ABOUT US
The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) is the only global fund to prevent violent extremism.
Violent extremism is a direct threat to international security, economic growth, and development. GCERF works to prevent violent extremism by investing in people. As the only global fund dedicated to preventing violent extremism (PVE), we connect local communities to global resources, supporting grassroots initiatives that are typically out of reach for international donors. We fund community-centric initiatives led by civil society organisations to address the local social, economic, and political drivers of violent extremism.
Our investment strategies and programmes are aligned with national strategies and action plans to prevent violent extremism. We help implement these strategies at the local level, tailoring them to fit local circumstances and needs. This ensures that our efforts are both relevant and impactful, fostering resilience against violent extremism and promoting sustainable peace within communities.
In the last 10 years, our programmes have directly engaged around 4 million individuals, strengthening their resilience against violent extremism and providing hope and better opportunities for a more prosperous future. Robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes ensure our programmes are effective.
GCERF AT A GLANCE
25
Countries
131
Grants Signed
3.8 M
People
396
Local Partners
1. Identify communities
We work with local civil society organisations and government partners to identify the communities most vulnerable to violent extremism.
2. Find and fund organisations
We identify and fund grassroots community-based organisations that can implement local initiatives and have the potential for growth and scalability.
3. Strengthen Capacity
We strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations to effectively implement initiatives and develop sustainable, long-term prevention solutions.
4. Connect with partners
We connect local civil society organisations with national governments, foundations, and businesses to scale their initiatives. Through our Global Action Platform, we link GCERF-funded organisations from across the world to foster collaboration, and share good practices and lessons learned.
5. Monitor Progress
We ensure the effectiveness of our programmes through robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning processes. We are committed to long-term sustainability by consistently assessing and enhancing our initiatives, ensuring continuous learning and improvement.
At GCERF, we are dedicated to fostering lasting peace by addressing the root causes of violent extremism. Our efforts are predominantly funded and supported by governments, exemplifying the international commitment to prevent violent extremism. To date, GCERF has received USD 183 million in funding from 19 donors and the private sector.
We work hand-in-hand with communities, equipping them with the tools, knowledge, and resources they need to:
- Support rehabilitation and reintegration (R&R) efforts
- Combat misinformation
- Resolve conflicts and promote dialogue
- Boost confidence, improve livelihoods, and seek justice
Our community-driven approach creates a strong foundation for resilience, ensuring that peacebuilding efforts are sustainable and impactful.
GCERF is committed to a whole-of-society approach in preventing violent extremism. Our programmes engage a diverse range of participants, including women, men, youth, religious leaders, students, survivors, former combatants, government officials, psychologists, farmers, herders, journalists, artists, and more.
GCERF’s model of investment prioritises:
- Community-ownership and localisation
- Sustainability
- Robust monitoring and evaluation processes
- Knowledge sharing
- Capacity strengthening
Local communities are critical to PVE efforts – including the successful implementation of PVE national strategies and action plans, as affirmed by the UN Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism:
- Local actors understand what drives recruitment and radicalisation to violent extremism in their communities.
- Local communities are the first to notice signs of radicalisation and have innovative ideas about how to prevent recruitment and radicalisation to violent extremism among their members.
- Engaging communities and building their resilience is an important aspect of wider national and international PVE efforts.
- Involving local voices in the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions fosters trust, acceptance, and long-term ownership by communities.
Local communities often have the inspiration and expertise to address PVE challenges but lack the funding to launch initiatives or the capacity to sustain them. Traditional development donors have tended to focus on communities at risk of poverty, not at risk of recruitment and radicalisation to violent extremism – groups that are usually distinct. GCERF addresses this funding gap by investing in local initiatives to enhance their capacity, potential to access donor funds, and secure partnerships that promote community stability.
GCERF works in countries where there is a demonstrated risk of violent extremism and where a direct investment in local NGOs can have a positive impact. To determine this, GCERF follows rigorous processes that include the launch of an in-country needs assessment to understand the local drivers of radicalisation to violent extremism, and a formal request for intervention. The formal request must come from the highest PVE or counter-terrorism entity of the national government. GCERF’s Governing Board then assesses the request, taking into consideration funding availability, need, risk and potential impact. Once approved by the Governing Board, the country which sent the formal request becomes a partner country. Since its inception, GCERF has expanded to 25 partner countries.
As a multilateral pooled fund, GCERF provides grants to civil society organisations to implement initiatives aimed to prevent violent extremism and strengthen community resilience against extremism. GCERF follows Core Funding Mechanism under which grants and support for up to three years are provided to organisations working at the community level to build resilience to violent extremist agendas.
Under this model, in each partner country, we support national governments in establishing a steering committee called the Country Support Mechanism (CSM). CSM brings together relevant government agencies, civil society organisations, and donor representatives to provide strategic direction for the programmes, ensure results, and progressively inherit ownership of funding community-level efforts to prevent violent extremism.
GCERF operates a multi-level and multi-layered M&E system that tracks global, national/regional, and grant levels results. At the grant level, each project is guided by a theory of change and a results framework with outcome and output indicators, requiring grantees to collect baseline data, report quarterly, and conduct final assessments.
Beyond grantees’ efforts, GCERF conducts M&E activities, including regular visits by its Secretariat and national advisors. GCERF also regularly commissions external assessments/evaluations of these grants, which can occur during implementation, at the end of the grant period, and in some cases one year after grant completion.