ONLINE
APPLICATION
GUIDE
Updated May 2017
1
Governance and Oversight
1.1
What type of organisation are you
1.2
Sector if other
1.3
Registration number
1.4
Registration date
1.5
If you have a governing / functioning
board?' then:
1.6
Governance structure type
1.7
Governance if other
1.8
If you have an MOU with a fiscal agent'
then:
1.9
If Memorandum of Understanding with
Fiscal agent exists, since when has this
been in place?
1.10
Please explain the Fiscal agent
relationship and decision making
structures applicable.
1.11
Why have you not registered as an NPO
yet?
1.12
Number of people in Senior management
team?
1.13
Please list the individuals that make up
the senior management team in the
organisation and their positions.
1.14
Is the governing structure responsible for
shaping the organisation's strategy, or is
its involvement limited to approving it?
Answer:
Shaping / Approving / Both
1.15
Does the board of directors/governing
structure have a role in financial
oversight?
Yes / No
1.16
If Yes, then:
1.17
What financial information does the
organisation share with the governing
structure and with what frequency?
1.18
If Yes or No:
1.19
Apart from financial oversight, what role
does the governing structure play?
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Trust
CBO
NPC/S21
Higher Education Institution
Other
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Board
Advisory Committee
Elected Council
Other
2
Financial Management and Governance Practices
2.1
Does the organisation have an audit
committee / similar and / or a
treasurer that is independent of staff
members?
Yes / No
2.2
Has the organisation run at a surplus
in the last three fiscal years?
Yes / No
2.3
If Yes – How many years?
1, 2, or 3
2.4
Is the organisation currently running
at a deficit?
Yes / No
2.5
If Yes – What is your plan for
managing the deficit?
2.6
Does the organisation face cashflow
challenges?
2.7
If Yes – What tools and processes do
you use to help manage these
challenges?
2.8
What is the relationship between the
organisation's projected budget for
the current year and the funds
committed to date?
2.9
What system do you use for financial
accounting, reconciliations, and
payments?
2.10
Who in the organisation reviews
annual or quarterly financial
statements? How are they approved?
2.11
What are the total full time staff
salary costs for the current fiscal year
within the overall organisation
budget?
2.12
Provide the names and contact details
of the organisations auditors.
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2.13
Provide the names and contact details
of the organisations and people
responsible for generating and
reviewing financial statements and
assessment of the organisations
financial health and integrity of its
financial systems.
Up to 4 names
Yes / No
Company name
Contact name
Telephone number
Email address
3
Budget and donors
3.1
Organisational budget (Total annual
budget, including all projects)
3.2
– Last year
– This year
– Next year
3.3
Other Donors
3.4
Are there sufficient donor / other
funds to match the budget in the
current financial year and the
following financial year
3.5
Please identify the gaps, if any?
3.6
Please list all current funders and in
addition the details of any other
organisations or individuals that you
have approached for funding,
including the value of that requested
support.
Up to 10 names
– Donor name
– Amount requested
– Amount approved
3.7
Does the organisation have any other
additional sources of revenue such as
self-generated income?
Yes / No
3.8
Please provide details.
CCYY / Amount
CCYY / Amount
CCYY / Amount
Yes / No
Foundations and Thematic
The Open Society Foundations are a family of offices and foundations created by philanthropist
George Soros. Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) is one of several foundations.
Other regional foundations are located in West Africa, East Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and
the Caribbean, The Middle East and the United States.
Thematic programmes are sector specific and includes programmes such as Early Childhood
Development, Global Drug Policy, Fiscal Governance and Human Rights. For more information
please see: Source: www.opensocietyfoundations.org/about/programs.
3.9
Is the organisation supported by or
seeking additional funding from any
other entity within the Open Society
Foundations network, including but
not limited to the PHP, HRI, ESP and
OSISA. Please provide details
including amounts.
3.10
Source of funds
(Foundation/Thematic)
Comments
Amount/s
eg – Public health programme
eg – Access to medicines
R
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Given that some of our funds emanate from the US, applicable US laws require us to ask you to
please describe your anticipated activities noted in the section that follows as they relate to:
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The influencing of legislation or that which can be easily turned into legislation at the local,
provincial, national and international levels.
Communication (oral, written or electronic) with a member of Parliament, parliamentary officer
or government official who is participating in a legislative process that refers to and reflects on a
specific legislation or legislative proposal.
