Deadline: 31-Jul-25
The U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan announces an open competition to implement a youth leadership camp in summer.
The program will be an entrepreneurship and job skills-building camp for Kazakh youth with demonstrated interest in the United States and U.S. culture.
Goal
- Support youth leadership and entrepreneurship development, as well as understanding of U.S. excellence, by developing a network of up to 50 Kazakh youth, including promising USG youth exchange program applicants.
Project Objectives
- Objective 1: Equip up to 50 Kazakh youth with improved leadership and career preparation skills, resulting in at least 80% of participants demonstrating a 20% or greater improvement in leadership, job skills, and career preparation skills, as measured through standardized pre- and post-training assessments and observation rubrics aligned with specific skill benchmarks.
- Objective 2: Develop greater understanding of U.S. business culture and entrepreneurial models (e.g. innovation-driven business planning, social entrepreneurship, startup ecosystems) among youth participants by facilitating interactive camp activities that explore these themes , resulting in at least 80% of participants demonstrating increased knowledge on key aspects of U.S. business culture and entrepreneurship addressed in camp activities (e.g., values, traditions, history ), as measured by a pre-and post-camp knowledge assessment.
- Objective 3: Increase the ability of youth to develop and implement entrepreneurship ideas according to U.S. business practices, resulting in at least 80% of participants developing and submitting a project proposal, with 50% of the proposals scoring a minimum score of 75, as evaluated by a standardized rubric.
- Objective 4: Facilitate networking and collaboration between participating youth and USG exchange program alumni, resulting in sustained mentorship between alumni and 10-15% of youth participants continuing three months beyond the camp, tracked through follow up surveys and alumni engagement logs
Funding Information
- Award amounts: award may range from a minimum of $40,000 to a maximum of $80,000
Duration
- Length of performance period is 12 to 18 months.
Project Audience(s)
- The primary audience for this project includes young people between the ages of 15 and 19 years old, who were semi-finalists and alternates of various USG youth exchange programs. Youth should include:
- High school students;
- Recent high school graduates;
- First- and second-year college students;
- Youth from various regions of Kazakhstan, including from outside of Astana and Almaty.
Eligibility Criteria
- The following non-profit organizations are eligible to apply:
- Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Public and private educational institutions
- Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
Ineligibility Criteria
- This opportunity will not support:
- Projects relating to partisan political activity;
- Charitable or development activities; including direct social services such as medical, psychological, and/or humanitarian support
- Construction projects;
- Projects that support specific religious activities;
- Fund-raising campaigns;
- Lobbying for specific legislation or programs
- Scientific research or surveys.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.