January 14, 2021

Projects to reduce the social isolation of people living with disadvantage 

People who live with disadvantages often face the additional difficulty of social isolation, and this problem has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the BEARR Trust invites applications for projects that propose ways of reducing social isolation. 

The deadline for applications is midnight on 15th February (i.e. 23:59 GMT, 15 February 2021). 

Applications are welcome from civil society organisations (CSOs) in any of the countries in which BEARR works, namely: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, or Uzbekistan.  

BEARR is particularly looking for projects:

• that will work in partnership with, or extend collaboration to, other local organisations.
• that have an imaginative or unusual approach to reducing social isolation.
• where all the direct beneficiaries are children and young people under the age of 25.
• where all the direct beneficiaries are people over the age of 65.
• that try to extend provision of support to other groups of people facing disadvantage or marginalisation resulting from their age, ability, ethnicity, gender or sexuality, or because of geography

Applicants must explain who the beneficiaries of their projects will be and the problems the beneficiaries face.  

BEARR welcomes applications from new and small CSOs. 

BEARR wishes to support a number of initiatives through the scheme, so proposals for grants of up to £3,000 are invited. Awards will be made on a matching basis and will not exceed 50% of the overall cost of a project (see more about this in the SGS Guidelines and Tips). 

Applicants must present costings in GBP pounds Sterling, but grants may be paid in Sterling, US Dollars, Euros, or (when possible) local currency, as best suits the recipient, and at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of transfer. Recipients will bear the cost of any conversion into local currency. 

Projects should normally be completed within six months of receipt of the funds. The BEARR Trust reserves the right to commission independent evaluation of any project funded. 

We also welcome applications from our former grantees, to which they can add an additional request for extra funds to support the welfare of their organisation’s staff and volunteers and to improve its resilience. The maximum amount which will be awarded for this is £1,000. 

Completing your application:

This year all applicants must use the Application Form provided.

Applications must be completed in English.

All text boxes in the application form can be extended to fit your text, as long as your application does not exceed 5 pages (including the budget). 

If you are a former grantee applying for extra funding under section 4, you may use an additional page to provide a separate budget for this funding. In this case, your application must not exceed 6 pages in total (including your principal project budget and your additional budget).

Applications longer than the 5 or 6 pages (as applicable) will not be considered.

Please refer primarily to the application Guidelines & Tips for guidance on how to fill in the application form. However, if you still have questions about the application process, please feel free to direct them to Anna Lukanina-Morgan at sgs@bearr.org. You can email Anna in English, Russian or Ukrainian. 

Submitting your application:

Deadline for applications: 15 February 2021 (23:59 GMT) 

Please send your application to Anna Lukanina-Morgan at sgs@bearr.org and copy in Louisa Long at info@bearr.org. 
Please put ‘SGS 2021/Organisation Name‘ in the subject line of your email.

Documents: