The Chapter Admin Funding program offers annual funding to support Internet Society chapters to manage their day-to-day activities and to maximise their effectiveness.
Program Objectives
- Strengthen chapter and administrative operations
- Assist chapters establish as formal legal entities
- Improve chapter performance
- Contribute to maintaining an active and dynamic chapter community
What Do We Support
The areas supported by Chapter Admin Funding fall into six categories:
- Official registration of the chapter
- General admin support
- Membership management
- Website development with hosting
- General Assembly
- Marketing, publicity, and branding
For the full list of supported activities under each of these six categories, please refer to the List of Costs.
The following activities are NOT supported by Chapter Admin Funding:
- Travel costs for chapter officers, Board members or chapter members
- Compensation of chapter officers for voluntary engagement
- Organization of external events/projects, for this purpose, please apply for Beyond the Net Small Program.
Funding can only be used for the purposes listed in the approved funding application.
Eligibility
Chapter Admin Funding is available to Internet Society chapters only.
Chapters must also meet the following criteria:
- Chapter is in good standing (or pre-rejuvenation – on a case-by-case basis) and meet the minimum Chapter standards as outlined in the Chapter’s Charter Letter.
- Chapter undergoing a rejuvenation process cannot be considered.
- Chapter has submitted all required funding reports from previous years.
- Chapter has an official bank account in its name according to the local legal registration.
- Any applications that do not meet the above requirements will automatically be disqualified from receiving funding.
Funding Available
The max. amount for which each Chapter is eligible depends on the results of their performance evaluation.
In 2024, the amounts available to each Chapter are based on the December 2023 performance evaluation results:
- Gigabit: up to $3,500 USD
- Megabit: up to $3,000 USD
- Kilobit: up to $2,500 USD
- Bit: up to $2,250 USD
- In Good Standing: up to $2,000 USD
- In pre-rejuvenation: up to $1,500 USD (approved on a case-by-case basis)
2024 Application Timeline
| Date | Deadline |
|---|---|
| 6 February 2024 | Applications Open |
| 30 April 2024 | Applications Close |
| 20 May 2024 | Deadline for signing Grant Agreement* *Chapters that have not signed their Grant Agreement by this date will not be able to receive 2024 Admin Funding. |
| 12 February – 3 June 2024 | Admin Funding disbursed month upon receipt of signed Grant Agreement |
Application Review Process
Applications are reviewed by Internet Society staff to determine whether the activities fit the program guidelines. Feedback is provided during this period and, if necessary, staff will reach out for additional information about the submitted application.
Disbursement of Funds
At the time of approval of their application, the Chapter is required to sign the Internet Society Grant Agreement.
Please note that depending on the circumstances (e.g. additional information needed), the review period up to the actual disbursement can take several weeks.
Reporting Requirements
The Chapter is requested to describe and evaluate the activities undertaken and report on the use of admin funds received at the mid and end of the year, based on the originally submitted financial plan.
The Chapter is also requested to keep all invoices for reporting and audit purposes.
In case of non-compliance with these requirements, the Chapter may be asked to return funds to the Internet Society and will not be eligible to apply for future funding.
Required Elements
- Chapter Admin Budget and workplan template (required as part of your application) – if you are requesting funding for equipment as part of your grant budget, please also complete the Equipment Tab
- Chapter Admin 2-tab Budget Report Template (required as part of all Chapter Admin reports)
Want to Learn More?
No, the Chapter Admin Funding Program does not replace Beyond the Net programs (managed by the Internet Society Foundation). Chapters can apply for Chapter Admin Funding to cover a set of administrative costs and may also apply for Beyond the Net grants to implement short-term projects.
Yes, all administrative costs, such as: website maintenance, local registrations, legal and accounting costs, liability insurance for the officers of the chapters, membership management, invoice processing, organization of the general assembly, or even general admin support should be included in the budget.
When you apply, you will be asked for a budget and you will be given the calendar year to spend it, then you will be asked to provide a reporting on how you used the money. We will audit a random percentage of our chapters per region. Chapters should keep all receipts. Chapters that fail the audit, will not be eligible to apply for the next period of funding.
The chapter will not be able to apply until the pending information is provided as requested.
The maximum amount that each chapter is eligible for is determined by the results of their annual performance evaluation. The exact amounts per evaluation status are listed on the website (see “Funding Available”) as well as in the program application.
Feel free to contact: [email protected]
Due to limited staff capacity, we cannot guarantee a response to questions about the application process received after the end of the working day, one day before the application window closes.