The Strengthening Communities/Improving Lives and Livelihoods (SCILLS) grant program aims to contribute to economic inclusion and increase educational opportunities by supporting individuals and communities to more knowledgeably and skillfully use the Internet. The long-term aim of the program is to play a key role in supporting digital transformation. This aim is aligned with the Internet Society’s purposes to promote educational applications of the Internet, to promote the Internet’s development, evolution, or use to benefit people, and to stimulate and educate communities in the Internet’s use and application.
Target Countries
The SCILLS program operates in target countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Currently, the six target countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Indonesia, and Senegal.
Focus Areas
Proposed projects should be closely tied with one of more of ISOC’s and the Foundation’s seven purposes. Proposed projects will focus on one of the following thematic areas:
1. Economic Inclusion
The Foundation seeks projects that help underserved and unserved communities leverage the Internet to build financial opportunities, increase economic independence, and create sustainable income sources. Example past projects have included building Internet skills among early-stage entrepreneurs, equipping migrant communities to leverage the Internet for successful online marketing activities, helping women develop confidence and ability to use the Internet for their small business activities, developing innovative applications of the Internet to unlock opportunity in rural and peri-urban communities, or training communities and individuals in advanced Internet applications to secure better jobs.
2. Educational Opportunities
The Foundation seeks projects that support underserved and unserved communities to leverage the Internet to increase access to high-quality primary and secondary education, improve learning outcomes, and improve virtual teaching and distance learning methodologies and skills. Example past projects have included supporting teachers to leverage the Internet to maximize educational opportunities for their students, helping girls and families experience the benefits of the Internet to access education even during interruptions to in-person learning, and increasing culturally relevant and responsive education in marginalized communities by making learning materials available on the Internet in local languages.
Eligibility
The basic eligibility requirements for all Foundation grants are outlined here.
Additionally, the Foundation is seeking applications from organizations that:
- Have been invited to apply by an ISOC Foundation staff member
- Have deep experience using the Internet as a force for good, as reflected in their organizational purpose, mission, and activities
- Have a demonstrated understanding and track record of success in working in one or both of the thematic Focus Areas of economic inclusion and educational opportunities.
- Have a deep knowledge of and experience working with intended beneficiary community(ies)
- Is well positioned to execute the project in terms of experience managing grants, role in the ecosystem, expertise with similar projects, relationships in the community, skills of staff and/or partners, or other strengths and capacities
- Are proposing projects that feature the Internet as a key implementation tool
Selection Criteria
Invited applicants will see a full proposal added to their Fluxx queue. The selection criteria against which the Independent Program Review Committee (IPRC) will review eligible applications is:
- The proposed project supports the overall goal of the SCILLS funding program
- The proposed project clearly outlines why and how the Internet can be leveraged to effectively address the identified issue or opportunity
- The applicant and any partners demonstrate the necessary knowledge, relationships, and experience to accomplish the project goals
- The project’s goals, outcomes, key milestones, indicators, and workplan are clearly defined and align with each other.
Funding
Grants of up to $300,000 USD will be awarded for projects that are 30 months in duration.
Timeframe
The 2025 SCILLS cycle will open May 6 to formally invited applicants and applications are due by June 3, 2025 by 21:00 UTC / 5:00 PM ET.
How to Apply
The 2025 cycle will be invitation-only. Invited applicants are strongly encouraged to register their organization in the Foundation’s grants managements system prior to the application window opening. Applications must be received in Fluxx prior to the deadline to be considered for funding.
Read the 2024 Philanthropy Impact Report
Helpful Resources
- Budget and workplan template (required as part of your application)
- Objective Writing Guidance
Frequently Asked Questions
SCILLS implemented its first grant cycle in 2020 and currently accepts applications on an annual basis.
You can learn more about current and past SCILLS grants on the Our Projects page.
To be eligible to receive funding from the Internet Society Foundation, an organization must meet all of the requirements outlined here. If you have not been invited by an ISOC Foundation staff member, you are not eligible to apply for 2024 funding.
As a supporting organization of the Internet Society (ISOC), the Internet Society Foundation must operate exclusively for the benefit of ISOC and follow special rules under the U.S. tax laws. These rules include that we can only make grants to organizations whose purpose(s) and activities are aligned with the purposes and activities of ISOC. For more information about organizational alignment, please refer to this page of our website.
The SCILLS program is geographic in scope in order to maximize its intended impact considering scope, budget, capacity, and opportunities. The current six countries of focus are Bangladesh, Colombia, Senegal, as well as Brazil, Ghana and Indonesia.
In 2020, the Foundation engaged with partners and consultants to conduct an extensive analysis of geographic and language considerations, enabling environment, levels of need and opportunity, and the organizational ecosystem, the Foundation chose the three initial countries of focus: Colombia, Bangladesh. and Senegal. In 2022, the Foundation underwent a similar process and expanded to Brazil, Ghana and Indonesia in 2023. All countries of focus are located in countries of the Global Majority.
Once full proposals have been received, they will be submitted to the Foundation’s Independent Program Review Committee for evaluation and a funding recommendation.
– To help you develop your proposal, refer to our online training course on designing impactful and effective projects and grant applications.
– For tips related to developing your project budget, please refer to this project budget guidance document.
Questions
If you have any further questions about this program or the application process, please email [email protected].
Due to limited staff capacity, we cannot guarantee a response to questions about the application process received after the end of the working day, one day before the application window closes.
Header image from Images of Empowerment used under Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)