth and trans-led organisations to conduct an initiative that increases the inclusion, participation and voice of young trans people within their respective organisations

Organizational Development

Young transgender people were found to have limited opportunities to develop their skills as leaders and be included in decision-making processes. Trans- and youth-led organizations must do more to include young transgender people and increase their capacity to become trans youth leaders.

In order to increase opportunities for capacity building and development for young transgender persons, it is important to ensure that trans- and youth-led organizations in the Asia-Pacific region have mechanisms or practices in place which institutionalize the inclusion and participation of young transgender people in their organizations and communities. Building the internal capacity of organizations to include and empower young transgender people is a critical step. To do this, consultations or capacity building workshops for trans- and youth-led organizations are necessary to identify sustainable strategies to enhance trans youth inclusion and participation in their own organizations, as well as identify gaps and challenges. The strategies identified should manifest into an action plan to demonstrate the organization’s increased commitment to trans youth inclusion and participation.

Budget

This is a short-term seed funding initiative and a total of three organizations will be selected for this small grant. The small grant will consist of a maximum budget of US$2,900 per organization. 

Eligibility Criteria

Applications from regional and national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or civil society organisations (CSOs), are considered eligible provided they are a trans-/youth-/YKP-led or serving organization in the Asia-Pacific region. Applicants must have the following:

• Proven track record of implementing projects related to trans rights, youth, and HIV/AIDS
• Commitment to support trans, youth, and YKP communities in the Asia-Pacific region
• Commitment to trans youth inclusion and participation in HIV response and programming in the Asia-Pacific region

Application Process

Applicants should submit a completed work plan and budget plan indicating how organizations plan to implement all proposed activities. Applications should follow the outline below:

1. Organization background
2. Organization registration or fiscal host agreement
3. Recent annual programmatic and audit report
4. Proposed work plan of activity/activities to increase trans youth inclusion and participation within the organization
5. Budget plan

The budget plan should be completed in US Dollars. The proposed budget may include both activity and administrative expenses. 

Applications must be submitted by email to opp@youth-lead.org by 30 May 2024. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. A maximum of three organizations will be selected from all applicants. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Timeline