Tips for Applying to the Direct Aid Program of the Australian Embassy, Nepal 2019

The Direct Aid Program of the Australian Embassy is a program of the Australian Government to directly support projects in developing countries through their embassies. Within the program, local NGOs with strong ties to the communities are supported in the areas where the Australian Government works in the specific country. Right now, the Direct Aid Program for Nepal is open for applications.

Who can Apply for What?

NGOs from Nepal that are registered with the Social Welfare Council can apply for funding with this program. The maximum amount of money an NGO can receive over the lifespan of a project is 50,000 Australian Dollars (approximately USD 37,500). In Nepal, the Direct Aid Program funds projects in the following areas:

  • Poverty Alleviation
  • Community Health and Education
  • Gender Equality
  • Rights of Persons with Disability
  • Human Rights
  • Environment Protection
  • Rural Development

How does the Application Process Work?

To apply for funding within the Direct Aid Program, you need to pass a two-phased application process. In the first phase, you need to submit an Expression of Interest until the 30th of June, 2019. If your project is shortlisted, you will be notified in July and would need to submit a more detailed proposal.

The first Expression of Interest has to be submitted through a homepage called Smarty Grants. Make sure you have a good internet connection when you want to apply to all the information can be transmitted.

You will need to submit digital copies of the following documents, so make sure you have scans of all of them:

  • Details of District Administration Office Registrations
  • Details of Social Welfare Council Affiliation
  • Recommendation letter from Local Government (Both Nepali or English languages are acceptable)

Furthermore, you need to submit the contact information of two people in your NGO. In the application itself, you need to give a short description of your project and the justification. Also, you need to specify the exact amount of money the project will cost and the contribution your NGO and your beneficiaries will make. Therefore, make sure you have these numbers at hand.

What does the Australian Embassy want to see in your application?

Even though the maximum amount you can apply for is AU$ 50,000, projects that apply for AU$ 20,000 – 40,000 have the best chances to be chosen. Also, projects with a high co-payment by the NGO and the beneficiaries will be favored.

The Australian Embassy also would like to see projects that enhance educational and cultural exchanges and people-to-people links, are achievable and have sustainable outcomes. Furthermore, projects should provide educational or occupational skills and training if this applies to the specific circumstances.

If you feel like your project fits this bill, you can fill out the Expression of Interest form here by 30th of June 2019.

If you need help preparing your proposal, make sure to check out some of our articles to get all the information you need. Best of luck with your proposal!


About the author

Eva Wieners

Eva is based in Germany and has worked for nearly a decade with NGOs on the grassroots level in Nepal in the field of capacity development and promotion of sustainable agricultural practices. Before that, she worked in South America and Europe with different organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in geography and her field of research was sustainability and inclusion in development projects.

44 thoughts on “Tips for Applying to the Direct Aid Program of the Australian Embassy, Nepal 2019

  1. Hello ma’am. We have developed online video contents of major subjects (English, Nepali, Math, Science) from grade 7-10 and we are on the process to complete the recording from grade 1 to 12 based on Nepali curriculum.Our aim is to provide this contents to the public schools of Nepal at free of cost. Unfortunately many school doesn’t have access to computer and Internet. So we are searching for donor who can help us in providing computer with Internet facility to these schools. This will definitely help in improving the quality of education. Can we apply for it?

    1. Hello Ujjwal,

      thank you for your comment. We are not the grant giving agency, so for more details you would have to contact the Australian Embassy. As far as I understand the guidelines you would be eligible to apply though, provided your NGO is registered with the Social Welfare Counsil. Best of luck!

  2. Hello there,
    Warm regards.

    Thanks for sharing this article. It was very insightful.
    As I was going through this, I got curious if Social Enterprise who are doing social work but for Entrepreneurship but not been registered in Social Welfare Council could apply for the Aid or not?
    Looking forward for your response.
    Thanks

    1. Hello Naresh,

      I am glad this article was helpful for you. We are not the grant giving agency, so you would have to ask the Australian Embassy. As far as i understand the guidelines though you would need to be registered with the Social Welfare Counsil to be eligible.

    1. Hello Binod,

      thank you for your message. We are not the grant giving agency, so if you want to submit an EOI, please follow the link to the Australian Embassy at the bottom of the article. Best of luck for your application!

  3. We have a non-profit research organization. But it is registered in Company Registration Office as Non-profit Company. Can we apply for the grant?

    1. Hello Rajaram,

      thank you for your comment. We are not the grant giving organization, so it is better if you contact the Australian Embassy directly to find out. Best of luck!

