Action for Women's Health

Eligibility

For the Open Call, an organization eligible to serve as the Applicant Organization, must have as its main purpose to improve women’s health (except in certain instances, where the Open Call will support a unit of the Applicant Organization, such as a fiscally sponsored project or a large program or center, focused on improving women’s health). The following types of organizations are eligible to submit Applications: 

• An entity based in the United States and/or U.S. Territories that has received a tax determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) that it is exempt from federal income tax as an organization described  under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) and a publicly supported organization described under section 509(a)(1) or (2) of the IRC and which tax determination letter is in effect. 
• A nonprofit organization for a fiscally sponsored project, provided that the nonprofit organization is an entity based in the United States and/or U.S. Territories and that it has received an IRS determination letter that is exempt from federal income tax as an organization described under section 501(c)(3) of the IRC and a publicly supported organization described under section 509(a)(1) or (2) of the IRC and which tax determination letter is in effect (or meets the equivalency standards noted below for entities organized under the laws of foreign jurisdiction); fiscal sponsor must exercise discretion and control over the grant funds. 
• An entity based in the United States and/or U.S. Territories that has received a tax determination letter from the IRS that it is exempt from federal income tax as an organization described under section 501(c)(3) of the IRC and is also classified as a Type I or Type II supporting organization described under section 509(a)(3) of the IRC, and which tax determination letter is in effect.
• A U.S. tribal government treated as a State pursuant to IRC Section 7871.
• An entity organized under the laws of a foreign jurisdiction which has received a tax determination letter from the IRS or has been determined to be the equivalent of a section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or (2) entity by NGOsource for which an equivalency determination has not expired and would be in effect or could extend through the date of award payment. 
• An entity that is recognized under the law of the applicable jurisdiction as a non-governmental organization, a higher education organization, a charitable organization, a not-for-profit organization, or similar-type entity that is not a for-profit organization or government agency (except for state universities or US tribal governments treated as a State pursuant to IRC Section 7871) and that is engaged in charitable activities within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the IRC.
• Affiliates of national organizations as long as the affiliate is a separate 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or (2) (or foreign equivalent) and has its own board of directors; legal liability rests with the local organization; affiliate’s tax-exempt status was not granted under a group exemption; affiliate makes decisions regarding overall mission, priorities, and strategies of organization and for day-to-day operations; and affiliate does not “fund” general activities of national organization.

The Applicant Organization is a single legal entity that has the legal responsibility, authority for and control of the use of any grant funds, is responsible for the reporting on any grant funds, and must be able to exercise in fact and law direction and supervision of the grant funds.

Before applying, complete the Organizational Readiness Tool and refer to the Open Call Rules to help determine eligibility and to ensure that your organization is a strong fit for the Open Call. Take some time to review the application, which is accessible in PDF form here.

Summary

Action for Women’s Health is a $250 million global open call launched by Pivotal that will fund organizations around the world that are improving women’s mental and physical health. Each awardee will receive flexible funding between $1 million and $5 million USD.

Eligible organizations serve women and have a record of improving women’s mental or physical health. They should center equity in their approach and be poised to scale their work to strengthen the health of more women. Organizations from around the world are invited to apply.

This initiative is intended to find and fund organizations dedicated to improving the health of people who identify as women. We recognize that the distinction between who is a “girl” and who is a “woman” may be different depending on the organization’s context, culture, community, and/or country. For the purposes of this Open Call, we hope to fund organizations working primarily with who you, as an applicant, would consider women. This might be women or adolescent girls from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and races, including those within the LGBTQ+ community. Organizations that serve non-binary and gender non-conforming people are also eligible. 

Deadlines

Interested organizations must register to apply before 4 p.m. U.S. Central Time on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. 
Complete applications are due before 4 p.m. U.S. Central Time on Friday, January 10, 2025.

Evaluation

Valid applications will be scored by four fellow applicants during Participatory Review in March 2025. Top-scoring applicants will advance to Evaluation Panel Review, where they will be scored by four Evaluation Panel Reviewers. Scores will be adjusted to ensure fairness. Action for Women’s Health will select awardees from among top-rated organizations, giving each awardee flexible funding between $1 million and $5 million. The Action for Women’s Health Open Call awardees will be announced by the end of 2025.

• If you have registered for Action for Women’s Health, you will have received a confirmation email confirming your registration. Within the hour, you will have received another email containing instructions for accessing the Open Call’s application.
• If you have already begun your application, you may sign into your Submittable account at manager.submittable.com/login. Once signed in, you may access and continue your application. You may also view your application, once complete, via your Submittable account. If you have lost or forgotten your password, please follow the instructions here.
• All communications regarding Action for Women's Health, including answers to submitted questions, will be sent from actionforwomenshealth@submittable.com. Please safelist this address with your email service provider in addition to Submittable notification emails to ensure that you receive all open call reminders, updates, and information, as well as answers to your inquiries. Please find a brief how-to here.

You may access a recording of the Action for Women's Health Pre-Registration Webinar, held on October 23, here. This webinar covers an overview of the Action for Women's Health open call, a demonstration of the registration platform, and answers to some frequently asked questions.

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Additional Resources

Using RMS:

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award LOI

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research:

Support with the development of your grant application is available internally through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Support for Knowledge Engagement:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation is available internally through the Knowledge Engagement Team. Applicants can reach out by email to the KE team at knowledge.engagement@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information, please visit the KE team webpage.

Support for Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@libanswers.ucalgary.com and/or visit https://libguides.ucalgary.ca/researchdatamanagement.

Support for EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice. Contact Erin.OToole@ucalgary.ca for more information.