Young people are in a unique position to influence change in their communities. Recognizing this potential, the Youth Solutions Micro-Grant will help young people in the Asia-Pacific region launch, reproduce, or scale up creative solutions to housing and urban concerns.
The Youth Solutions Micro-Grant will:
- Harness youth solutions through mentorship from international experts to strengthen their ideas;
- Provide seed funding of US$2,000 to five (5) youth solutions that promote a more innovative, inclusive, and collaborative housing ecosystem for sustainable urban development;
- Invite 10 youth-led organizations to be part of the Youth Assembly Suwon, South Korea to network and showcase their solutions to actors in the housing and urban sectors across the Asia-Pacific region.
This micro-grant will only support solutions that are developed and managed by the youth for the benefit of the community where they operate. The age definition used by Habitat for Humanity to characterize youth is a person who is between 18 and 30 years old.
Key Dates:
- July 15 Application Open: Youth Solutions Micro-grant 2023
- August 12 Online Session: Youth Solutions Micro-grant 2023
- August 19 Application Deadline: Youth Solutions Micro-grant 2023
- September 1 Announcement of Top 10 finalists
- October 22 In-person session: Asia-Pacific Youth Assembly
- November 6-10 Top 10 finalists receive coaching from mentors
- November 13-17 Top 10 finalists present to the jury
- November 22 Winners of the US$2,000 micro-grant are announced
- December 2023 Online session: Presentation of selected micro-grant projects
- April 2024 Sharing of best practices and learnings micro-grant projects
There are three sections to this call for proposals:
- Proponent Information
a. Name of proponent/youth group
b. Location of the youth group
c. Website/social media
d. Name and email of the lead applicant
e. Key project members - Youth solution description
a. Project Summary
b. Context analysis and problem identification,
c. The proposed youth-led solution,
d. Project budget,
e. Project sustainability - Video pitch and confirmation
a. Link to video pitch
b. Application confirmation
Please ensure that your responses to each question are clear, concise, and address all the relevant questions being asked in the Online application form.
Benefit:
- The Top 10 finalists will get a reserved space at the 4th Asia-Pacific Youth Assembly in Suwon, South Korea on October 22, 2023, to showcase their solutions and network with global actors, potential donors, and investors.
- All 10 finalists will be paired with expert mentors to help refine their youth solutions as they prepare to pitch for seed funding.
- From the 10 finalists, five youth solutions will receive a microgrant worth up to US$2,000. They will also receive mentorship from international experts to help implement their project. Winning youth solutions may also be requested to showcase their project in other future Habitat for Humanity events.
Winners will be contacted via email and provided with information on further steps, including agreement signing and fund transfer procedures. The microgrant of US $2,000 will be disbursed through the local Habitat for Humanity office/branch closest to the locations of the winning projects
Eligibility:
Geographical coverage: This call for applications welcomes proposals from youth-led organizations, individuals, or social enterprises operating in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Eligibility for applicants:
Youth-led organizations, youth groups, social enterprises, or young individuals that will apply for the Youth Solutions Micro-Grant 2023 are subject to the same criteria as other partners of Habitat for Humanity. Applicants must be accountable, transparent and refrain from all discriminatory practices and adhere to Habitat for Humanity International’s safeguarding policies.
Applicants should fulfill the following criteria to be considered for the Micro-Grant:
- Be a young individual or be a youth-led organization: a majority of the positions and decision-making roles within the organization are held by people between the ages of 18 and 30.
- Be able to use the microgrant for either an existing project or a new one.
- Have no adherence to or affiliations with violent ideologies or antagonism against any particular country, culture, religion or belief system, ethnic group, gender, etc.
Application:
Interested individuals or organizations may apply from July 15. The application deadline is August 19, 2023. The following will be submitted through the online application system:
- Fully filled-out online application form that contains (a) proponent information, (b) context analysis and problem identification, (c) proposed youth-led solution, (d) project budget, and (e) project sustainability.
- A short video pitch (60 seconds maximum) for the proposed project. This can be as simple as your team describing the highlights of your proposed solution.
