LGBTQIAPN+: Defending Rights – 2026

INTRODUCTION

The Brazil Human Rights Fund invites civil society organizations, groups, collectives, and movements working to tackle violations and protect human rights in Brazil to present proposals for funding their work under the “Call for proposals 2026 – LGBTQIAPN+: Defending Rights”.

This call for proposals is intended to support civil society organizations, groups, collectives, and movements that promote the enforcement of LGBTQIAPN+ rights in Brazil, ensure visibility and representation on issues related to sexual diversity and gender identity, and collaborate in fighting discrimination and human rights violations against LGBTQIAPN+ population.

Eligible projects include those aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of organizations engaged in addressing violations and promoting the human rights of the LGBTQIAPN+ population. 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.

SUBMISSION KEY DATES

Proposals may be submitted from December 6, 2025 to February 6, 2026, by 6 p.m. (GMT-3). 

NUMBER OF GRANTS AND FUNDING AMOUNT

The Call for Proposals will award up to one million reais (BRL 1,000,000.00). A maximum of 20 organizations, groups, and collectives will receive grants of up to fifty thousand Brazilian reais (BRL 50,000.00) each. The projects shall be carried out over a period of no more than 12 months.

BACKGROUND 

Brazil is facing an alarming upsurge in violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population, as evidenced by the 291 violent deaths reported in 2024. This represents a 13.2% increase over the previous year, according to the Violence Observatory of Grupo Gay da Bahia (Gay Group of Bahia – GGB). The violence is concentrated in the Northeast and Southeast regions (99 cases in each), and predominantly affects the 26-35 age group. In addition, Brazil had the world highest rate in murders of transgender people and transvestites for the 16th year in a row, with 122 cases in 2024. Eighty percent of the victims were young, Black, low-income transgender women from the Northeast region, whose average life expectancy is only 35 years. This tragedy is compounded by institutional negligence and underreported cases.

This cycle of violence is heightened by the rise of conservative movements and restrictive human rights policies that advocate for the marginalization of LGBTQIAPN+ people and violations of fundamental rights. The deprivation of rights is systemic: the number of complaints to Disque 100—a hotline created by the Brazilian federal government to report human rights violations—increased from 3,948 in 2022 to 6,070 in 2023; 86% of LGBTQIAPN+ students report verbal assaults in schools, and rights such as family formation and reproductive rights are constantly being challenged. The capital cities of Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Maceió, and São Paulo are at the top of the state statistics on violence, which leads to restricted access to housing, health care, and education, culminating in an aging population deprived from dignity and in a state of abandonment.

LGBTQIAPN+ people experience hardships in aspects of life, which further hampers their access to rights that are available to other population segments. Their access to political spaces is very limited, and basic needs such as health care, work, income, and housing are systematically denied. 

Given this context of exclusion, it is strategically important to continue providing institutional support to groups, movements, and organizations that advocate for LGBTQIAPN+ rights and seek to redesign public policies in Brazil with a systemic approach, not only to mitigate immediate violence, but also to build a fairer and more respectful society where LGBTQIAPN+ diversity is valued as a cornerstone of human dignity. Likewise, it is crucial to support organizations seeking to expand participatory spaces, based on the Constitution and human rights, acting in defense of democracy and combating hate speech. 

The Brazilian democracy still has the duty to guarantee rights and opportunities for young people in the fight against LGBTphobia, in order to support people experiencing homelessness and formerly incarcerated people, to defend sexual and reproductive health, and to promote dignified aging for LGBTQIAPN+ seniors citizens, guaranteeing a society free of structural violence. 

Brazil Fund believes that supporting organizations, groups, collectives, and movements that advocate for the human rights of the LGBTQIAPN+ population is an imperative commitment to democracy. In a country where diversity is still perceived as a threat, an empowered and organized civil society and coordinated actions are essential measures to tackle violence, promote social transformation, and develop public policies that ensure equality and respect for all historically marginalized population segments.

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 proposals concurrently with other open calls from Brazil Fund.

ORGANIZATIONS AND ISSUES ELIGIBLE FOR SUPPORT

The Call for Proposals aims to support the strengthening of institutional capacity of movements, groups, collectives, and organizations engaged in promoting the rights of LGBTQIAPN+ people and countering setbacks in this field. 

Applicants are allowed to include in their budget costs related to organizational infrastructure support (such as headquarters maintenance or procurement), as well as the staff professional development. Support also covers institutional development, governance, financial management, planning & evaluation, such as strategic planning, development of internal monitoring systems, and specific planning (fundraising, communication, comprehensive safety, etc.). 

The eligible issues include:

• Combating discrimination and violence: advocacy for the rights of LGBTQIAPN+, transgender, and intersex people, tackling oppression in its intersectional manifestations, including the restricted access to the labor market and public housing, health, and education services.
• LGBTQIAPN+ youth: promotion of opportunities and rights, and fight against violence and LGBTphobia.
• People experiencing homelessness: response to vulnerabilities derived from discrimination, family rejection, and lack of social protection from the government.
• Formerly incarcerated people: support for LGBTQIAPN+ people who have exited the prison system and for their families, including the fight for justice and redress for violence inflicted by the State.
• Health, sexual, and reproductive rights: defense of these rights for the LGBTQIAPN+ population, which is often overlooked in public policies.
• LGBTQIAPN+ seniors: promotion of rights and opportunities for aging free from structural violence and LGBTphobia.

We will also consider projects that focus on—either solely or jointly with strengthening of institutional capacity—actions in defense of rights, such as advocacy, social mobilization, and community outreach. 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.

IMPORTANT DIMENSIONS FOR PROJECT SELECTION

In the proposal evaluation process, we will observe the following conditions:

• Priority will be given to organizations that are composed entirely of or led by LGBTQIAPN+ women and men, transgender and intersex people, and that can prove their difficulty in accessing other funding sources.
• Proposals that promote racial and gender equity in their composition—as well as proposals that consistently address racial, ethnic and gender dimensions—will be valued and prioritized.
• 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 February 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..
• 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).

You must complete your project application on the portal in a single session, as the system does not allow you to save a partially completed form.

We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the last day to submit your application. The Brazil Fund will not extend the deadline for this call.

• 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 e-mail, nor do we accept projects delivered directly to the Brazil Fund’s headquarters.  If you experience any issues, please contact [email protected]

Please note: We will not accept proposals sent after 6 p.m. (GMT-3) of February 6, 2026. 

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PROJECT AFTER IT IS SENT TO THE 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 results of the selection process will be released exclusively on Brazil Fund website and social media channels as of May 25, 2026.

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 e-mail [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.