Deadline: 16 March 2020
The U.S. Embassy Abuja Public Affairs Section (PAS) has issued this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for its Public Diplomacy (PD) small grants program.
This annual program statement outlines PAS’ funding priorities and the procedures for submitting applications for funding. PAS awards a limited number of grants to individuals, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and other civil society entities that further the Embassy’s policy goals and strengthen relations between the American and Nigerian peoples.
PAS will prioritize grant program proposals that:
- Promote Nigeria’s democratic governance, unity and stability by improving government transparency and accountability, the rule of law, civil society capacity and engagement;
- Strengthen human capital to promote inclusive economic growth and development via entrepreneurial initiatives, STEM education, women’s empowerment, and cultural exchange;
- Protect against security threats and foster peace and stability through measures to counter violent extremism, mitigate rural violence, and encourage peaceful dialogue and non-violent conflict resolution;
- Improve and expand English language learning through curricular development and teacher training, in partnership with U.S. education institutions where possible.
Funding Information
- Floor of Individual and/or Organizational Award Amounts: $5,000;
- Ceiling of Individual and/or Organizational Award Amounts: $50,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- PAS encourages applications from individuals or organizations located in Nigeria, the United States, or abroad including:
- Not-for-profit and civil society/non-governmental organizations with at least two years of programming experience and with evidence of required registrations;
- Individuals with two years of not-for-profit, project management, or education experience; and, Registered educational institutions.
- PAS encourages applicants to provide cost-sharing from additional sources in support of projects, but this is not a mandatory requirement.
Ineligible Activities
Activities that are not funded include, but are not limited to:
- Social welfare projects;
- Tuition assistance;
- Individual travel to conferences;
- Construction projects;
- Completion activities for projects begun with other funds;
- Projects that are inherently political in nature or that convey partisan support to an individual or single party;
- Electoral campaigns;
- Political party activities.
Selection Criteria
Each application submitted under this announcement will be evaluated and rated on the basis of the evaluation criteria outlined below, which are designed to assess the quality of the proposed project and to determine the likelihood of its success. They are holistically applied in judging the overall quality of an application, with particular emphasis on a given application’s completeness, coherence, clarity, and attention to detail.
- Organizational Capacity: The organization has expertise in its stated field and PAS is confident of its human and technical resource capacity to implement the project.
- Goals and Objectives: Goals and objectives are clearly stated and the project approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.
- Embassy Priority: The applicant has clearly described how stated goals are related to and support U.S. Embassy Abuja’s priority areas.
- Sustainability: Project activities will continue to have positive impact after the end of the project, including the ability to become self-sustaining after the end of the award period.
- Feasibility: The project is economically and technically feasible with respect to approach, budget items requested and the organization’s resource capacity.
- Budget: The budget justification is both reasonable and realistic in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results. Successful proposals will ensure the maximum impact per dollar spent.
- Monitoring and Evaluation Plan: The applicant demonstrates it is able to measure program success against key indicators and provide benchmarks against which to gauge progress toward its goals. The indicators should allow for systematic recording and periodic analysis of progress on project activities in response to any required reporting outlined in the Award Specifics.
- American Content: American content emphasizes informing others about the U.S. and increasing their understanding of U.S. policy, values, etc. This can be as complex as having a U.S. citizen speaker or trainer, or as simple as having alumni run a program. The key is to visibly tie the program in some way to the U.S., our priorities, and established Public Diplomacy programs/exchanges.
Eligible Countries: Nigeria, United States.
For more information, visit https://ng.usembassy.gov/education-culture/public-diplomacy-grants/