Deadline: 31-Mar-23
The U.S. Embassy in Namibia is currently seeking applications for its Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program.
The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program allows the U.S. Embassy to help communities improve their basic economic or social conditions. The program is designed to support smallscale activities that benefit an entire community. The focus will be on projects that assist disadvantaged or marginalized groups.
Priorities
- The U.S. Embassy will prioritize funding projects in the following sectors for disadvantaged or marginalized groups:
- Food Security: Projects could include gardens, aquaculture, or hydroponics projects.
- Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Measures: Projects could include physical upgrades such as predator-resistant kraals or electric fencing.
- Renewable Energy: Projects could include items such as solar panels or small wind turbines.
- Drought Mitigation: Projects could create irrigation or water supply systems in rural communities.
Projects
- Be initiated by the community.
- Quickly improve basic economic or social conditions in the local community.
- Benefit the highest possible number of people.
- Not require additional funding assistance at the end of one year.
- Involve a significant community contribution in cash, labor, or materials.
- Involve community members who can operate and maintain the project on their own after Self-Help assistance ends.
- Whenever possible, projects should contribute to income-generating or self-sustaining activities, but the emphasis should be on the community benefit.
What kinds of projects does Self-Help support?
- Some of the past Self-Help projects have included training women, youth, and school dropouts to be computer literate, and purchasing solar-powered water pumps to make fresh potable water available to villagers.
- They have done multiple garden projects, where beneficiaries have been able to generate income to support themselves and improve their livelihoods.
- They have funded projects that helped marginalized groups, assisted people with disabilities, and taught youth technical skills such as understanding and installing small-scale solar technology.
Funding Information
- The size of the grants usually ranges from approximately N$50,000 to N$250,000.
- There is no minimum amount for funding.
What is not Funded?
- Projects for the benefit of a private or for-profit company.
- Projects that already benefit from technical assistance programs.
- Activities that harm the environment, including the use of pesticides/herbicides.
- Religious, military, or law enforcement (police) activities.
- Surveillance equipment.
- Activities that benefit any employee of the U.S. Government.
- Activities that might contribute to the violation of workers’ rights.
- Refugee or human rights assistance.
- Revolving loan funds.
- The grants program assists only small projects. The program cannot fund projects that are large in scope, budget, or complexity.
- Government institutions are ineligible to apply.
- The grants program does not support one-time events or individual sponsorships or bursaries.
- The grants program cannot contribute to school development funds or revolving loan funds.
- The grants program does not support recreational activities.
- The grants program may not fund projects that have already received U.S. Government funding.
- The grant does not pay for vehicles.
Eligibility Criteria
- The U.S. Embassy makes every effort to fund qualified projects from across Namibia’s 14 regions. Applications are received throughout the year, but applications must be received by March 31 for each annual funding cycle. Funding decisions are usually made around July. Funding for selected projects is usually available in October.
For more information, visit https://na.usembassy.gov/education-culture/grant-programs/