Guide for applicants for the Nordic LGBTI Fund

The Nordic LGBTI Fund addresses a broad target group and calls for proposals are open to a variety of organisations including:

• Volunteer organisations (citizen organisations/not-for-profit organisations)
• Networks
• Government agencies and other public sector activities (such as municipalities, university departments, divisions, etc.)
• Other non-commercial actors
• Business enterprises (SMEs)

Each project must involve at least three different organisations from the three Nordic countries, where the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Aaland Islands may constitute one of these. In addition, grants can be awarded to activities that include cooperation in neighbouring areas, i.e. Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania, that also include at least two Nordic countries. The principal applicant should come from a Nordic country or the Faroe Islands, Greenland or Åland.

The Nordic LGBTI Fund finances activities initiated in the same year as the funding is granted and which are concluded within two years from the start date. This year’s fund 2023 will be granted and contracted in January 2024 at the earliest. Activities commenced before the application deadline are not eligible for funding.

Funding is granted to projects that constitute Nordic synergy as well as contributions to work for equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries. All applications to the Fund must state whether they have included the following perspectives:

• Sustainable development
• Gender equality
• Children and youth perspectives.

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Which projects can apply for funding?

The following types of activities may be funded:

• Staging of Nordic gatherings/meetings
• Investigations/inquiries
• Network-building
• Activity projects
• The participation of volunteer organisations in Nordic or international conferences/courses/meetings/gatherings

Funding will not be granted for:

• Activities already financed wholly or partly by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
• Activities that submit a budget in a currency other than DKK.
• Applications submitted after the deadline.
• Activities that submit an incomplete application (all mandatory fields not filled in or applications without the requisite attached documentation).
• Political party organisations.
• Private individuals.
• Activities whose purpose is to generate a profit or equivalent for the funding beneficiary.
• Activities consisting of less than three different organisations from three countries.

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How much money can we apply for? How much do we get? 

The amount applied for should be between DKK 50,000 and DKK 500,000. Organisations applying for grants need to be able to contribute at least 20 per cent themselves and/or have other sources of finance. The size of this investment should be at least 20%. The organisation’s own contribution and/or other sources of funding could come from sponsorship or other financial contributions, voluntary work, participant fees, or indirect costs for example.

Funding will not be given for audits or travel expenses (with the exception of travel expenses for representatives of volunteer organisations, not-for-profit organisations and invited speakers). Funding cannot be provided to cover indirect costs, such as the support organisation’s salaries and other running costs (such as rent, electricity, IT).

Successful applicants may be granted a lower total amount of funding than they have applied for in all or in parts of their applications. In order for contracting to take place, the project plan and budget should be revised in these cases. NIKK receives the funds from the Nordic Council of Ministers in Danish kroner. Therefore, NIKK pays out funds to projects in accordance with the exchange rate that applied when the funds were transferred to NIKK. This means that the projects will have to consider exchange rate changes in their final project budget. 

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How are applications assessed?

Funding applications are to indicate how well the project meets the following criteria:

a. Nordic benefit

This means the extent to which the project:

• Generates significant positive effects through Nordic cooperation, compared to the project having been implemented at the national level
• Manifests and develops Nordic cohesion, both within and outside the region
• Contributes to new infrastructure that strengthens Nordic co-operation for equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries
• Responds in a constructive way to the challenges of Nordic co-operation such as national barriers and differences.

Here, the assessment will be based on how well the application:

• Justifies why the project should be implemented as Nordic co-operation
• Describes the added value and the challenges that the co-operating parties perceive in working together across country borders.

b. Contributions to work for equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries.

Contributions to work for equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries means the extent to which the project:

• Aims to confront the problems and obstacles that are limiting equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries
• Contributes to new/changes in, and/or sharing of experience concerning knowledge, working methods and models about/for equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries
• Helps to respond to the challenges identified in the strategic supplement to the Nordic Co-Operation Programme on Gender Equality.

Here, the assessment will be based on how well the application:

• Describes the challenges in relation to equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTI people identified by the co-operating parties and which the project intends to confront
• Shows how well the co-operating parties understand these problems based on theoretical knowledge and/or tried and tested experience
• Demonstrates an awareness of previous work, knowledge and/or research concerning the problems that the co-operating parties intend to respond to and, based on this awareness, describes how the project will contribute to change and add new knowledge.

c. Sustainability/Long-term perspective

Sustainability/Long-term perspective means here the extent to which:

• The project design provides scope for others to draw conclusions and learn from the project’s successes and setbacks
• The project results and efforts are expected to have lasting effects through infrastructure and products which persist after the end of the project such as networks, websites, reports, etc., and how these have been designed to reach relevant target groups.

Here, the assessment will be based on how well the application:

• Describes how and with which target groups the co-operating parties plan to communicate the project and its results, and how they will ensure that these results will be available even after the end of the project.

d. Implementation

Implementation here means:

• How likely it is, in light of the applicant’s skills and experience, that the project will be implemented in the manner described by the applicants
• What bases do the applicants have for working together, for example that they contribute different skills, perspectives and experience which means that they can complement each other.

Here, the assessment will be based on how well the application:

• Describes how the cooperating parties plan to go about responding to the identified problems, and the justification they have provided for their choice of approach with regard to the feasibility of achieving the results and drawing conclusions from these results
• Describes what the main applicant and each of the partner organisations will contribute to the project, as well as their previous experience of similar collaborations.

e. Economic viability

Organisations applying for grants need to be able to contribute at least 20 per cent themselves and/or have other sources of finance. The size of this investment should be at least 20%. The organisation’s own contribution and/or other sources of funding could come from sponsorship or other financial contributions, voluntary work, participant fees, or indirect costs for example.

The amount applied for should be between DKK 50,000 and DKK 500,000.

The application must be accompanied by a budget containing all items specified in DKK, and include the total amount. Self-funding and total funding must be made apparent in the budget. The budget should explicitly state what the funding amount applied for is intended to cover in the total budget. Funding will not be given for audits or travel expenses (with the exception of travel expenses for representatives of volunteer organisations, not-for-profit organisations and invited speakers).

Funding cannot be provided to cover indirect costs, such as the support organisation’s salaries and other running costs (such as rent, electricity, IT).

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How are applications assessed?

All project applications are assessed by NIKK’s assessment team, which consists of people with a variety of skills and backgrounds. The assessment team processes each application on the basis of the above criteria and makes a decision. Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Gender Equality and LGBTI then have the option to veto a decision. The decision cannot be appealed. If necessary, the assessment team may ask for clarification from the applicant during the assessment process.

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Notification of decisions

NIKK will communicate its decision via e-mail to each applicant after the decision has been made and the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Gender Equality and LGBTI has been afforded the opportunity to veto the decision. NIKK does not have the resources to comment on individual applications. In general, all criteria need to be well met in order to reach the high points required for granting.