SUPPORT TO ORGANIZATIONS: About Us

SUPPORT TO ORGANIZATIONS

SUPPORT TO ORGANIZATIONS: Text

Becoming a Partner

Information for future Solstice Partners about the CSO Support Program (CSP).

CSO stands for Civil Society Organizations and includes all non-market and non-state organizations outside of the family in which people organize themselves to pursue shared interests in the public domain (definition by OECD).

Le Solstice accepts to review applications for a financial partnership based on the minimum criteria below:

The organization must be currently registered as a CSO.
The organization's goal(s) must be, or at least in the realm of, (1) improving the lives of children, and/or (2) raising awareness about nature preservation and sustainable development.
The organization must be able to communicate with Le Solstice in English or French (Spanish and German exceptionally if the partner presents a promising application).
The organization must not practice religion or political proselytism.

Le Solstice will prioritize requests from organizations that:

Have been around longer, and have a permanent team in place.
Have a website and a social media page, and communicate regularly.
Have a bank account in the name of the organization, exclusive for donations.
Have a certificate by a third-party certifying agency.
Assess their impact.
Have the financial capacity to cover its current and future core functions.
Have established partnerships with other grant givers, and can provide excellent references from previous and/or current grant givers.
Operate their project where the corruption level is perceived low (50pts+ on the current CPI).
Are able to cover part of the project budget with other sources.
Provide a coherent and feasible project proposal and budget, respecting the structure of, or similar to, our project cycle guidelines.

Le Solstice applies the following basic rules:

A financial partnership is only set up on a specific project with measurable outputs and outcomes.
A financial partnership lasts only for the duration of the project and is limited to three years.
Grant requests with a budget of only operational expenses (ex: salaries) will not be accepted.
On the other hand, a grant request with a budget of only capital expenses (ex: construction) will require a feasible and sustainable operating plan over three to five years.

SUPPORT TO ORGANIZATIONS: Programs

Application Process

To apply for a financial partnership with Le Solstice, the organization has to complete four steps.

Initial Contact

Step 1

The first step of the process is getting in contact with Le Solstice, who will run your organization through the minimum requirements checklist (mentioned above) and may ask for clarifications to move forward.

Grant Request

Step 2

You will be sent a link to an online Google form to submit your grant request. The first part of the form is about your organization, and the second part of the form is about your project.

Interview

Step 3

You will be invited to a face-to-face interview. When it is not possible, we will arrange for a video call. There may be more than one interview.

Partnership Agreement

Step 4

An agreement will be issued to you, reiterating the objectives of the project, the grant amount and conditions, as well as the details of the follow-up process, consisting of regular Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) sessions.

Start application process

SUPPORT TO ORGANIZATIONS: Programs

Then what?

Once a partner, the organization has to complete M&E sessions in three parts, at least every 12 months. First-time partners may be asked to report more regularly.

Self-assessment

Step 1

You will be provided with a

self-assessment form to help you properly report on your project's compliance, efficiency, effectiveness and relevance.

Project Audit Letter & Development Discussion

Step 2

Le Solstice may proceed to audit what you reported and issue a letter. It may happen that Le Solstice organizes a surprise visit or call.

Together, we then proceed to a discussion on the development of the project.

Evaluation