Youth Hub Seed Grant Programme
IAS – the International AIDS Society – invites you to submit a proposal requesting up to USD 10,000 to implement a six-month innovation project (from April to October 2025) that addresses a need for young people living with and affected by HIV.
The IAS will support a new cohort of five Young Leaders with seed grants of USD 10,000 each to scale up HIV-related innovation projects that respond to a locally defined need. Each Young Leader must be affiliated with and logistically supported by an organization working in HIV and/or sexual and reproductive health and rights or related areas.
What will the successful applicant receive?
Selected Young Leaders will be awarded:
- USD 10,000 seed grant to implement and/or scale up an HIV-related innovative project over a period of six months (April to October 2025)
- Capacity building in monitoring and evaluation, reporting, and communications and networking opportunities
- Travel to IAS 2025, the 13th IAS Conference on HIV Science, in Kigali, Rwanda
- Inclusion in the IAS 2025 Young Leaders Programme
What are the eligibility criteria?
The Young Leader must:
- Be connected to an organization that is willing and able to provide mentorship and logistical support for the proposed Young Leader’s project
- Be between 18 and 30 years old (and ideally under 25)
- Agree to be featured in IAS digital media (see examples)
- Be willing to attend IAS 2025 from 13 to 17 July 2025
The host organization must:
- Be a registered charitable organization and willing to undergo additional eligibility checks
- Be able and willing to provide a point of contact who will actively mentor the selected applicant as a Young Leader
- Be able and willing to logistically support its Young Leader in the day-to-day aspects of the implementation of its innovation project
- Be able and willing to report and communicate with the IAS in English
- Be able and willing to receive, as well as manage, all funds related to the seed grant
How do I apply?
Please apply through our application portal. You will need to provide information and contact details for yourself and your host organization. You will also be asked a series of questions to assess motivation, skills and project feasibility, as well as to upload a completed budget template and a letter of support from your host organization.
Only applications made through the online application portal will be considered.
Please see the application guidelines for in-depth information on how to apply.
When is the deadline?
Friday, 29 November 2024, 23:59 CET
What are the selection criteria?
Selection of applications will be based on the following criteria:
- Clarity of project plan
- Evidence of project sustainability
- Strength of youth engagement
- Leadership qualities of the proposed Young Leader
- Capacity of host organization
Please see the application guidelines for in-depth information on the selection criteria.
How will applications be reviewed?
Once the call for applications has closed, the Youth Hub Grant Committee will review each application and score it based on how closely the applicant has met the selection criteria. Each application will be reviewed by at least one Young Leader and one IAS representative, and an average score will be taken across the reviews. The top-scoring applications will go through to the next round where they will be discussed in detail with the Youth Hub Grant Committee. The committee members will then vote for their top five applications.
When will I find out the outcome of my application?
Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their submission by February.
Questions?
If you have a question related to this call for submissions, please consult our application guidelines. If you don’t find an answer in the application guidelines, please contact YouthHub@iasociety.org.