American Spaces Grant Funding Program (Morocco)

Deadline: 17-May-2024

Applications are now open for the U.S. Mission to Morocco’s American Spaces Support Funding program 2024.

American Spaces serve as the primary cultural and information hubs established by the U.S. government abroad, offering free and open access to communities worldwide with an interest in gaining insights into the United States. In Morocco, there are two such spaces: Dar America, located in Casablanca, and the American Space Oujda (ASO), situated in Oujda.

Dar America and the ASO have the responsibility of providing vibrant programming that fosters stability and prosperity in Morocco, all while engaging a wide range of audiences. The programming goals from the previous year encompassed the enhancement of soft skills, entrepreneurship, and climate change training. In the fiscal year 2023, the programming extended to over 332 virtual and in-person initiatives and events, drawing in up to 15,466 attendees, both virtually and in-person, across the two spaces.

Program Objectives

• For FY2024, American Spaces Morocco wish to continue to implement impactful programs focused on English language learning, digital transformation empowerment, soft skills development, STEAM training, countering disinformation, and environment and climate change awareness.
• Key Programming descriptions:
  • Enhancing English Language Learning: Implement a comprehensive English Language Learning (ELL) program designed to empower individuals from diverse communities to acquire and improve their English language learning. The aim is to create an inclusive and immersive learning environment, addressing the linguistic needs of participants while fostering cultural understanding.
  • Digital Transformation Empowerment: Provide individuals and small businesses with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to navigate the digital landscape, fostering innovation, economic growth, and digital inclusion.
  • Professional Development for Moroccan Youth: Promote professional and soft skills development, entrepreneurship and innovation through mentoring and training to promote positive community engagement and increase employability.
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, arts, and Math (STEAM) Programming: Create innovative STEAM programs to engage youth at Morocco’s American Spaces while utilizing the existing Maker spaces.
  • Environment and Climate Programming: Expand understanding of environmental and climate change challenges through engaging and hands-on programming.
  • Countering Disinformation: Promote media literacy and other skills to help young people effectively identify online disinformation.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $ 134,000
• Award Ceiling: $30,000
• Award Floor: $5,000
• Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in one year or less.

Eligible Funding 

• Activities that could be funded include, but are not limited to:
  • Youth engagement, leadership, and educational programs
  • Workshops, seminars, trainings, and master classes on American themes or issues of mutual interest mentioned in the above goals of the program.
  • Cultural programs that target youth and underserved communities
  • Programs to empower women and girls.
  • Radio, television, and social media training and programming in support of the above program objectives
  • Programs that focus on climate crisis education, nature conservation, or clean energy innovation

Ineligible Funding

• Activities that are not typically funded include, but are not limited to:
  • Fees and travel costs to attend conferences in the United States.
  • Ongoing salary costs and office equipment.
  • Paying to complete activities begun with other funds.
  • Projects that are inherently political in nature or that contain the appearance of partisanship/support to individual or single party electoral campaigns.
  • Social welfare projects.
  • Political party activities.
  • Projects that support specific religious activities.
  • Trade activities; fundraising campaigns; commercial projects; scientific research; construction projects; projects whose primary aim is the institutional development of the organization itself.

Participants and Audiences

• Mission Morocco American Spaces’ primary audiences are students and young professionals, ages 18 – 30 in the Casablanca and Oujda regions.

Eligibility Criteria

• The U.S. Mission encourages applications from Moroccan citizens and/or organizations, including:
  • Registered public or private non-profit organizations, such as think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations.
  • Public or private non-profit educational institutions.
  • Public or private non-profit cultural institutions.
  • Individuals.
• For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.
• Other Eligibility Requirements:
  • To be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number.
  • Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.