During its first call for proposals the ONSIDE Fund received a significantly low amount of applications from the MENA region.
As a response, Women Win launched a specific call for proposals that included a strategy for governance, outreach, and grant-making exclusively designed for this region.
PHOTO BY: SheFighter, Jordan
Meet the grantees advancing gender justice in North Africa and the Middle East
During this call, the ONSIDE Fund will support groups based in the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, Qatar, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia.
Aya Boukhary
LEBANON
The goal is to provide free football training sessions to young girls in the region who cannot participate effectively in sports due to the economic crisis.
Koun
LEBANON
Koun is a Lebanese women-led NGO whose mission is to make yoga accessible to marginalized and vulnerable communities as a tool for mental health, empowerment and peace.
Koun
LEBANON
Finaa Organisation
JORDAN
Finaa's mission is to spread football at girls' schools across the country as a self-development tool to address gender gaps, inequalities, and stereotypes in our society
Hawa Feminist Coalition
SOMALIA
Hawa Feminist Coalition wants to build a strong and visible young feminist movement and sport is used as a tool to achieve this goal.
Hawa Feminist Coalition
SOMALIA
TKD Un Sport Pour Tous
NIGER
TKD works with young girls and women with the mission of making sports more accessble, specifically taekwondo. Their aim is to promote quality sport education for all girls and women and reduce inequality through working social integration.
TKD Un Sport Pour Tous
NIGER
Association Espoir Jeune (AJE)
MALI
AJE is an association made up of young women who are very active in the sports world. It's goal is to contribute to the creation of conditions favorable to the development of girls' rights in the field of sport. It's mission is to contribute of the emergence of a stronger and more fulfilled youth.
Al-Karak Castle Centre
JORDAN
The Center aims to build and strengthen the capacities of the youth and women by improving their economic and political standing so that they can effectively participate in the Jordanian sociaty.
Al-Karak Castle Centre
JORDAN
Royaa Feminist Studies
SUDAN
Royaa aims to contribute to the continuity and development of Sudanese feminist movement. This stems from our belief that gender and feminism affects socio-political issues in all coreners of societies.
Association des Jeunes pour le Développement de Sangarébougou (AJDS)
MALI
AJDS is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to carry out the activities for the promotion of young girls by organized activities within the framework of the promotion of gender in the sports field and the promotion of the practice of sport by young girls.
Enas Abdel Salam Said Abu Saadeh
PALESTINE
Enas is a disabled women's basketball coach. She aims to work on the self-development with young girls with disabilities outside the Gaza strip and hopes to become the ambassador for people with disabilities in the Arab world.
Enas Abdel Salam Said Abu Saadeh
PALESTINE
Bishkoreen
IRAQ
Bishkoreen's mission is to empower all women and girls through sports to live a life a free of all kinds of violence.
Toward A Better Tomorrow for Development and Empowerment
JORDAN
They were set up with the goal of responding to women and adolescents' needs and protecting refugee girls and women from sexual and gender-based violence, and providing them with the information and soft skills necessary to overcome the challenges that come with forced migration and gender inequality. Their work is based on a good understanding of the concept of self-power of the girls. Their work focuses on yoga and self-defense courses which help girls focus on their strengths and regain energy. In this way, girls restore control over their life. In addition, hiking in the historical and local sites, helps the organisation to distribute messages in the community of gender equality and girls' empowerment.
SheFighter
JORDAN
SheFighter is the first self-defense studio/program designed to empower women physically and psychologically through self-defense.
SheFighter
JORDAN
Basket Beats Borders
LEBANON
Basket Beats Borders (BBB) is a movement of young women who want to break stereotypes and empower themselves. Born in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila in Beirut, Lebanon, the women's basketball team compromises of players from different backgrounds.
ONSIDE MENA Advisory Committee
During its first call for proposals the ONSIDE Fund received a significantly low amount of applications from the MENA region. As a response, Women Win launched a consultancy call to support the strategy development for the ONSIDE Fund in terms of governance, outreach, and grant-making exclusively designed for this region.
