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More about the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute
NOVA Travel Fund Requirements

Next application deadline:
December 1, 2008
(for travel taking place after January 15, 2009)

What is the NOVA Travel Fund?
This fund seeks to support groups and organizations representing the social movements of Latin America, the Caribbean and indigenous America–especially grassroots base-level organizations of campesinos, indigenous peoples, women, unionists, human rights activists, etc.--by providing grants to allow them to travel to meetings, forums or other events, geared toward coordination or training, on a local, national, regional or international level, with the goal of allowing and ensuring their participation in the movement of global resistance.

Who controls the NOVA Travel Fund?
The A.J. Muste Memorial Institute, based in New York (USA) is responsible for the administration of the NOVA Travel Fund. Decisions about the applications are made by a committee of at least six activists from different regions of the Americas: Andes, Southern Cone, Brazil, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

NOVA Travel Fund Objectives:

1. To contribute to the strengthening of grassroots organizations and social movements in Latin America and the Caribbean, facilitating their participation in national or international forums, seminars and meetings.
2. To contribute to the strengthening of alliances and joint strategies among organizations and social movements, toward the creation of networks and other spaces of interaction.
3. To contribute to the training and empowerment of organized women and men from grassroots sectors, so that they can develop leadership that favors the coordination and enrichment of local practices with national and global perspectives.

CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS:

What kind of grants does the NOVA Travel Fund make?

• Only to cover the costs of local, national, regional or international travel (preferably within Latin America and the Caribbean) for meetings. The NOVA Travel Fund doesn't make grants to organize meetings or other events. (The A.J. Muste Memorial Institute has other funds for other kinds of support; see http://ajmuste.org/ajgrants.html for information.)
• The maximum grant amount is $1,500. Because we receive so many applications, we often end up granting less than the full amount requested.

Who can apply for a grant?

• Grassroots social organizations, movements, networks, collectives or groups. The people seeking support must be designated by the group, and be an integral and committed part of the group. We don't accept individual applications that are not supported by an organization.
• People and organizations from the geographic and cultural area of Latin America and the Caribbean, or Indigenous America (Abya Yala).
• Organizations with a demonstrated commitment to democratic values and nonviolence, the objectives of social change and social justice, and respect for human rights. The organizations seeking funding should be known for their work, or present two references from known organizations.
• Grassroots groups with modest resources and little or no budget for travel, and difficulties accessing other sources of funding. We do not make grants to NGOs that have access to other funds or have a significant budget of their own.
• Groups that demonstrate in their structure and functioning a commitment to gender equality, democratic participation, the sharing of authority, rotation in decision-making positions, and training and empowerment of their members at all levels, not only among the leadership.
• Our priority is to support base-level women activists and groups that normally have fewer opportunities to travel and participate in meetings (indigenous, African-descended, youth, minorities, etc.). We don't support proposals where the traveling delegations are made up of fewer than 30% women, in the case of a small delegation, or 40% women in the case of a larger delegation.
• We don't accept more than one application from the same organization to participate in the same event. An application can be for a collective trip, for more than one person, but the maximum grant amount for each application is still $1,500.

When can you apply for a grant?

• Applications are considered every two months, with deadlines on the first day of Febrary, April, June, August, October and December.
• The decision-making process takes at least one month, so applications must be sent at least 45 days (preferably more) before the planned trip.
• We don't consider more than two applications from the same organization in any 12-month period. We don't accept applications from any group that has not handed in the required reporting for an earlier grant.

How do you apply for a grant?

• Filling out the form located at http://ajmuste.org/novaform-eng.doc and sending it via email to  viajes@ajmuste.org before the deadline, and at least 45 days before the planned trip.
• Applications can be filled out in Spanish, Portuguese, English or French (Spanish is preferred because it is the shared language of the committee members); we can only respond in Spanish or English.

Reporting requirements:

• Groups that receive grants must report their expenses using a form provided by the NOVA Travel Fund that includes a brief evaluation of the usefulness and significance of the trip.
• Reports must be sent in no more than three months after the trip has been completed. All expenses must be duly documented and receipts must be presented.