SOLIDARITY FUND R75m FUNDING TO BENEFIT 335 ORGANISATIONS IN THE GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE SECTOR
Community Keepers has received a grant from The Solidarity Fund, via Tshikululu Social Investments, as part of their large-scale, national response to the challenge of Gender-Based Violence in South Africa. This funding will enable us to extend our #antibullying and #GBV campaign which has already reached 12 254 learners through 729 workshops hosted across 28 primary and high schools.
“Before the advent of COVID-19, South Africa was already battling an epidemic of gender-based violence. Levels of GBV were already high, but worsened during lockdown. A total of R75 million will enable the 335 grant recipients to continue providing critical services to vulnerable men, women and children across South Africa. This funding aims to support the national effort to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, and ensure that services related to GBV prevention, response and access to justice are available to those who need them the most.
The need for this kind of large-scale funding is illustrated by the number of applications that poured into Tshikululu Social Investments, the organisation assisting the Fund to manage the process. Once the calls were closed, it was confirmed that 1,020 CBO and 129 large PBO applications were received. This is the largest number of grant applications that Tshikululu has managed in its 20-year existence.
“There can be no doubt that there are thousands of organisations doing important and impactful work in this field.” says Wendy Tlou, Executive Head of the Fund’s Humanitarian Pillar, “Ultimately, however, many did not meet the criteria as set out or make it through the screening process. All along the way, tough decisions had to be made to ensure that the limited funds could be applied as effectively as possible in areas that they could make the biggest impact.”
The provinces receiving the highest portion of funding are: Gauteng (20%), Western Cape (18%), Eastern Cape (15%), and Kwa-Zulu Natal (14%). Among other criteria, CBO organisations were judged on their ability to offer services and support in the three key pillars related to GBV. As such, 46% of funding goes towards Prevention, 35% to Response and 19% to Access to Justice.
