- Opportunity Title: Micro Grants under the MENA AI & Digital Resilience Program for Civil Society Organizations Deadline: 30 August 2026 Target Audience: Civil society organizations registered in the Middle East and North Africa, or organizations registered outside the region that work primarily in civil society in one or more countries in the region, including Lebanon. Opportunity Summary: The MENA AI & Digital Resilience Program invites eligible civil society organizations to submit proposals for micro grants that strengthen internal digital resilience and support the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence. The grants are designed to support practical initiatives such as cybersecurity audits, AI governance policies, data protection, and improvements to digital infrastructure. What It Supports: The micro grants support internal institutional digital-resilience initiatives, including cybersecurity assessments and security improvements, responsible AI and data-governance policies, the integration of AI into internal operations, secure cloud infrastructure, data protection and backups, the development of standard operating procedures, and small-scale testing of AI or digital-resilience tools. Funding / Amount: Four micro grants ranging from US$2,000 to US$4,500 each. Eligibility Criteria:

• The applicant must be a formally registered civil society organization in the MENA region, or an organization registered outside the region that works primarily in civil society within the region.
• The organization must demonstrate a clear and sustainable focus on the Middle East and North Africa.
• The proposed initiative must be related to digital resilience and/or artificial intelligence for civil society organizations.
• The initiative must address at least one priority area, such as AI adoption and institutional digital transformation, cybersecurity and digital resilience, AI and data governance, or privacy, digital rights and the safe use of AI.
• The proposed initiative should be locally driven and community-responsive, while taking into account underrepresented or marginalized groups, including women, youth, local communities, refugees, displaced persons, persons with disabilities and minorities.
• Proposals must include clear measures for managing political, digital, security and safety risks, as relevant to the proposed project.
• Governmental and intergovernmental organizations, political parties, public authorities and for-profit entities are not eligible, subject to the exceptions specified in the call document.
• Applications from unregistered organizations or informal groups, and organizations headquartered in Syria, Egypt or Palestine, are not eligible according to the geographical restrictions in the call document.
• Humanitarian or relief activities, charitable assistance, partisan activities, election campaigns and faith-based religious or proselytizing activities are not eligible.
• The requested amount must not exceed US$4,500, and the implementation period must not exceed two and a half months.

Key Fields: Artificial intelligence, institutional digital transformation, digital resilience, cybersecurity, AI governance, data governance, privacy, digital rights, safe and responsible AI use, data protection, digital infrastructure, knowledge management and digital learning. How to Apply:

1. Read the grant announcement, Request for Proposals, instructions and eligibility criteria carefully.
2. Prepare a proposal describing the specific institutional challenge, its relevance to digital resilience or AI, the proposed activities, expected results, timeline and risk-management plan.
3. Complete, sign and stamp the application form according to the attached template.
4. Complete the budget template using the attached Excel file.
5. Attach proof of the organization’s legal registration and any other required supporting documents.
6. Submit the application file in PDF or DOC format and the budget file in Excel format by email to MENA@innovationforchange.net.
7. Use the following subject line: Organization Name – MENA-AIDR-2026-SSG.
8. Applications must be submitted in Arabic or English. Late, incomplete or improperly structured applications will not be considered.
9. Questions related to the application may be submitted up to five days before the deadline. The organizers do not guarantee that they will be able to respond to every question.

Useful Links:

• AI Resilience MENA Homepage
• Program Expression of Interest Form
• Innovation for Change Network Membership Form
• Consultancy and Job Opportunities

Attachments: Arabic Grant Announcement English Request for Proposals (RFP) Arabic Concept Note English Concept Note Visit the original call page here

➜ النسخة العربية (ARABIC)