Funding Opportunities - May 1, 2026
Inside: 23 grant programs including $60k for HealthTech, $100k for early-stage tech, $1.5m for high-impact innovations, €400k for energy efficiency, & more!
Your weekly one-stop-shop for grant opportunities, calls for proposals, requests for applications, and other programs published by funders like GIZ, Gates Foundation, AECF, Norad, and many more.
Grants and investment opportunities under $50k -> free.
Grants and investment opportunities from $50k to $10m+ -> premium.
Looking for new funding?
You can:
- Subscribe to countless funder updates and wade through newsletter after newsletter of long reports, project updates, PR content, and donation requests… crossing your fingers hoping the next email has a relevant RFP
- Spend hours searching Google or asking ChatGPT about open funding programs
- Look through pages and pages of databases - bogged down by funding exclusive to nonprofits in the United States or scholarship/fellowship programs for students
- Follow 50+ influencers on LinkedIn, hoping their next post has the right opportunity for you
Or
You can just catch new relevant opportunities in your inbox on a weekly basis and then access a curated database here on FundraisingDispatch.com.
See below for the newest social impact funding opportunities in Africa and around the world.
Grassroots Climate Action Fund (GCAF). Centre for Environment and Migration Assistance(CEMA).
• Inclusive, locally led solutions to climate and environmental challenges.
• Community-based organizations (CBOs), women-led groups, youth-led initiatives, grassroots civil society organizations, local environmental justice movements.
• All countries.
• Up to $5k grants.
• Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Imagination Practice Fund: Year 4. Collective Imagination Practice Community (CIPC).
• To support work with people and communities that use the power of imagination to change the world by disrupting extractive or divisive narratives and/or nurturing equitable and regenerative imaginaries.
• Projects that meet one or more of these priorities: 1) Push the boundaries of Collective Imagination practice, 2) Realise material benefit from Collective Imagination practice, 3) Create change inside the system and 4) Create change outside of the system.
• Individuals, communities.
• All countries.
• Up to £3k grant.
• May 10, 2026.
Benoît Maria Prize for peasant agroecology. AVSF.
• One or more of the following themes: 1) Agroecological or organic techniques and practices, 2) Organizational structures and services upstream and downstream of production, promoting agroecology and 3) Actions to defend the economic, social and cultural rights of farming families.
• Peasant organizations (cooperatives, producer associations or producer groups).
• Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Madagascar, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Haiti.
• Up to €6k prizes.
• May 15, 2026.
Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize 2026. One Young World.
• For young leaders committed to the advancement of democracy.
• Be aged between 18 - 30.
• All countries.
• Up to $10k prize and one-year’s mentorship with a recognised democracy expert.
• May 17, 2026.
Renewable Energy Startups and Entrepreneurs. RES4Africa Foundation.
• To support and scale up renewable energy-focused businesses within the African startup ecosystem.
• Entrepreneurs, must be between 18 and 35 years old. Women applicants are highly encouraged to participate.
• Africa.
• Up to €10k prize.
• May 17, 2026.
Sub-Grants to Strengthen Scaling of Teacher Professional Development on Gender-Responsive Pedagogy. VVOB – education for development.
• Transforming gender norms, biases and practices that shape classroom interaction, participation and learning outcomes for both boys and girls. Addressing gender norms as a root driver of inequality in education.
• NGO, civil society organisation, public sector operator, academic/training institutions (at least 3 years in operation). Consortia or partnerships are allowed.
• Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Up to €40k grant funding.
• May 29, 2026.
#GreenCatalyst. Funguo Programme.
• Aims to promote innovation and sustainability within the forest-based value chains, increase rural employment, and unlock investment in green MSMEs.
• Operate within the forestry value chain (e.g. wood processing, eco-products, charcoal alternatives, joinery or and furniture, beekeeping and bee products, bamboo products innovations, essential oils, digital forestry services etc.).
• MSMEs that are led or largely benefit youth, women, and persons with disabilities.
• Tanzania.
• Up to ~$38,497 (TZS 100m) catalytic grant funding.
• May 31, 2026.
Environmental youth program for the creative arts. Bow Seat: Creative Action for Conservation.
• The 2026 Ocean Awareness Contest – Your Story, Our Ocean. Share how the ocean has shaped your story through art, writing, performance, film, or multimedia.
• Students ages 11-18 who are enrolled in middle school or high school (or the homeschool equivalent).
• All countries.
• Up to $1k cash awards.
• June 8, 2026.
Cascador ScaleUp Program. Cascador.
• High-performing businesses across sectors — including both real economy and tech-enabled ventures. Growth-stage founders with proven traction, a strong team, and a business ready for its next phase of scale.
• Founders, 2+ years in operation. $70k+ USD (₦100M+) in annual revenue.
• Sub-Saharan Africa.
• $5k founder stipend. Travel, Lodging & Meals Covered.
• June 15, 2026.
Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists. Science & SciLifeLab Prize.
• Topic of the entrant's thesis research must be in one of the following categories: Cell and Molecular Biology; Genomics, Proteomics, and Systems Biology approaches; Ecology and Environment; Molecular Medicine.
• Young scientists, must have received their Ph.D. between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024. Work described in the entry must have been performed while the entrant was a graduate student.
• All countries.
• Up to $30k prizes.
• June 15, 2026.
2026 Interledger on Campus, Education Mini Grant. Interledger Foundation.
• Student-led innovation, learning, and community engagement focused on open payments and digital financial inclusion. Projects that explore interoperable payment systems and expand awareness of equitable financial technologies.
• Student organizations at accredited universities
• All countries.
• Up to $5k grants.
• June 31, 2026.
👇 12 Funding Opportunities above $50k 👇
But before we get to those…
Have you missed our last few updates and new grant programs we shared there?
Catch up on our previous newsletters or subscribe to our paid plan for direct access to our database and save you and your team hours in finding the right funding for you.
There are ~200 funding opportunities with open or rolling deadlines in our database! (With 100+ opportunities for $50k and above.)
*(Prefer to use a different payment method like a Bank Transfer or M-PESA (in Kenya)?
Reply here or send an email to daniel@fundraisingdispatch.com.
Funding Opportunities above $50k
What’s below?
● 5 opportunities from $50k to $200k
● 5 opportunities from $200k to $1m
● 2 opportunities for more than $1,000,000
Including:
- $60k for HealthTech
- $100k for early-stage tech startups, any industry
- €400k for energy access & efficiency in Africa
- $1.5m for high-impact, cost-effective innovations
