FAQs
Find answers to some of the frequently asked questions about the Global Statelessness Fund.
The Global Statelessness Fund is a new initiative that aims to revolutionise the statelessness field by providing flexible funding and tailored support to stateless activists, stateless-led organisations, and those working in the statelessness ecosystem to increase their agency, capacity, and leadership in pursuit of change. You can learn more about our work and values here.
Open Collective is a fundraising, legal status, and money management platform for communities and grassroots groups. Open Collective Europe is the fiscal host for the Global Statelessness Fund. We work together closely to ensure we can fund groups effectively and securely, wherever they work. You can find more information on the Global Statelessness Fund’s dashboard on the Open Collective platform.
A stateless person does not have the nationality of any country.
Statelessness is an extreme form of exclusion and a growing global problem. It is caused by one or multiple forms of discrimination and leads to a wide range of human rights violations. Stateless people struggle to access their fundamental rights to education, healthcare, housing, employment, social protection, family life, documentation, free movement, political participation, and access to justice.
Learn more about the issue here.
At the Global Statelessness Fund, we recognize that the different ways in which people are affected by statelessness brings forth different and complementary solutions to this pressing issue. As such, we adopt an inclusive approach and consider the following to be impacted groups and prioritize grantmaking to organizations led by them.
- Individuals who are stateless or who face discrimination in accessing nationality or transmitting nationality to their children or spouse, which heightens their risk of statelessness.
- Individuals who belong to communities disproportionately impacted by statelessness and discriminatory nationality laws, even though they themselves are not stateless.
- Individuals who were previously stateless or impacted by discriminatory nationality laws who have since resolved their situation.
- Individuals who belong to communities whose nationality is precarious and at risk due to discriminatory or arbitrary nationality laws.
You can learn more about our approach here.
The Global Statelessness Fund does not currently have an open application process.
A key principle of the Fund is to avoid wasting resources through extensive application and review processes (resources of the Fund which could otherwise be spent on grants and accompaniment, and resources of groups that would apply for funding, if there is little chance of success). For this reason, we decided not to take forward a competitive, ‘open call’ process.
The Fund is run by a diverse Steering Group of stateless activists, leaders, civil society representatives and donors. The first group of grantees selected in 2024 were chosen by this Steering Group. A Peer Review Committee from amongst the grantees will join the Steering Group to develop the criteria and process for selecting grantees in 2025.
Although we don’t have an open application process, we are always keen to learn more about what individuals and groups are doing globally to combat statelessness and advance citizenship rights. If you would like to highlight your work, or that of a group or initiative you are connected to, to the Global Statelessness Fund, please fill out this form: Initiative Information Form
For the first group of grantees, the Steering Group were not trying to establish a perfect system to review all eligible candidates and select the ‘most deserving’, because of the extensive resources that would be required for such an approach. Instead, we sought to identify and support groups that undoubtedly meet the Fund’s objectives and are adequately representative and diverse. By doing so, we hope that a Peer Review Committee formed of representative grantees from this first cohort may contribute towards developing more robust criteria and processes for future cohorts.
For the first round of funding, grantees were chosen who met the following criteria:
- The group is led by people who are impacted by statelessness or the denial of citizenship rights.
- The group works on statelessness issues from a human rights perspective.
- The group has a reputation for working collaboratively with others.
- The group contributes towards the wider statelessness field, including (but not limited to) involvement in the Global Movement Against Statelessness. For emerging groups, they show a willingness to engage in the wider field.
In addition, we sought to ensure:
- Representation of all regions
- Representation from across different thematic approaches – those working on relevant issues from perspectives including gender, refugees, minorities.
- In line with the Fund’s intersectional and feminist principles, prioritisation of groups led by women, disabled people, LGBTQI leaders and other (additionally) structurally excluded and marginalised people.
If you have an enquiry or a complaint about the Global Statelessness Fund, you can write to [email protected]. Please provide as much information as possible that will help us consider the issue. The Fund staff will receive your email, and will respond to you within two weeks.
Our organization truly believes that by working together, we can save more lives than ever before.