  4. Hi
    I am Sunil Paudel, we run the project called House of hope charity base in Nepal. so far we are providing education and accommodation for 7 children. HOH is ragestration charity in Distric Admatratiom office as well as SWC.
    can we apply for proposal. how can we apply too?
    Best regards, Sunil

    1. Hi Sunil,
      thank you for your comment. We are not the grant giving organization, so please look carefully at the requirements of the Australian Embassy (link at the bottom of the article) to decide if you want to apply. In our article we compiled tips for your application to be more successful! Best of luck

  5. Dear Sir / Madam,

    I am interested to apply for grant proposal. How can I apply for this?

    Thank you.

    1. Hi Bimala,

      please follow the link on the bottom of the article to the page of the Australian Embassy for more information on how to apply! Best of luck.

  6. Hello Mam! I am writing to you on behalf of an NGO working in the field of Health, Education, Maintenance and WASH facilities. We currently have one programme supporting education, called International Citizen Service (ICS) basically a volunteer programme in coordination with the government schools, creating teaching and learning environment. These schools, where we have volunteer placement, want to have continuous support from our organization side, but we are in a situation that we can’t promise any. Could you please support us to continue to these schools?
    We are on our way to prepare a concept note and looking various possibilities to continue our support this academic year. 2019/2020. Your reference and guidance will be highly appreciated. Thank you.

    1. Hello Devendra,

      thank you for your message. We are not the grant giving organization, for further information please contact the Australian Embassy directly. On our website you will find lots of information about writing a proposal or concept note. Best of luck and congratulations for your great work!

  7. Dear Eva Wieners Mam
    We want to apply the EOI of the Child Protection and Early Grade Reading Program project. How we get the information of the opportunity open and How do we develop the Project Proposal?

  8. Dear Eva madam,
    Thanks for the very very useful information here in. We are working for the promotion and Dalit communities’ culture and literature under our Academy and would like to apply for the cross culture study of Australian marginalized and indigenous community and publish books. Is it possible to apply or not ?

    1. Dear Dil: For detailed information on eligibility criteria and the application process, please visit the following link.

      Good luck!

  9. good to read the useful article but request you to mention the name of photographer used here.
    thank you

  10. Dear Ma’am I had completed my B.sc.Nursing and really wanna do many things and I am seeking for such platform where I can work and give my best.If there is any opportunity I would love to work for my community and my country.I would love to hear from you.

      1. EOI will be of 6 pages including budget figure. If I need to submit detail budget break down or not, please let me know. Thank you.

        1. Dear Manish
          Please check the specific guideline in the announcement and the website of the donor.

          1. When will the result be published or has it been published? I have not been informed about this yet.

          2. Dear Manish: If your project was shortlisted, you should have been notified by now. I do not think the embassy publishes the list of the selected organization of the 1st phase.

  11. dear Maam Good to know about this opportunity, could you please give us the link so that we can fill up the concept note. and want to know how long the project could be. hoping to see your feed back. thank you.

  12. Dear sir/Madam
    Namaste

    I am from Suklaphanta National Park from Nepal, Our organization Thagil Social Development Association needed Tourism support . we want to manage safe tourism and healthy environment. we want to recycle plastic project. so we need small fund for collect plastic product from tourism spot in suklaphanta national park and adjoining tourism spot in Kanchanpur district of Nepal .

      1. Dear Eshawar: To get detailed information on eligibility criteria and application requirements, please visit the website of the donor.

  13. Hello Eva. Thanks for your very helpful information. I have filled out our application and see at the bottom of the login page, that the current round is open for Islamabad and Pretoria only. It this a typo? We are applying for a project in Nepal.
    Looking forward to your response. Cheers, Sandra

    1. Hi Sandra,

      please contact the Australian Embassy directly. It must be a typo I guess because they confirmed to me two weeks ago that the Nepal program is open.

      Best of luck,
      Eva

  14. Dear Madam
    Warm Greeting from Fatima Foundation-Nepal
    We have read about the Directive Program of you and found that all the aforesaid allies mentioned in it are being fully matched to our organization, so we want to apply in your esteemed organization.
    Fatima foundation- Nepal is a woman leading and grass root organization, which has been advocating for ensuring women and child, rights of marginalized, Muslim, vulnerable, madhesi and others. During this work we have found many issues is the community that have been obstructing the development of the women, especially in the development of girls, in which their health and Educated are once, thus, this organization is looking to address the issue of Health and Education so, can we apply to this issue at your reputed organization?
    Hope for your kind and soon reply so that we can prepare for the application.

    Thank you
    Mohammadi Siddiqui
    President/Founder
    Fatima Foundation- Nepal

    1. Dear Mohammadi: To get detailed information on eligibility criteria and application requirements, please visit the website of the donor.

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