The development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) has launched a rapid response grant fund to support Nigerian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) grappling with the recent wave of international funding cuts.
The initiative, tagged the NGO Support Initiative (NSI) will provide grants of up to N5 million for short-term projects that can be executed within three months.
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It is designed to sustain civil society efforts that have been disrupted by the freeze on foreign assistance initiated in January by US President Donald Trump.
The suspension has particularly impacted the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a critical donor for many development initiatives in Nigeria.
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As a result, several NGOs across Nigeria have been forced to scale back or halt their programmes due to the sudden shortfall in financial support.
Significance of project
Speaking at the launch in Abuja on Wednesday, Stanley Ukpai, the Project Director of dRPC, described the event as a pivotal moment for Nigerian civil society.
Mr Ukpai highlighted that with over 30 years of experience supporting and implementing projects alongside local organisations, dRPC is stepping in to fill the gap created by the decline in support.
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Emphasising the significance of the launch, Mr Ukpai said, “We have seen civil society rise and fall while tackling critical issues in Nigeria.
“With this initiative, we hope to kick-start something that not only supports ongoing efforts but also creates further development across the country.”
Nigeria, like many other developing nations, is heavily reliant on foreign aid to address critical issues, particularly in providing healthcare to millions of its citizens.
This dependency has allowed organisations such as USAID, which disburses a significant portion of US international aid, to play a central role.
However, the absence of this support has left a considerable void in Nigeria’s development efforts.
Need for support
Judith-Ann Walker, the Executive Director and founding member of dRPC, described the initiative as a timely and strategic response to the funding crisis affecting civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria.
Ms Walker said the initiative aims to sustain ongoing work in areas such as gender-based violence prevention, education, and women’s empowerment sectors that have been particularly hard-hit by the funding cuts.
She emphasised that the NSI aligns with the dRPC’s long-standing mission of building and strengthening CSOs across Nigeria.
“Over 30 years, dRPC has been an organisation that is unique in the sector; we have a mission of supporting, engaging, building, and strengthening the capacity of Nigerian CSOs,” she stated.
Highlighting the scale of the crisis, she noted that NGOs are facing increasing difficulty in maintaining staff and sustaining community-level work, which are crucial to national development.
She stressed that the NSI is not only about funding but also includes a strong capacity-building component to ensure long-term impact.
“Any group that receives funds must go through a capacity-building programme because we are committed to capacity strengthening of Nigerian CSOs,” she added.
She said the initiative will offer grants of up to N5 million for projects that can be implemented within three months.
Ms Walker explained that the initiative will prioritise critical areas, including the prevention of gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment, the promotion of safe schools for girls, and broader issues of gender equality and social justice.
Organisations that meet the eligibility criteria can access further information and application guidelines via their website.
Ms Walker also underscored the narrowing pool of resources available to organisations working in these areas, as global donor attention shifts to sectors like artificial intelligence and climate justice.
She noted that the Ford Foundation is supporting the initiative, making dRPC one of the few indigenous organisations offering this kind of re-granting support in the current funding challenge.
About dRPC
dRPC is a Nigerian NGO that works with civil society groups through policy research, training, funding, and technical assistance.
Its activities focus on gender equality, women’s empowerment, education, health, and social justice, with particular attention to women-led and grassroots organisations.
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