Step Up! provides grants of up to US$10,000 to help small, innovative, youth-focused non-profits develop and deliver effective health promotion programmes – with an emphasis on under-resourced and marginalised communities in low- and middle-income countries.

We are particularly interested in work to reduce risk behaviours in youth that can lead to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as mental health and neurological conditions, cancers, diabetes and heart and respiratory diseases.

Through the COVID pandemic, Step Up! will prioritise projects that can be delivered effectively while respecting public health guidance on social distancing and community containment. 

To be funded projects must:

• Take place in under-resourced and marginalised communities
• Be targeted at, and substantially led by, young people aged 10-30
• Be focused on health education and/or promotion
• Show innovation in approach, settings or implementation 
• Provide evidence at the conclusion of the project of what has been delivered and learned

Priority will be given to projects that:

• Demonstrate a response to the ‘new normal’ of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Operate in low- or lower-middle income countries as defined by the World Bank
• Are run by non-profits with an annual income of less than US$1 million  
• Are run in collaboration with other organisations
• Utilise technology and digital health solutions
• Address health disparities
• Are inclusive, addressing the needs of vulnerable young people and especially those with limited access to education
• Focus on NCD risk behaviours such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, the harmful use of alcohol, and exposure to air pollution
• Aim to engage other stakeholders to make a wider difference in the world

If you would like to apply for a grant please first visit the Step Up! site for further information and make sure that you read the guidance on how to apply.

The closing date for applications is 12 October 2020.

Below are just some of the projects that have been supported to date. A brief summary of learnings from Step Up is available here.