Grants

In 2020, The Atlantic Philanthropies made an extraordinary grant to the Atlantic Institute to pilot several strategic initiatives, including a suite of grants to accelerate connection to action. Following a consultation, the Collective Impact Fund (CIF) was formed to include Connection, Ideation, Pilot, Scale and Sustain Grants. In 2021, after a significant refinement exercise, the Collective Impact Fund was condensed into three grants: Connect, Pilot and Scale. Due to the impact of COVID-19, Solidarity Grants were added to the Institute's suite of grants to support Fellows with their frontline responses to the pandemic.  

This pilot was subject to review for impact, value and, most importantly, sustainability in the context of other Institute offerings, including the Global Atlantic Fellows Annual Convening, thematic convenings, residencies and virtual events.  

After a review, the Atlantic Institute Governing Board with the Atlantic Institute has decided to pause all grant-making activities immediately, except for Accessibility Grants (which will be renamed Accessibility Resources) for Fellows who need support to attend Atlantic Institute convenings. The primary rationale for this decision is to ensure that we continue to deepen our role in connecting and convening Fellows across borders, perspectives, disciplines and programs while providing support to improve skills across the community in writing grant applications and developing effective strategic partnerships.

Other reasons for this decision include: 

• Applying for and being selected for a grant is a competitive process. There are currently around 900 Atlantic Fellows and as the community continues to grow, there is a corresponding increase in the number of applications. We have concerns about the impact of rejections on relationships within the global Atlantic Fellows community and with the Institute.
• The Institute and the Rhodes Trust are not resourced to manage and mitigate the risks (including safeguarding and in-country legislative risks) associated with global grant-making.

Over the next three to four months, the Atlantic Institute team will pause and take time to reflect on what we have learned to date in the context of our strategy, finite resources and lifespan.  The new executive director will lead a broader consultation process to explore a number of options and possible next steps but with the focus continuing to be on connecting Fellows in an equitable, fair and inclusive way. 

Please note the following:

• The process for reporting and the staging of payments will remain the same for those grants already awarded and in train. Amanda Oduka, the Institute’s program and impact lead (grants), and Kim Ooi, team coordinator ( grants and funding), will continue to support these grant recipients. 
• The grant applications submitted in the current CIF round (with a closing date of March 25, 2024) will undergo the normal review and assessment process, including a final assessment by by the Grants Award Panel in May. 

We will not receive further grant applications from Thursday, March 28, 2024. 

I appreciate that some of you will be disappointed by this change. This decision does not diminish the significant impact that the Collective Impact Fund and Solidarity grants have had on your work and your communities. We will continue to gather the stories of the impact to date, which in some cases may provide evidence or the case for support for external funding opportunities.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Evie O'Brien, Khalil Goga or Amanda Oduka.