In addition to the specific terms and conditions in the grant award letter, Media Defence grant awards are also contingent upon these additional terms.
| Approved by/date | CEO / [19 October 2026] |
These Terms apply to grants awarded on or after 20 October 2026. Grants awarded before that date remain subject to the version of these Terms in force when the grant was awarded, available on request.
In addition to the specific terms and conditions in the grant award letter, grants awarded by Media Legal Defence Initiative, trading as Media Defence (“Media Defence”), are also contingent upon the following:
- The Grantee shall be fully responsible, liable and accountable for all sums received under this grant and ensure that no funds provided under this grant are used for any purpose other than the Project, or for any improper purposes, or purposes unlawful in the UK or the country of operation. This includes, but is not restricted to, offering bribes, money laundering, supporting terrorist activity, inappropriate private benefit, or party-political purposes. The Grantee shall not offer, give, request or accept any bribe, including a facilitation payment, whether on its own behalf or on behalf of Media Defence, and shall comply with Media Defence’s Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Policy and Partner Code of Conduct and Ethics. This provision shall not be interpreted as limiting the liability of any parent or affiliated organisation.
- Expenses incurred in local currency under the grant shall be translated into GBP for reporting purposes to Media Defence using the rate at which the funds were received.
e.g. Tranche 1: Grantee received M2,000 (i.e. £1,000) and reported spend of M1,800 i.e. (£900) – balance in hand is M200 (i.e. £100). Tranche 2: Media Defence remits £750 and grantee receives M1,125. Grantee now has in hand: M1,325/£850 (i.e. M1,125+M200/£750+£100). Weighted average exchange rate to use for next report will therefore be 1.5588 (i.e. 1,325 DIVIDED BY 850) - The Grantee shall be responsible for all salary, social security, legal and taxation matters related to the execution of the Project and expenditure of the grant.
- The Grantee has no authority to act as an agent of Media Defence, and shall not enter into any contract on behalf of Media Defence, or bind Media Defence in any way without express written authority from Media Defence. The Grantee shall hold Media Defence harmless from any loss, damage, claim or liability arising from the Grantee’s breach of these Terms or of the grant award letter, or from the negligence, fraud or wilful misconduct of the Grantee, its staff or subcontractors.
- This agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The parties shall first try to resolve any dispute arising out of or in connection with this agreement through good-faith negotiation. If the dispute is not resolved within 60 days of either party requesting negotiation, either party may bring proceedings in the courts of England and Wales, which shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
- Media Defence will only pay out up to the agreed grant amount and shall not be responsible for any losses as a result of exchange rate fluctuations. Media Defence will only guarantee the financial contribution in the currency stated in the grant award letter.
- Media Defence shall not reimburse the grantee for cost incurred over the approved grant amount or for carrying out extra activities, unless prior written approval has been granted by an authorised Media Defence official.
- Financial management. The Grantee shall maintain financial controls appropriate to its size and the value of the grant. In particular, costs charged to the grant must have been incurred and paid, not advanced or accrued, unless Media Defence agrees otherwise in writing, and must not also be charged to any other funder.
- Reporting, records and audit. The Grantee shall submit interim reports, updates and a final narrative and financial report (with invoices and receipts), as set out in the grant award letter. The Grantee shall keep all receipts, invoices and records relating to the grant for at least seven years after the end of the grant, and shall make them available for inspection or audit by or on behalf of Media Defence on reasonable notice.
- Unspent funds, suspension and termination. Any funds unspent at the end of the grant period, or not used in accordance with these Terms, shall be returned to Media Defence unless Media Defence agrees otherwise in writing. Media Defence may suspend payments or terminate the grant with immediate effect by written notice if the Grantee materially breaches these Terms, the grant award letter or the Partner Code of Conduct and Ethics.
- Notification of incidents. The Grantee shall notify Media Defence in writing within 48 hours of becoming aware of any actual or suspected fraud, theft, bribery, money laundering, terrorist financing, safeguarding incident, or loss or unauthorised disclosure of personal data connected with the grant, and shall cooperate with any resulting investigation.
- Sanctions and due diligence. The Grantee confirms that neither it nor any of its directors, board members or staff funded under the grant is designated on UK, US, or Canada Sanctions List, the UN Security Council Consolidated List or any other sanctions list applicable to Media Defence. The Grantee shall notify Media Defence immediately if this changes, and shall provide the information Media Defence reasonably requests for its due diligence checks.
- Data protection. Where Media Defence shares personal data with the Grantee, or the Grantee collects personal data for the Project, the Grantee shall comply with applicable data protection law; use the data only for the Project; keep it secure; retain it no longer than necessary; and delete or return it on request or at the end of the grant, in line with Media Defence’s Privacy Policy and Data Retention Policy.
- Safeguarding and conflicts of interest. The Grantee shall comply with the safeguarding provisions of the Partner Code of Conduct and Ethics and shall declare to Media Defence promptly any actual or potential conflict of interest affecting the Project.