17/01/2024 | Writer: Selma Koçak
The report, prepared by Rainbow Against Discrimination Association, reveals the problems experienced by LGBTI+ organizations during granting process.
Rainbow Against Discrimination Association’s report titled “The Role of Funders in the Financial Resilience of LGBTI+ Organisations: Experiences and Recommendations” has been published in digital form.
Within the scope of the report it is emphasized that the national legislation makes it almost impossible for LGBTI+ organisations to diversify their resources and thus they carry on with their activities mostly based on grants:
“This reality imposes a significant obligation on grant programs and donor organisations to ensure both the resilience of LGBTI+ organisations and the achievement of the rights of LGBTI+ persons with whom these organisations have established contact.”
In the report, it is underlined that the most frequently pointed out challenge regarding grant applications by LGBTI+ organisations has been the language barrier since grant applications are made in English and it becomes a vital problem for LGBTI+ organizations carrying out activities at the local level.
“LGBTI+ organisations in metropolitan cities usually have sufficient human resources and financial resources to submit a grant application in English; however, this is only sometimes the case for LGBTI+ organisations that work at the local level with a limited number of people.”
In addition it is stated that application criteria, priority groups, focus areas of grants, evaluation criteria, and procedures need to be clarified in the guidelines for grant applications.
LGBTI+ organisations ran into problems mostly about the budget due to high inflation
Another highlighting issue mentioned in the report is the lack of communication between LGBTI+ organisations and the funders. LGBTI+ organisations stated that funders have a perception that the organisations would not use the resources effectively. This perception is accompanied by an overly controlling and intrusive method of communication and hierarchy rather than a spirit of solidarity between the two parties.
According to the findings of the report, LGBTI+ organisations ran into problems mostly about the budget due to high inflation:
“First of all, the general idea is that funders fail to understand or recognise the impacts of high inflation and fluctuations in exchange rates in Turkey. The price hike and the rising
cost of living that take place between the phases of application and implementation may render the budget items drafted for both procurement of goods and services and human resources irrelevant.”
Recommendations in the report
In this context, some of the recommendations in the report are as follows:
· It is necessary to implement flexible grant programs that facilitate the response of LGBTI+ organisations to sudden changes and crises and consider the needs of organisations of varying scales.
· Predictable and long-term collaboration and support should be provided independently of projects to enable the organisations to continue their fundamental functions.
· Economic circumstances in the country should be considered, and accordingly, budgets should be more flexible and transfer among budget items should be facilitated.
· Administrative expenses, which could be vital for organisational resilience and sustainability, should be given a higher proportion in grants.
Tags: human rights