The ONSIDE MENA Advisory Committee is responsible for designing ONSIDE MENA's call for proposals and for the selection process of this cohort.
Lina is the founder and owner of SheFighter, the first self-defense studio for women only in Jordan, and expanded to 35 countries globally. Lina is a leader by nature with deep experience in public speaking, entrepreneurship, and scaling businesses. Lina has been invited to speak at over 200 global summits including the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Lina Khalifeh
Julie is part of an organisation fighting for compulsory schooling and against the lack of access to education especially for girls. Their main goal is to give girls the opportunity to benefit from the same rights as boys to access education and above all to encourage them to develop a desire for a career.
Julie Mayikane
Zara is a player for the National Jordanian Women’s Basketball team. As a basketball player in Jordan, Zara is constantly trying to help progress the role of women & minorities in sports. This led her to co-found SIRA, a professional community committed to advancing women's equal opportunity & growth in the professional environment.
Zara Najjar
Mezna is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Public Health and Physical Activity in King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. In 2018, she founded the KSU Movement at King Saud University for a healthy and active campus, the first women's community sports initiative in Saudi universities.
Mezna Al Marzooqi
Saba'a Najib holds a doctorate in sports. She was the first elected woman in the Palestinian Olympic Committee. Being a member of the executive office of the Arab Federation for Sports Culture, Saba'a believes that sport is a tool to develop societies, rebuild generations with human values and to support women by providing a safe environment.
Saba'a Najib Mahmoud Jarrar
Mariem lives in a very conservative Saharaoui society and small city, where females playing sports is a taboo, especially sports such as boxing, heavy weight lifting, and basketball.
Mariem is helping to break stereotypes as well as encourage and empower women to exercise all sorts of sports.
Mariem Tarfaoui
Fatima- Azzhara is a Program Director at LEAD Morocco, a Moroccan non-profit organisation that uses sport as a positive incentive to improve academic performance, eliminate gender barriers and empower Morocco’s future leaders. She has been at the heart of the implementation of " SHE PLAYS FOOTBALL'.
Fatima-Azzahra Benfares
Mariam Ibrahim is a former professional football player who represented the Egyptian National Women's Football Team. She is a Sport for Development in Africa Junior Advisor at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Eschborn, Germany.
Mariam Ibrahim
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility Criteria
Who is eligible to apply for a grant?
The ONSIDE Fund is designed to support individuals and grassroots, community-based organisations, collectives, groups and cooperatives led by girls and women and governed by feminist principles. Priority will be given to:
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Groups that demonstrate participatory models including meaningful leadership roles and active decision-making functions for girls and young women.
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Groups and individuals serving underrepresented and marginalised communities*
*When the ONSIDE MENA refers to girls and women, we include; all self-identified women, and non-binary individuals from underrepresented groups and communities such as black, indigenous, mestizas, people of colour, LGBTQIA+, refugees, and migrant girls and women with or without disabilities.
We are an organisation/group led by girls and women of mixed ages - can we still apply?
Yes, you can apply.
We are an organisation/group led by both women and men – can we still apply?
Yes you can apply. We accept applications from organisations led by at least 60% of women and girls are eligible to receive funding during the ONSIDE MENA call for proposals. However, organisations [registered or unregistered] that are 100% led by women and girls will be prioritised for funding during the scoring and selection process.
We are an emerging group and do not have an annual income – can we still apply?
Yes, you can still apply. In the application form, you will be asked to provide the name and contact details of an organisation or group that you have previously worked with, whether formally or informally, which will allow us to confirm and verify your group.
I am an individual – can I still apply?
Only self-identified women, non-binary and other marginalised individuals are eligible to apply for an individual ONSIDE grant.
Our organisation/group is NOT legally registered - can we still apply?
Yes, you can still apply. Your organisation/group does not need to be legally registered in order to apply for the ONSIDE Fund. We are accepting applications from both registered and unregistered organisations and groups.
We use yoga, dancing and other forms of physical movement within our work - can we still apply?
Yes, you can still apply. The ONSIDE Fund takes a broad view of sport to include all forms of physical and play-based activity aimed at promoting physical and mental well-being.
