Education, Human Rights & Inclusion: April 2025 Funding Opportunities
Includes opportunities in human rights, reduced inequality, financial inclusion, and livelihoods.
The grants are organized into three categories:
Open Calls: Current grant and opportunities with a deadline. Grants are listed by closing date.
Rolling Applications: current grant and opportunities with rolling applications (but it’s still best to submit as early as possible).
Long term planning: Grants that have closed their current rounds, but are expected to open new windows.
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Open Calls:
Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia), APNIC Foundation. *Closing soon!*
The Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia) empowers organizations across the Asia Pacific region to research, design, and implement Internet-based solutions to solve Digital Development challenges that support community development and growth. Currently seeking projects that address one of the of the foundations focus areas including, internet infrastructure (including IPv6), inclusion, technical capacity and/or research around Internet network operations, and environmental activism through meaningful connectivity.
Geographies: Asia Pacific.
Who can apply: All organizations welcome to apply, including public, private sector, academia (such as universities, or research and development institutions), non-profit, and social enterprises. All applicants must be legally registered in Asia Pacific.
Funding amount: Grants range $30,000 - $250,000.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: Digital inclusion, internet connectivity.
Deadline: April 4, 2025.
Capacity Building, The Kauffman Foundation. *New!* *Closing soon!*
The Kauffman foundation supports activities that contribute to closing economic mobility gaps through college access and completion, workforce and career development, or entrepreneurship in the Kansas city area. Capacity Building grants are designed to strengthen the organizational capacity of nonprofits by fostering sound leadership, strong boards, professional development for staff, technology, evaluation, strategic planning, communications, and sustainability. Applications open twice each year. Rather than funding a charity’s specific program or singular service, Capacity Building grants look for opportunities to support an organization’s focus on internal effectiveness and long-term stability. These one-time, short-term grants will be awarded to charities that demonstrate a specific capacity gap and who are aligned with our strategic priorities and focus areas which include: essential competencies and skills, education and employer connection, participation and belonging, equitable access.
Geographies: Kansas City region, USA.
Who can apply: Nonprofits.
Funding amount: Grants range $100,000 to $250,000.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs:
Deadline: April 4, 2025.
IOM Grants for ECOWAS, IOM Mission Nigeria. *New!* *Closing soon!*
Accepting applications from partners to implement activities to support the call’s thematic areas; 1. Strengthening the free movement of persons, right of residence and establishment, and regional integration in the ECOWAS region, including through advocacies, trainings and sensitization activities. 2. Supporting the cross-border movement of populations and promoting cross-border cooperation. 3. Protection of migrants, returnees and cross-border populations’ rights. 4. Protection and access to social protection for migrant workers in the ECOWAS region. 5. Protection and empowerment of migrants and cross-border populations, in particular, vulnerable migrants and populations at risk – women, children and youth, stranded migrants, and victims of trafficking. 6. Gender, climate change, and migration nexus. The project activities implemented by the Implementing Partners (IPs) are expected to lead to the promotion of civil societies in the ECOWAS region and private sector awareness raising on the Protocol on Free Movement and the Regional Integration Agenda. Furthermore, the project activities implemented are expected to result in an increase in the Non-State Actors and Local Authorities, including women’s organizations and movements promoting gender equality and access to initiatives, who are actively supporting the protection of migrants, returnees and cross-border populations rights.
Geographies: ECOWAS member states; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, as well as Mauritania.
Who can apply: Non state actors, including
private sector, non-profits, women’s organizations, economic and social partners, migrants and diaspora associations, academia, and more.
Funding amount: Grants range €50,000- €100,000.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: Human rights, Inclusion, protection, migrants, gender, free movement.
Deadline: April 14, 2025.
The Small Research Grants on Education Program, Spencer Foundation. *Next round closing soon!*
The Small Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education. This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. The goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education. The Spencer Foundation funds research projects that span the life course (i.e., from early childhood to adult learning) as well as those that focus on contexts outside of school.
Geographies: Global.
Who can apply: Principal Investigators (PIs) with an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field and affiliated with a non-profit organization or public/governmental institution that is willing to serve as the administering organization if the grant is awarded.
Funding amount: Grants up to $50,000 for projects ranging from one to five years.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: Education.
Deadline: Next round closes April 16, 2025. They accept applications three times a year.
Open March Cycle, WITH Foundation. *New!*
WITH Foundation was created to provide financial support to organizations that promote comprehensive healthcare for adults with developmental disabilities. All grant applications should complement this mission and demonstrate how they will accomplish this overarching goal. All submitted programs should improve delivery of healthcare to adult consumers with developmental disabilities and include at least one of the following: (1) improve health practitioner competency through education and/or training programs, (2) address the current inadequate reimbursement system, (3) advance innovations in formal care coordination, (4) enhance advocacy regarding the inadequacies of developmentally disabled care in order to advance systemic change, (5) increase understanding of supported decision-making in healthcare settings, (6) national efforts in digital health that support designers and developers to include the perspectives/experiences of the IDD community within the design process, in order to create better technology for all, (7) social policy research, or (8) identify and overcome barriers to high-quality healthcare access.
Geographies: USA.
Who can apply: Non-profits.
Funding amount: Grant of up to USD $150,000.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: inclusion, health.
Deadline: April 17, 2025.
2025 Global Economic Prosperity Challenge, MIT SOLVE.*Closing soon!*
MIT Solve seeks exceptional technology-driven solutions to increase economic prosperity for all with a 2025 focus on solutions that; 1. Enable universal access to financial services, including innovative fintech tools for banking, insurance, credit, instant payments, and asset ownership, 2. Increase digital participation and security, including reliable connectivity and protected online spaces that safeguard civic participation, privacy, and digital identity, 3. Expand workforce development, such as through skill-based training, employment matching, and career mobility programs, or worker safety and benefits, with an emphasis on underinvested populations. Each Solver team receives $10,000 in unrestricted funding from Solve and access to additional financing in the form of grants and investments, this includes access to a pool of +$1.5M in prize funding at selection and additional funding opportunities throughout the program.
Geographies: Global.
Who can apply: Applicants welcome from all organizations from any stages (concept, prototype, pilot, growth and scale).
Funding amount: $10,000 - $150,000.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: Financial services, fintech, digital participation, workforce development AI, innovation.
Deadline: April 17, 2025.
2025 Global Learning Challenge, MIT SOLVE.*Closing soon!*
MIT Solve seeks exceptional solutions that leverage technology to improve learning outcomes for all, with a particular interest for 2025 in solutions that; 1. Increase access to quality learning experiences and materials, especially for those living in emergency and conflict-affected areas or with limited internet, 2. Improve engagement and enable better learning outcomes for those with disabilities and learning differences, while benefiting all learners, Provide the skills that people need to thrive in a complex world, from problem-solving to AI literacy, with adequate training and support for educators. Each Solver team receives $10,000 in unrestricted funding from Solve and access to additional financing in the form of grants and investments, this includes access to a pool of +$1.5M in prize funding at selection and additional funding opportunities throughout the program and after.
Geographies: Global.
Who can apply: Applicants welcome from all organizations from any stages (concept, prototype, pilot, growth and scale).
Funding amount: $10,000 - $150,000.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: Education, education in emergency and conflict-affected areas, vulnerable communities, AI, innovation.
Deadline: April 17, 2025.
CapitaLand Community Resilience Initiative, AVPN. *New!*
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