Apply for a Grant

The grant applications for 2024 are closed and all recipients for this round have received their funds. Thank you to everyone who applied, we received many incredible applications. We look forward to hearing about the work our recipients accomplished and will let members know via the newsletter of any updates. The grant application for 2025 will be announced this summer. 

We have decided to maintain the same theme for our program this year as we have the past few years. The them will again be: 

Climate Change, Conservation, and Sustainability.

If you are a current Friends of Nepal member who would like to sponsor an organization, now would be a good time to connect with organizations in Nepal and review the application process and requirements below.

You are welcome to donate to our grants fund at any time! 

An annual Request for Proposals (RFP) will be posted to this page at the end of May.  The RFP will include details about this year’s grant theme, an application, details regarding the application process, and expectations if a decision to fund is made.

All proposals will be due on or before July 31^st.  Notifications as to whether your project was funded or not will be sent via email during the first week of September.  Funds will be disbursed to the funded organization’s bank account by the end of September.  The grant period runs from October of the granting year to the end of September of the following year.

Any questions that you may have should be directed to the Grants Committee Chairperson at grants@friendsofnepal.com

Eligibility and Expectations

• Non-profit organizations, schools, and community groups are welcome to apply.
• We do not accept proposals to fund or provide scholarships to individuals.
• We particularly encourage proposals that implement activities in remote areas and/or among disadvantaged populations.
• Organizations must be based in either Nepal or the U.S. with a Nepal-based counterpart, be providing direct services in Nepal, and be registered with Nepal’s  Social Welfare Council and/or the municipality government.
• Immediate beneficiaries of the project must be actively involved, as demonstrated by donations of volunteer labor, materials, or money.
• Projects must be sponsored by an active FoN member who has significant ties to Nepal and/or a Nepali who has significant Nepal development experience.  The sponsor may not be a member of the applying organization but must be familiar with your organization and its work.  The sponsor is expected to serve in an advisory and monitoring capacity for the project and act as liaison with FoN’s grants committee.
• To broaden the grant pool and programmatic reach, FoN normally does not award more than two consecutive grants to the same organization. Compelling cases, however, may be considered.
• We currently fund projects up to 5,000 USD.  Proposing a budget above that amount may lead to your proposal not being considered.  Having in-kind funding for the proposed project from sources in addition to FoN will strengthen your proposal.
• An organization’s regular overhead costs are not typically covered in awards and should not be included in the proposal except as an in-kind contribution.