Saferworld

Charity Number: 1043843

Annual Expenditure: £18.4M
Geographic Focus: Burma, China, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Yemen

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Income: £18,406,000 (year ending March 2024)
  • Annual Expenditure: £20,671,000
  • Grant Distribution Model: Partnership-based, project-specific
  • Grant Range: £3,000 - £45,000 (varies by programme)
  • Geographic Focus: Africa (Horn of Africa, Great Lakes), Asia, Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus
  • Application Method: No public application process - partnership-based

Contact Details

Main Office: London, UK

Website: www.saferworld-global.org

Email: general@saferworld-global.org

Phone: 020 7324 4646

For partnerships/funding enquiries: fundraising@saferworld-global.org

For philanthropists/grant makers: philanthropy@saferworld-global.org

Overview

Saferworld is an independent international non-governmental organisation founded in Bristol in 1989, now headquartered in London. The charity works to prevent armed violence and create safer communities where people can lead peaceful and fulfilling lives. With an annual income of £18.4 million and 239 employees, Saferworld operates conflict prevention and peacebuilding programmes in over 20 countries across the Horn of Africa, African Great Lakes region, Asia, Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. The organisation works alongside over 80 civil society partners and has recently appointed Susana Klien as Chief Executive Officer (2024), bringing extensive experience from her previous role as Head of Grant Programmes at Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Saferworld's ten-year strategy (2021-2031), “Working in solidarity for a safer world,” emphasises localisation, civic space, securitisation, and climate-focused actions.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programmes

Saferworld operates several grant-making initiatives, all delivered through partnership models rather than open application:

Yemen Civil Society Solidarity Fund

  • Grants up to $45,000 (approximately €45,000)
  • Co-launched in 2019, supported by European Commission
  • Provides flexible funding for Yemeni civil society organisations
  • 18 organisations supported through peer review process
  • Focus on peacebuilding, local conflict resolution, human rights protection, and women's rights

Resourcing Change Programme

  • Average grants of £35,000 in flexible core funding
  • Funded by UK's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund
  • Partnership with WILPF and Women for Women International
  • Supported 23 Women's Rights Organisations and 2 women's hubs
  • Geographic focus: Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen
  • Three-year extension secured for continued support

Small Arms and Light Weapons Small Grants Programme

  • Supports partner organisations in conflict-affected areas
  • Focus on small arms proliferation prevention and misuse
  • Active in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda
  • Example: Centre for Conflict Resolution in Karamoja region, Uganda (first grant allocated July 2022)

Micro-Grants Programme

  • Operating in Kyrgyzstan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen
  • Historical grants range: $3,000 - $49,000 (Sudan example, 2020-21)
  • Project duration: 3-6 months typically
  • Focus on community peacebuilding, local decision-making, women's safety

Sudan Civil Society Support

  • Core and flexible funding to 15 CSOs and 2 emergency response rooms
  • Network of 30+ civil society partners supporting 300+ locally-led initiatives
  • Small grants for community mobilisation and women/youth participation

Priority Areas

  • Conflict prevention and peacebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected contexts
  • Women's rights organisations in conflict settings, particularly supporting women's participation in peace processes
  • Community security initiatives addressing local safety concerns
  • Small arms control and peaceful disarmament campaigns
  • Civic space protection and civil society strengthening
  • Climate and conflict intersection research and programming
  • Gender, peace and security including WPS and YPS agendas
  • Locally-led peacebuilding that strengthens social fabric and community connections

What They Don't Fund

As Saferworld operates through partnership models in specific geographic contexts, they do not provide:

  • Grants outside their active geographic regions (Africa, Asia, Middle East, Central Asia, Caucasus)
  • Funding unrelated to conflict prevention, peacebuilding, or violence reduction
  • Individual applications from organisations without prior relationship
  • Projects not aligned with their strategic focus on localisation and civic space
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Governance and Leadership

Senior Leadership

Susana Klien - Chief Executive Officer

  • Appointed 2024, taking over from Paul Murphy (12 years as Executive Director)
  • 20+ years' experience in policy, advocacy, development, human rights and peacebuilding
  • Previously Director of International Programmes at Saferworld (2015-2022)
  • Most recently Head of Grant Programmes at Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
  • Track record in developing organisational, programme and advocacy strategies

Tamara Duffey-Janser - Director of Policy and Programmes

Ann Lomole - Director of Finance and Operations (joined January 2025)

  • 20+ years' experience in financial and operational leadership

Ali Ahmed Hersi - Regional Director Africa

Abigail Connolly - Funding Team Co-Leader

Board of Trustees

Co-Chairs:

  • Dr. Stephanie Blair - 30+ years' experience in practitioner and academic leadership in peace and conflict responses, partnerships and localisation
  • Alison Harley - Country Director for WWF in Myanmar

Treasurer:

  • Fabienne Arminjon - 25+ years' experience in Finance and Operations Leadership; Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services at VSO

Trustees:

  • Toby Arul-Pragasam - 17 years' experience in conflict research
  • Dr. Imogen Parsons - 20 years working in conflict-affected contexts
  • Dr. Medinat Abdulazeez Malefakis - Senior lecturer at ETH Zurich
  • Soheila Comninos - 15+ years in human rights philanthropy
  • Julie Brethfeld - Peacebuilding expert
  • Ashika Gunasena Serasundera - CEO of Chrysalis in Sri Lanka
  • Dr. Roger Hearn - Director of UN Relief and Works Agency

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Saferworld does not have a public application process for grants. Their grant-making operates through established partnership models and specific project-based programmes. Grants are provided to civil society organisations within the context of:

  • Pre-existing partnerships and relationships
  • Specific funded projects with geographic and thematic parameters
  • Peer review processes within defined programmes (e.g., Yemen Civil Society Solidarity Fund)
  • Partnership networks built over time in countries where Saferworld operates

Organisations cannot submit unsolicited grant applications. Instead, Saferworld identifies and develops partnerships with local civil society organisations in their operational countries as part of their long-term accompaniment approach.

