SELAVIP is a private foundation that supports housing projects for very poor urban families. Our focus is on “extreme social emergency”, that is, people who dwell in very precarious and unsafe conditions and places, or are forced to occupy urban land, exposed to evictions. Other families have no other alternative but to live as “unwelcome guests” in the homes of relatives and neighbors, in crowded conditions and lacking minimal privacy. Under such harsh conditions, they can not even dream of meeting the requirements of conventional housing programs, in spite of their efforts to do so. SELAVIP wants to open realistic alternatives to these poor urban families who do not “fit” into any existing housing programs, public or private. We want to invite new groups and communities of the developing world to join so many other partners who are working for decades to shelter the urban poor. By funding small innovative projects, SELAVIP helps them to acquire experience and be able to move on to bigger projects in the future. Our call is open to a wide range of proposals that address acute housing problems in the cities of developing countries.
Eligible projects
Projects proposed for SELAVIP funding can deal with different aspects of the complex reality of homelessness in developing regions, from direct housing production to promoting community based processes aimed at securing shelter. Projects on housing production should have a potential to start or strengthen “community-driven” urban and housing processes. They should propose innovative ways of providing shelter to the poorest at a minimal cost in order to reach as much families as possible (max. USD 1.000 per unit). Other proposals that can be labeled as "process oriented" should not only empower or organize communities but also project clear and measurable results in terms of housing and/or urban services. Priority will be given to initiatives that help poor families access land and basic shelter rather than to those seeking to improve shelter that has already reached some physical or legal consolidation.
Another criteria to select a project is the impact that it can have on local and national policies, as valuable experiences that can be scaled up by other entities.
Maximum amount granted per project: US$ 60.000.
We invite groups working in developing countries to prepare innovative projects and send them by mail before August 15. You can visit www.selavip.org or contact selavip@vtr.net if you have any questions or require more information. Maximum size of attachments is 2 Mb, so if you plan to include photos or drawings please reduce their size and/or send in separate messages.
Selection process
SELAVIP will carefully select those projects that respond best to the criteria mentioned above, and propose their funding to our Board in November. The final list of projects to be funded in 2011 will be published on our website. The proposals we receive usually outnumber those we can finance, so many good projects finally can not be included in that list. SELAVIP would like to encourage their proponents to persevere looking for other sources or apply again next year.
Remember
– Maximum amount: US$ 60.000 per project.
– Basic and affordable shelter for very vulnerable urban households: no more than US$ 1.000 per family.
– Projects should be completed in September 2011
– We do not finance operational costs of projects.
– Matching funds from public/private/ community/ international sources are welcome to increase the impact of the project; these funds should be clearly mentioned in the application.
– Application form attached; additional information can be annexed.
– All costs/expenditures in US$; no local currency will be considered.
– Only projects submitted by e-mail before August 15 will be included in the selection process.
