The guidelines for the Nordic LGBTI Fund were established and agreed by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Equality and LGBTI (MR-JÄM) on 26 November 2020. These guidelines describe what the Nordic Council of Ministers is looking for in applicant projects and organisations.
The Nordic LGBTI Fund is managed and administered by MR-JÄM’s co-operation body Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK).
The Fund aims to stimulate Nordic co-operation in the LGBTI area within the framework of the Nordic Co-operation Programme on Gender Equality, including its supplement Equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic region, which applies for the remainder of the mandate period from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2024.
Through the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Gender Equality and LGBTI (EK-JÄM), MR-JÄM can decide each year on a specific priority theme for the aid scheme.
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:
The Nordic LGBTI Fund finances activities initiated in the same year as the funding is granted and which are concluded within two years of the contract signing. Activities commenced before the application deadline are not eligible for funding.
All applications must state and will be assessed on the basis of how well they meet the following requirements and aims:
Nordic benefit means the extent to which the project:
Here, the assessment will be based on how well the application:
This means the degree to which the project:
Here, the assessment will be based on how well the application:
Sustainability/long-term view means the degree to which:
Here, the assessment will be based on how well the application:
Implementation means here:
Here, the assessment will be based on how well the application:
Organisations applying for grants need to be able to contribute at least 20 per cent themselves and/or have other sources of funding. 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.
Travel expenses are only funded for representatives of NGOs, non-profit organisations and invited speakers. No aid is provided for auditing or indirect costs. Indirect costs include, for example, rent for premises and costs for accounting departments.
Successful applicants may be granted a lower total amount of funding than they have applied for in all or in parts of their applications. Receiving funding in that case assumes that there is a revised project plan including budget.
The following activities may be funded:
The Nordic LGBTI Fund addresses a broad target group and calls for proposals are open to a variety of activities and organisations including:
Each project must involve at least the three Nordic countries, where the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Aaland Islands may constitute one of these. In addition, funding may be granted to activities involving co-operation in the neighbouring regions, i.e. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and north-west Russia*, where at least two Nordic countries are participating. The principal applicant should come from a Nordic country or the Faroe Islands, Greenland or the Aaland Islands.
*Cooperation with independent organisations in Russia (and Belarus) are now made possible, as long as the activities are located outside of Russia and the independence of the organisation is confirmed in a specific vetting procedure defined by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Funding will not be granted for:
Applications are to be made in one of the three Scandinavian languages or English on a form specifically for this purpose available on NIKK’s website (www.nikk.no). The application form will be available to download from www.nikk.no approximately one month before the deadline for applications.
Grant applications are to be accompanied by a timetable and budget for the planned activity. In the application, one of the applicant parties is to be designated as the principal applicant.
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 (EK-JÄM) 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.
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 (EK-JÄM) has been afforded the opportunity to veto the decision.
Activities granted funding are required to draw up a contract with NIKK in accordance with specific procedures. After the contract is signed, payment can be made. The applicant should take into account that funds will be paid to them at the earliest one month after requisitioning the funds.
Standard procedure is that 85 per cent of the activity’s total funding amount is paid based on a requisition at the start of the project, with the remaining 15 per cent being paid after approval of the final report.
The principal party responsible for the project is responsible for submitting the final report (self-evaluation) and financial accounts to NIKK no later than two months after the end of the project. Any unused funds are to be repaid to NIKK.
The final report is to include the following:
The Nordic LGBTI Fund is managed and administered by MR-JÄM’s co-operation body Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK).
MR-JÄM decides annually on the size of the fund in connection with the approval of MR-JÄM’s budget. The Fund’s budget is established through a decision by the Nordic Council of Ministers on the overall budget. Money for the Fund constitutes a special annual grant to NIKK under the annual decision on the budget by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The Secretariat to the Nordic Council of Ministers (NMRS) monitors the administration of the Fund through dialogue with NIKK. NMRS is responsible for preparing meetings and drafting decisions about the Fund for MR-JÄM and EK-JÄM.
NIKK ought to continually assess whether the guidelines need to be specified in more detail or revised in order to fulfil the objective of the Fund in the best possible way and is to propose any changes deemed necessary to the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The above guidelines have been approved by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Gender Equality and LGBTI (MR-JÄM) to apply from the time of the call for proposals for the Fund in 2021.