Getting on Their Radar

For organisations in Saferworld's operational regions:

Saferworld emphasises that they “invest in long-term relationships with organisations in conflict-affected contexts and are committed to working alongside civil society rather than delivering programmes themselves.” To potentially partner with Saferworld:

  • Regional presence matters: Saferworld develops partnerships primarily in countries where they already have programmes (currently operating in 20+ countries including Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and others in Asia, Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus)
  • Sector engagement: Participate in civil society networks and platforms in conflict-affected contexts where Saferworld operates. They have worked with 30+ member Civil Society Platforms (example: Tajikistan)
  • Demonstrate alignment: Organisations with track records in women's rights, community peacebuilding, small arms control, or civic space protection align with Saferworld's priorities
  • Contact regional offices: Saferworld has regional offices in Nairobi (Kenya), Kampala (Uganda), Juba (South Sudan), and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan). Organisations in these regions should contact local Saferworld staff
  • General enquiries: Contact fundraising@saferworld-global.org for partnership discussions, though this does not guarantee grant access

For grant makers and philanthropists:

If you are a grant maker, philanthropist, or wealth manager interested in supporting Saferworld's grant-making work: philanthropy@saferworld-global.org

Decision Timeline

Not applicable as there is no public application process. Grant decisions are made within the context of specific projects and partnership development processes. Historical examples suggest project timelines of 3-6 months for micro-grants.

Success Rates

Not applicable due to partnership-based model rather than competitive application process.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - organisations do not apply through open calls. Partnerships are developed and maintained over multiple years, with Saferworld emphasising “long-term accompaniment” to local civil society partners.

Application Success Factors

While Saferworld does not accept applications, understanding their approach and values is crucial for organisations hoping to partner with them:

Partnership Philosophy:

Saferworld states: “We work in partnership alongside over 80 civil society organisations, groups, networks and community-based organisations across all the countries where we work. We invest in long-term relationships with organisations in conflict-affected contexts and are committed to working alongside civil society rather than delivering programmes themselves.”

Funding Approach Quotes:

  • "Core, flexible and accessible funding recognises the greater knowledge and experience that women's rights organisations have of their contexts, and enables them to prioritise and respond to what's needed"
  • Provides funding “with relatively easier requirements and processes”
  • Aims to enable organisations “to continue responding to their self-identified community needs even when things change unexpectedly”

Strategic Priorities for 2025:

CEO Susana Klien and the organisation emphasise “the need to step away from big, expensive international providers and take a different approach to operating models and partnerships, where local responders – who are building connections and strengthening social fabric – are prioritised.”

Key Themes in Their Grant-Making:

  • Localisation: Prioritising locally-led responses and local civil society knowledge
  • Flexibility: Providing core, unrestricted funding that organisations can use according to their own priorities
  • Accompaniment: Long-term relationships with capacity building, not just transactional funding
  • Solidarity: “Working in solidarity for a safer world” (their 2021-2031 strategy title)
  • Transparency: Partnership approach emphasises “transparency, flexibility and solidarity”

Demonstrated Impact Areas:

Organisations that have benefited from Saferworld partnerships include:

  • Women's rights organisations leading peacebuilding initiatives
  • Community-based organisations addressing local conflict drivers
  • Civil society networks working on arms control and community security
  • Grassroots groups mobilising communities for violence prevention
  • Women journalists and activists improving women's safety (Somalia example)

Geographic Presence Essential:

All grant recipients are located in countries where Saferworld has active programming, suggesting geographic alignment is prerequisite for partnership.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No direct application possible: Saferworld does not accept unsolicited grant applications. They work exclusively through established partnerships in countries where they operate programmes.
  • Partnership over grants: Think of Saferworld as a long-term partner organisation rather than a grant maker with open calls. They provide accompaniment, capacity building, and flexible funding to civil society partners.
  • Geographic limitations: Only organisations in Saferworld's 20+ operational countries (primarily Horn of Africa, Great Lakes, Middle East, Asia, Central Asia) can access their funding support.
  • Alignment with localisation agenda: Saferworld strongly prioritises local civil society leadership and is moving away from traditional international NGO delivery models. Local, community-based organisations are preferred partners.
  • Flexibility and trust-based funding: Their model emphasises core, flexible funding with “relatively easier requirements” - they trust partners' expertise and context knowledge.
  • Sector-specific opportunities: Strongest alignment for women's rights organisations, small arms control initiatives, community peacebuilding groups, and civic space protection organisations in conflict settings.
  • For UK grant makers: If you're a philanthropist or grant-making trust interested in supporting locally-led peacebuilding, consider funding Saferworld to enable their grant distribution work (contact: philanthropy@saferworld-global.org).

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References