Communication (oral, written, or electronic) with the general public by referring to and
reflecting a view on a specific legislative proposal, including a call for action.
The conduct of research that includes analysis of a specific legislation or specific legislative
proposal that may include a call to action.
The use of research for lobbying and communication.
Please see our funding page for more information on US sourcing guidelines.
4
Organisational Assessment
4.1
What is the organisation’s
background and mission statement?
4.2
What are the organisation’s main
area/s of work?
4.3
Provide an assessment of the
organisations financial health and
integrity of its financial systems
4.4
What have been your greatest
strategic or other achievements
during the last two years?
4.5
What are the main capacity, strategic
focus area and funding challenges
faced by your organisation and how
do you intend to address them?
4.6
How are you addressing broad
transformation objectives within your
organisation? In your response,
please provide examples.
5
Description of Project
5.1
Project purpose:
Briefly describe the main problem or
opportunity this grant seeks to
address, including background
information and the context in which
the project will be carried out. Please
indicate whether you are applying for
core funding or project funding.
5.2
Summary of overall purpose
5.3
Project objectives
What are main outcomes / objectives
you expect the project will achieve
during this period?
(in the behaviour, attitudes, actions,
policies or practices of particular
actors)?
Activities linked to
objective:
What strategies will the
organisation use? List and
describe the key activities
the organisation plans to
carry out to achieve the
desired outcomes. Please
note any expected
collaborations with other
organisations, and include
a timeline of anticipated
activities/outputs. These
should be linked to the
budget being submitted.
5.4
Objective 1
Activities 1
5.5
Objective 2
Activities 2
5.6
Objective 3
Activities 3
5.7
Objective 4
Activities 4
6
Information required on the proposal / application for funding
6.1
What is the political framework
and/or theory of change that the
organisation uses to develop its
strategy and work priorities? And how
does it plan to create change in work
that it focuses on?
6.2
How has the nature of the
organisations work changed in the
current political context, if at all?
What work will be carried out
differently as a result, and what will
the organisations focus more and less
on now?
6.3
How will your approach to your work
change because of the pressures on
Constitutionalism, at present?
6.4
What has worked well and not worked
well in the organisations efforts to
create social change?
6.5
Regarding transformation and
leadership succession, please provide
an update on any recent efforts by
the organisation on these aspects.
6.6
If litigation support is being
requested, please explain the case for
which such support is needed, the
briefing practices and patterns that
will be used in the case/s at hand for
both attorneys and advocates, the
litigation strategy, and the
consultation plan (with other NGOs).
6.7
If consultants will be used for certain
projects, please describe who they
are, their qualifications and their role,
and why existing staff capacity is not
sufficient to initiate or complete a
project.
6.8
In the organisations view, what is the
area of expertise that it most
contributes to in South Africa?
6.9
How does the proposed work relate to
or support other similar efforts
undertaken on these issues?
6.10
What could potentially undermine the
success of the project/s – and what
risks have been identified?
6.11
What prior experience does the
organisation / its leadership have in
working on the issue/s relevant to
this proposal? Comment on the
capacity of the organisation to carry
out this work (organisational
strengths or limitations).
6.12
Who will lead the work on this project
and in what capacity?
6.13
Is this a new area of work for the
organisation or is it a continuation of
a current or previous project?
6.14
For existing grantees: please provide
a reflection on the learnings and
successes of our current grant (or
previous).
6.15
How will the organisation measure
progress toward achieving the desired
outcomes? Specifically, how does the
organisation plan to reflect on the
impact of the work?
6.16
Please provide a short narrative to
explain how the budget of the
organisation prioritises the projects
that have been identified in this
proposal, and any other high level
budget observations or concerns.
7
Attachments Required
7.1
Budget:
Please download this Excel budget
template and complete with line
items specified. Save and upload as
an attachment.
Please direct any queries related to
the budget to [email protected].
7.2
Financial Statements:
Please upload a copy of the latest
draft or audited financial statements.
7.3
NPO registration certificate
7.4
SARS PBO Certificate
7.5
Declaration of Conflict of Interest:
Please download and complete this
form, and upload as an attachment.
7.6
Optional uploads
7.7
Any other relevant registration
certificates
7.8
Copies of any recent internal /
external evaluations in the last 24
months
7.9
Latest annual report if available