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Request for Proposal: Fellowship for Intersectional Change-making

Purpose of RFP: Fellowship for Intersectional Change-making under Unnati 

Project Owner: The Humsafar Trust, Mumbai 

Starting date for Submission: 1st August 2025 

Last Date of Submission: 20th August 2025 

 

About the Organization:

The Humsafar Trust (HST) is a community-based organization (CBO) working on the health & well-being of the LGBTQ+ communities since 1994. We currently work in the health, advocacy, research and capacity building of LGBTQ+ communities across India. While our Health vertical focuses on reaching out to 10,000+ community individuals every year with our health, prevention and testing services through offline and online outreach; our Advocacy & Inclusion vertical focuses on socioeconomic inclusion and well-being of the LGBTQ+ community in the society through projects themed around sensitization, education, employment, livelihood and crisis management; and lastly our Strategic Information and Research vertical focuses identifying changing trends and needs of the community on health and well-being level and present formal data to guide fieldwork, services and support offered to the community. Additionally, significant efforts are taken to build capacities of younger CBOs across India on delivery of healthcare and support services to the community. 

 

Purpose:

Advocacy with an intention to enhance social, economic and environmental conditions of the LGBTQ+ community focusing on the queer intersectional change-making issues by reducing the inequality in development based upon caste, race, class, gender, and disability among the queer community. 

 

Project Unnati:

Project Unnati by The Humsafar Trust, supported by Dorf Ketal Chemicals India Ltd, aims to enhance social, economic and environmental conditions of the LGBTQ+ community. Unnati as a project, is committed to interventions in social integration and wellbeing, as well as in entrepreneurship and market access, to enable breakage of cycles of poverty and discrimination for sexual and gender minorities in India for addressing gaps in equitable resources for LGBTQ+ community. This project is a multi-pronged approach focusing on meeting direct well-being needs of LGBTQ+ persons, while simultaneously improving upon social integration, awareness, and visibility of the community. 

Priority Areas:  

There should be a focus on one or more of the following areas that center and strengthen the queer community, particularly those at the intersections of caste, class, disability, religion, region, and other structural marginalisations.

Possible themes include but are not limited to: 

  1. Caste, indigeneity, and queerness 

  1. Disability and queerness 

  1. Faith, and belonging (in the context of queerness) 

  1. Health, mental health, and access to care for Queer individuals. 

  1. Creative expression and representation (Queer art, literature, drag, and performance as tools of resistance, self-making, & reclaiming space, particularly from anti-caste and anti-ableist perspectives) 

  1. Queer-Feminism, solidarity, and intra-movement conflict  

  1. Digital, and non-metro queer worlds 

  1. Language, expression, and access in queer lives 
     

Possible activities include but are not limited to:  

  • Grassroots organising and collective building 

  • Healing, care, and livelihood-based activities 

  • Community education, outreach, capacity building and training 

  • Creative, cultural, and narrative-based interventions 

  • Policy advocacy, legal access, and research efforts 

Deliverables: 

  • The activities should be implemented within the period of September to October 2025.  

  • 50% will be paid as advance and 50% will be paid on submission of the programmatic reports and statement of expenditures along with original bills. Any activity and expenses will not be allowed after the mentioned period. 

Activity Amount: INR 40,000 (Forty Thousand Rupees Only) for each fellow. TDS deductible. 

Eligibility to apply:  

This one-time grant will be awarded to 4 queer individuals from Tier 2 and Tier 3, with a focus on those working at the intersections of caste, class, disability, religion, region, health, and other structural marginalisations. 

Applicants must submit a one-page proposal outlining the background and need for the project, proposed activities, a basic budget, and a plan for how outcomes or impact will be assessed. 

Preference will be given to proposals that are deeply rooted in intersectional realities, addressing multiple, overlapping forms of marginalisation (such as caste, gender identity, disability, religion, class, or geographic exclusion). Innovative, grassroots ideas that respond to the most urgent needs of the queer-trans community and support the sustainability of collective, community-led efforts will be prioritized. 

Proposals grounded in lived experience, particularly from those most impacted by structural marginalisation, will be prioritised. 

The soft copy of the proposal forms & budget should be submitted to [email protected] before 20th August 2025. 

In case of any query, you can write to: [email protected]  

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