Changemaker Projects: Empowering Individuals through Funding, Mentoring, Networking, and Recognition

The Changemaker Projects are open to a diverse range of people, from those who want to develop their first advocacy project, to well-established advocates who want to take their work to the next level.

They know that advocacy can often feel like rolling a boulder uphill. It can be intimidating, unpaid and thankless. The Changemaker Projects aim to break down these barriers and empower individuals to make a difference for people living with diabetes in their communities.

Focus Areas

• Life for a Child will consider funding projects that fall into the following areas:
  • Access to type 1 diabetes care
  • Caregiver or lived-experience support
  • Community-based support
  • Type 1 diabetes awareness
  • Family resource development
  • Peer support
  • Psychosocial impacts
  • Meaningful involvement of young people living with type 1 diabetes
  • Rights of the child or youth living with type 1 diabetes
  • Stigma and anti-discrimination

What are the Changemaker Projects?

• Breaking down barriers to entry
  • They will meet you where you are at. You will have the choice of communicating your project in Spanish, French, or English and they will try to accommodate any special requirements you may have.
• Beyond funds
  • Changemakers will be assigned a dedicated mentor with senior professional advocacy skills that are culturally appropriate. Changemakers will also be connected with key partners within the national and global networks.
• Meaningful engagement
  • National advocates can influence positive change for their communities. Where possible, they will work to strengthen your legitimacy as a national expert through the Life for a Child network.
• Building blocks
  • Big changes are built on many smaller building blocks. They don’t expect your project to move mountains, but to contribute to incremental change within your community.

Funding Information

• Selected Change makers will be awarded up to $4,000 each during the 12-month project cycle.
• Duration: The funding cycle will run from December 2023 to December 2024.

Geographic Location

• Only applications from residents of the below Latin American and African nations can be considered.
  • Latin America
    • Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, and Panama.
  • Africa
    • Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Madagascar, Mali, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be an individual and not an organization and must either be:
  • A person living with type 1 diabetes (priority group), family member of a person living with type 1 diabetes (priority group), A community-centered health care professional with a clear interest in diabetes advocacy, or A human rights practitioner with an interest in type 1 diabetes.
• They must also:
  • Be living within an African or Latin American country.
  • Be willing to collaborate with the diabetes center within their respective country.
  • Have strong language skills in English, Spanish, or French.
  • Be at least 18 years of age.
  • Communicate the progress of their projects with their assigned mentor at regular intervals.

Ineligible

• Life for a Child will not consider funding the following projects that fall into the following areas:
  • Clinical purposes
  • Diabetes population screening
  • Tuition for education or training
  • Religious purposes
  • Purchase of medical equipment or care
  • Protests, boycotts, or demonstrations.

For more information, visit Life for a Child.