FOR ALL TO SEE: Artistic image in shades of beige. On the left, a photograph (taken from above) of people in an audience, credited to photographer Izabela Chaves – Brazil Fund Collection. Right below, a portrait of Rose Marie Muraro, along with her name and the information that this artwork is a tribute. In the center-right of the image, the name “General Call for Proposals 2026 – Reinforcing Rights and Engendering a New World.” In the lower right corner, the Brazil Fund logo and the phrase “Human Rights. Social Transformation.”
INTRODUCTION
The Brazil Human Rights Fund invites groups, collectives, movements, and civil society organizations working to tackle violations and protect human rights in Brazil to present proposals for funding their work under the General Call for Proposals 2026 – Reinforcing Rights and Engendering a New World. This call for proposals comes amid a context of growing political, digital, and territorial tensions, where civil society plays a key role in protecting communities, developing counter-narratives, and promoting rights.
Brazil Fund believes that the work of these organizations must be strengthened so that they can continue to counter setbacks and contribute to bringing essential debates on human rights, democracy, and social justice to the public arena on an informed basis. This requires supporting groups that fight for equity and human rights in a year marked by pivotal nationwide debates and transition of government administrations that, historically, increase tensions and polarization.
This year, the call for proposals pays tribute to Rose Marie Muraro, founder of Brazil Fund and a leading figure in the Brazilian feminist movement. Author of dozens of books and editor of more than 1,600 published works, she stood out for resisting to censorship and for pioneering a class-based approach to Brazilian women’s sexuality. Her editorial work and her partnership with Leonardo Boff contributed to the Women’s Liberation Movement and Liberation Theology. The artwork for this call for proposals pays tribute to her life and legacy.
Eligible projects include those aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of organizations engaged in defense of rights. Strengthening institutional capacity is the driving force that enables organizations to effectively operate in their specific environments, seeking to guarantee the defense of rights and prevent violations.
The grant can be flexibly allocated. Organizations can freely list in their budgets the priority areas they consider most important for strengthening their institution capacity, in line with the objectives of the Call for Proposals.
The intersection of race, gender, territory, and other social markers of inequality is one of the premises that guide our work. In this sense, organizations, groups, collectives, and movements that promote racial and gender equity in their composition and activities—as well as proposals that consistently address racial, ethnic, territorial, and gender dimensions—will be valued and prioritized.
Please note: we suggest that you carefully read the full call for proposals and the “Frequently Asked Questions” section below. If you still have any questions, please send an email to [email protected].
SUBMISSION KEY DATES
Proposals may be submitted from December 6, 2025 to March 6, 2026, by 6 p.m. (GMT-3).
NUMBER OF GRANTS AND FUNDING AMOUNT
Twenty organizations, groups, and collectives will receive grants of up to fifty thousand Brazilian reais (BRL 50,000.00) each, totaling up to one million Brazilian reais (BRL 1,000,000.00) in grants under this Call for Proposals. The projects shall be carried out over a period of no more than 12 months.
BACKGROUND
Brazil is going through a period of high tension around the enforcement of human rights, characterized by rising political violence, coordinated actions of extremist groups, and the expansion of organized crime in urban and rural areas, in addition to increased threats to human rights defenders. In recent years, organizations such as Global Witness, Terra de Direitos and Justiça Global have reported an increase in harassments and attacks, especially against those who defend territories, traditional communities, Indigenous peoples, and democracy. Political polarization and the proliferation of disinformation create an environment that fosters anti-democratic arguments and enables direct attacks on public institutions.
This scenario is part of a global movement. Transnational anti-rights networks are funding ultra-conservative initiatives and spreading their narratives, fueling moral panic and promoting attacks on the rights of women, traditional peoples, and the LGBTQIAPN+ population. In Brazil, this ecosystem feeds on distortions of national history, the praise of past authoritarian regimes, and the criminalization of social movements and environmental defenders—compounded by the growing presence of criminal organizations that dispute the control of territory in several regions and pose increased risks to local communities and organizations.
