[Grants] Lifeline – The Embattled CSO Assistance Fund

Grants awarded on a rolling basis

ICNL is proud to be a part of the civil society consortium led by Freedom House that implements Lifeline the Embattled CSO Assistance Fund. With the support of nineteen governments and two foundations, the fund assists civil society organizations under threat or attack.

Lifeline provides three forms of assistance:

• Advocacy Grants

ICNL issues Lifeline advocacy grants, which aim to support organizations’ efforts to push back against threats to civic freedoms. Advocacy grants support short-term initiatives that identify challenges, such as threats to freedom of association, assembly, and expression or attacks on civil society, and target key actors associated with the resolution of these threats. These grants are highly flexible and can support a wide variety of activities, including community mobilization, policy and legal analysis, coalition building, strategic litigation, awareness-raising campaigns, and capacity building in advocacy.

• Resiliency Grants

Lifeline resiliency grants help organizations’ operate in high-risk environments, supporting proactive efforts to avoid or mitigate threats. The grants support an array of activities, including developing networks and local support mechanisms to protect civil society actor; access to pro bono legal services; implementing joint protection strategies; sharing resiliency strategies on a national, regional, or international level; helping disrupted organizations re-establish their work; building capacity to recognize risks in advance; and providing protection training and legal technical assistance.