The Change Fund
NEAR’s flagship financial mechanism.
Launched in 2022, the Change Fund is NEAR’s flagship financial mechanism. The Change Fund is a scalable and flexible grantmaking process administered by NEAR and governed by an elected Oversight Body consisting of NEAR member representatives.
The Change Fund has evolved from its initial emphasis on efficiently and swiftly awarding and disbursing funds amidst some of the most complex crisis and complicated operational and regulatory contexts.
Change Fund grantees often operate at the intersection of humanitarian response strengthening resilience, the climate crisis, and shoring up livelihoods. The Change Fund strategy is continuing to scale and adapt in recognition that local organizations work with their communities to address pressing challenges that don’t align with the aid sector’s traditional siloed approaches.
The Change Fund Windows
01
Emergency Response
Active since 2022
A flexible, rapid-response funding mechanism delivering immediate, direct support to NEAR member organisations responding to humanitarian crises. Grounded in the principles of local leadership and trust-based grant making, this window enables frontline organisations to respond swiftly to emerging disasters without the delays often associated with traditional humanitarian funding mechanisms.
NEAR works alongside our members to broaden how “aid delivery” is understood. By bringing evidence, lived experience, and community-led practice into global debates, we help show how local and national organisations already lead
02
Displacement Window
Active
03
Bridge Funding
Launched 2025
Launched in 2025 to strengthen and help sustain locally led responses in some of the most difficult places around the world amidst the US Foreign Aid Suspension. The Bridge Funding Window is a rapid-response financing mechanism that delivers direct, flexible, and unrestricted funding to most affected NEAR members through $25,000 grants. This initiative is a critical stopgap to ensure that NEAR members significantly impacted by aid suspensions can continue serving their communities.