Assaults against human rights defenders continues at alarming levels. Pará, host of COP30, remains among the most dangerous states in Brazil, reflecting the spread of violence across territories and the fragility of public policies. In the Amazon, the inward expansion and diversification of criminal activities—with factions present in hundreds of municipalities and operating on river routes, gold mines, and remote areas—have heightened conflicts, increased fear, and impacted the work of community organizations. Moreover, efforts to overturn the National Plan for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders demonstrate how institutional progress remain at risk, despite decades of mobilization and successful court rulings.
At the same time, digital platforms have eased their moderation policies, allowing the circulation of extremist content and disinformation. The profiles of influencers involved in anti-democratic acts are still active and profiting from their audiences on these platforms, while grassroot creators face coordinated attacks and a lack of protection. This background reveals that the democratic dispute today crosses territorial, institutional, and digital dimensions, calling for new forms of resistance and coordinated actions.
Consequently, it is crucial to empower civil society. Civil society organizations and collectives play a central role in the defense of rights, the protection of vulnerable communities, the development of counter-narratives, and advocacy on public policy. There is a need to ensure conditions for these groups to continue operating, strengthening their structures, and expanding actions that reinforce democracy. In this sense, the year 2026—marked by pivotal nationwide debates on the country’s political direction—is likely to intensify conflicts and polarization, demanding a civil society empowered and able to bring these issues to the public arena in a critical, qualified, and democratic manner.
The objective of General Call for Proposals 2026 – Reinforcing Rights and Engendering a New World is to strengthen Brazilian civil society to address these challenges, uphold the fight for social, climate, racial, and gender justice, helping to create the new world that Rose Marie Muraro advocated in her books. In a scenario of growing political and digital pressure, strengthening organizations is essential to consolidate a democratic, safe, and diverse future.
CONDITIONS TO APPLY
- The applicant must be a group/collective/movement/organization working in defense of rights.
- Each organization, group or collective may submit only one project. Should a same organization, group or collective send more than one project, ONLY the last one registered will be considered.
- Projects from organizations, groups and collectives with little to no access to other sources of funding will have priority.
- We will accept proposals submitted by non-profit organizations, groups, movements, and collectives, even if they are not yet officially registered and/or do not bear a CNPJ (Brazilian Corporate Taxpayer ID). Should the applicant be selected, it must designate an organization with a CNPJ that will act as a Fiscal Partner.
- WE WILL NOT ACCEPT projects submitted by individuals, governmental organizations, universities, international organizations, political parties, small or medium sized enterprises, microenterprises, and individual microentrepreneurs.
- It is permitted to submit concurrent proposals for other open calls from Brazil Fund.
ORGANIZATIONS THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS AIMS TO SUPPORT
The “General Call for Proposals 2026 – Strengthening rights and creating a new world” aims to support the strengthening of institutional capacity of groups, collectives, movements, and organizations that work in defense of rights, with the purpose of countering setbacks and promoting progress in the democratic sphere, as well as supporting vulnerable groups in their quest for justice and equality, for example:
- That act in defense of women’s rights, especially in the promotion of sexual and reproductive rights, as well as their interface with maternal mortality; the rights of Black women, Indigenous women, women from traditional peoples, women from the LGBTQIAPN+ community, and women with disabilities;
- That act in defense of rural workers in their struggle for land and territory rights;
- That work to prevent violence against defenders of socio-environmental rights defenders and the unequal impacts of climate change, such as environmental racism and calls for climate justice, both in urban and rural areas, especially in marginalized areas;
- That aim to tackle racism and support the anti-racist struggle, especially in the scope of religious racism, promoting the rights of terreiro communities (traditional people of Afro-Brazilian religion) and valuing Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Amerindian religions, as well as combating all forms of violence practiced, encouraged or failed to be repressed by the state;
- That act in defense of the rights of migrants and refugees;
- That seek to defend the right to health, in its interface with the drug policy reform and food security.
