Call for Proposals: Complementary Response Small Grants Program (Latvia)

Deadline: 06-Mar-23

The U.S. Embassy Riga in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs is pleased to welcome proposals for the Complementary Response Small Grants Program (CRSGP) from potential partners working to assist Ukrainian refugees in Latvia.

Objectives

In light of the unprecedented refugee influx due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, this support is meant to meet gaps in refugee protection and assistance. Applicants may submit a proposal focused on one or a few of the themes below.

• Potential projects supporting Ukrainian refugee communities can focus on:
  • Assistance to local communities or Latvian NGOs to address housing shortages for refugees from Ukraine;
  • Providing social services, including healthcare, legal counseling, psychological support, and education;
  • Training, including language training, for refugees in support of their employment and integration in Latvian society;
  • Promotion of equal access to protection, assistance, and other solutions for refugees with disabilities, socially vulnerable refugees, LGBTQI+ refugees, and other vulnerable refugee populations;
  • Promotion of civil society and association building among refugees;
  • Facilitating free flow of information (including support for independent media) to refugee populations and/or countering disinformation;
  • Public education and advocacy (including civic education) related to national refugee policies and plans, refugee rights, services and integration;
  • Conflict resolution or protection of human rights and promotion of tolerance;
  • Anti-trafficking and anti-corruption.

Grant Information

• Awards may range from a minimum of $30,000 to a maximum of $250,000;
• Length of performance period: 12 to 24 months.

Funding Restrictions

• Grants may be used to promote non-discrimination and tolerance for disadvantaged minorities but should not be used to promote the particular agenda of a specific group, practice, or lifestyle over any other. Grants cannot support any goals of religious nature. Grants are not intended to pay salaries outside of the scope of the project. Grants may not be used for partisan political activity;
• Funds may not be used for large durable items or construction projects, venture capital, for-profit endeavors, support for religious or partisan political activity, lobbying for specific legislation, fund-raising campaigns, infrastructure needs that are not sustainable once grant funds are depleted, international travel (including to the United States), or alcohol. Funds cannot be used for programs that charge a participation fee.

Participants and Audiences

• Projects should be designed to benefit the Ukrainian refugee community.  Projects can serve Ukrainians directly in Latvia or indirectly through training or other programs for persons that provide services that impact the well-being of Ukrainian refugees in the country;
• Projects that include host-country participants that encourage integration of Ukrainian refugees into the local community will be considered, but projects must ensure that at least 50 percent of participants are Ukrainian refugees.

Eligibility Criteria

The following organizations that operate in-country are eligible to apply:

• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) supporting Ukrainian refugee communities;
• Civil society organizations (CSOs) supporting Ukrainian refugee communities;
• Nonprofit organizations supporting Ukrainian refugee communities;
• Think tanks or academic institutions;
• Private organizations supporting Ukrainian refugee communities;
• Public and private educational institutions;
• Municipal or local governments and their affiliated institutions;
• American and third-country organizations and individuals are not eligible for grants under this program; however, refugee-organized CSOs are eligible. Under exceptional circumstances, organizations based in European and Eurasian countries other than Latvia may receive consideration;
• State institutions are not eligible to receive funding.  Proposals from municipal or local government bodies should clearly state why the entity is uniquely positioned to execute the project or how the entity will partner with non-governmental institutions to execute the project. Grants to local or municipal government bodies will be assessed on case-by-case basis.

For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in Latvia.