We have an operating income of less than 150 000 USD – can we still apply?
Yes you can still apply. Applying organisations and collectives do not need to be registered and must have an operating income of less than 150,000 USD.
We are an international organisation operating in the MENA region – can we still apply?
Unfortunately, you can’t apply. Applying organisations and collectives must be registered and/or led by individuals from territories in the MENA region. The ONSIDE Fund will not fund international organisations operating in MENA.
We are an organisation/group clearly led by girls and women- can we still apply?
Yes you can still apply. ONSIDE MENA will prioritised organisations clearly led by girls, women and non-binary individuals that demonstrate participatory models of leadership, including meaningful leadership roles and decision-making functions for girls, women and non-binary individuals.
We are working with marginalised and underrepresented communities – can we still apply?
Yes you can still apply. ONSIDE MENA will prioritise applications led and/or benefiting more marginalised and underrepresented communities.
What is considered as the MENA Region?
Groups based in the following countries are considered as part of the MENA Region: Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, Qatar, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Moroccan Sahara.
Application Questions
Can we apply for the ONSIDE Fund in our own language?
At this time, we are accepting applications in Arabic, French and English.
Can we submit our application form by email?
Where possible, we would prefer applications to be submitted using the online form on our website. However, if you are having any issues in submitting this form, please reach out to us on the following email address: onside@womenwin.org
What do you mean by annual income and what currency do you use?
Annual income is the amount of funding your organisation or group receives in a fiscal year for its operations, excluding any physical assets that you may have. We are asking organisations and groups to indicate their most recent annual income, as well as their annual income for the previous financial year. We are asking for this to be submitted in US Dollars (USD). A link to a currency converter will be provided within the application form to support you with this. If your organisation or group has no annual income, please refer to the question : “We are an emerging group and do not have annual income - can we still apply ? ”.
How can we use the funding from the ONSIDE Fund?
The ONSIDE Fund will provide unrestricted funds to organisations and groups working to support girls and women in exercising their right to play and thus advancing gender justice in sport. Organisations and groups are free to decide how to best use the funds, in line with the vision, mission and objectives of the ONSIDE Fund.
What is the maximum amount of funding we can request?
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Applicant organisations will be asked to select one of four funding amounts: (1) $2,500 (2) $5,000 (3) $7,500 or (4) $10,000. We advise all applicants to be intentional about the amount of funding they request from the ONSIDE Fund.
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Individuals applying to the ONSIDE Fund will be able to apply for funding up to $5,000 USD.
It is highly recommended to apply for no more than 50% of your annual organisational income. And if you have none or less than $5,000 in organisational income, to apply for a seed grant of $2,500.
Important note: Through the Learning Hub, the ONSIDE Fund will hold knowledge exchanges on resource mobilisation and financial resilience (for example!) to contribute to the sustainability of the groups.
Do we need to have a bank account to be able to receive funds?
Yes, it is preferable that you have access to a bank account, either an organisational account or the personal account of one of the leaders of your organisation/group, in order to receive international transfers. If this is not possible, we can discuss this with you and explore alternative options.
What is the ONSIDE Fund selection process?
The ONSIDE Fund selection process has 2 phases: (1) Firstly, a screening process will be conducted by Women Win staff in order to create a shortlist of organisations and groups. (2) This shortlist will then be sent to the ONSIDE MENA Advisory Committee, who will review the applications and make a final decision on which organisations and groups will receive funding.
Is this the only call for ONSIDE MENA Fund applications?
This will be the only call for ONSIDE MENA applications in 2022. However, the ONSIDE Fund is committed to the continued support of grassroots, community-based organisations and groups led by girls and women, working to advance gender justice around the world. If appropriate resources are mobilised, we could consider another call for applications.
What information will be collected from applicants, and who has access to this information?
Within the application form, we ask for the contact details (name, email address and telephone number) of someone from your organisation or group, as well as those of a reference. Only Women Win and the MENA Advisory Committee will have access to this information. Additionally, we will ask for some general information about your organisation/group.