IMPORTANT DIMENSIONS FOR PROJECT SELECTION AND APPROVAL
This Call for Proposals aims to support projects focused on strengthening institutional capacity, which allows applicants to include in their project budgets the costs of supporting their organizational structure. Examples include: human resources, headquarters maintenance costs, and procurement. This also includes support for rights defense efforts, advocacy, social mobilization actions, community outreach, and staff professional development.
Proposals to improve institutional development processes in the areas of governance & planning, finance, and monitoring & evaluation are also eligible for grants. Thus, it is possible to propose actions such as: institutional or strategic planning, development of internal monitoring and evaluation systems, development of specific plans (fundraising, communication, advocacy, etc.) or comprehensive safety planning.
It is worth noting that proposals outside these specific categories are still welcome, provided they are strategic and relevant to the defense of human rights by the organizations responding to this call.
In view of the current background, the call for proposals also encourages the submission of projects featuring initiatives that:
- Aim to reflect on the current scenario in order to develop counter-narratives against hate speech/intolerance/misinformation;
- Create campaigns and actions to promote dialogue with the general public and awareness on the importance of democracy, fostering a democratic culture.
In the proposal evaluation process, we will observe the following conditions:
- Formulation of expected results that are comprehensive and feasible;
- Adoption of a strategic rights-oriented approach;
- Coordinated actions;
- Adequacy of the budget to the proposed activities;
- Focus on the racial, ethnic, and gender dimensions that determine the multiple violations in the current background;
- Regional diversity;
- Existence of links between the proposing organization and the groups and/or communities affected by the problem to be addressed;
- WE WILL NOT FUND initiatives EXCLUSIVELY geared towards income generation, entrepreneurship, professional or educational training, after-school programs, cultural production, welfare support, or academic research.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PROJECT?
Proposals may be submitted from December 6, 2025 to March 6, 2026, by 6 p.m. (GMT-3).
Projects to compete for Brazil Human Rights Fund grants must be submitted through the Project Portal. Please follow the instructions below, based on the status of your group/organization:
- If you have already submitted projects, access the portal through this link, insert your username and password. If you cannot remember your password, click “Esqueci a senha” and follow the instructions to create a new password. Access the detailed instructions here..
- If you are registering for the first time, access the portal, click “Primeiro Acesso” and fill in your group’s details. Access the detailed instructions here..
Application must be done at once since the portal does not permit saving part of the completed form to finish it later.
Therefore, we provide an editable version of the draft application form (click here to access it). This version is for informational purposes only and is not valid as an application. In addition, we offer a budget template to be attached to the system (click here to download the template).
Don’t leave it to the last moment: create/update your password or register your organization, group, or collective now and send your project the earliest possible. Proposals can only be submitted online. We do not receive proposals by email or WhatsApp, nor do we accept projects delivered directly to the Brazil Fund’s headquarters.
We will not accept proposals sent after 6 p.m. (GMT-3) of March 6, 2026.
The Brazil Human Rights Fund will not extend the deadline for this call.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PROJECT AFTER IT IS SENT TO BRAZIL FUND?
The Brazil Human Rights Fund’s team carries out an initial assessment of all projects received and, afterwards, the projects are forwarded to an Evaluation Committee composed of independent experts, with no connection to the Foundation. The Committee will convene to recommend which projects will be supported and submitted to the Brazil Fund’s management for approval.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNING PROPOSALS
The result of the evaluation process will be announced as of June 22, 2026, exclusively on Brazil Fund’s website and social media channels.
PLEASE NOTE: Fundo Brazil formalizing the support and releasing funds is subject to the timely submission of complete and accurate documents required at this stage. The contract will only be executed after confirmation of the feasibility of contracting and approval of the documentation by the relevant team.
IN THE EVENT OF QUESTIONS
Questions will be answered only by email; please write to [email protected].
Questions about the application mechanisms will be answered through the email [email protected].
Please note: before submitting your question, we suggest that you carefully read the full call for proposals, with the guidelines contained herein and the “Frequently Asked Questions” section. If you still have any questions, please write to us.
You can also download the call for proposal PDF, with all the information and links for the application, by clicking here.