Deadline: 20-Feb-23
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that support religious freedom in Nepal and Bangladesh.
Funding Information
- Award Ceiling: $750,000
- Award Floor: $750,000
- Period of Performance: 24-36 months
Eligible Activities
- Illustrative activities may include:
- Providing training to legal actors on international and national legal frameworks on freedom of religion or belief to improve implementation of laws;
- Provide legal assistance to lower caste communities including Dalits;
- Undertaking trial monitoring and observation of cases involving Dalit and lower caste individuals that involve rights denied to them due to their caste, including access to places of worship, access to employment or education, access to safe housing, forced eviction disputes, and other religious discrimination issues that can set legal precedent or feed into national, regional and international advocacy to change laws and policies that affect Dalits and lower caste populations;
- Providing skills and training to rights-based groups that engage in advocacy for Dalit populations at a national, regional, and international level with a potential to enact legal and policy solutions to limit caste-based discrimination;
- Engaging with religious or community leaders, legal experts, government officials, faithbased and caste-based organizations, and believers and non-believers to address, reduce, and prevent caste-based discrimination and mob violence, leading to policy level outcomes;
- Convening inter- and intra-religious dialogues between members of different castes that address discrimination, violence, and social stigma.
- All programs should aim to have impact that leads to reforms and have the potential for sustainability beyond DRL resources. DRL’s preference is to avoid duplicating past efforts by supporting new an
- creative approaches. This does not exclude from consideration projects that improve upon or expand existing successful projects in a new and complementary way.
Outcomes
- Program outcomes could include but are not limited to:
- Increased understanding and appreciation among government officials and legal actors of the value and importance of human rights, mutual respect, and inclusion for all persons, regardless of one’s religion, caste, beliefs, or non-belief;
- Government stakeholders and legal actors build working relationships with religious rights activists and community actors, including those from minority religions and castes, belief or non-belief communities;
- Lower caste and Dalit communities are more aware of their rights under the law;
- Communities will have mutual respect for Dalit and other lower caste groups;
- Dalit and lower caste communities will have access to legal tools and services to challenge discrimination and violence against them.
Eligibility Criteria
- DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses. DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited.
- Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits profit to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs. The allowability of costs incurred by commercial organizations is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR 30, Cost Accounting Standards Administration, and 48 CFR 31 Contract Cost Principles and Procedures.
- Others
- Applicants should have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders, including private sector partners and NGOs, and have demonstrable experience in administering successful and preferably similar projects. DRL encourages applications from foreign-based NGOs headquartered in the geographic regions/countries relevant to this NOFO. Applicants may form consortia in order to bring together organizations with varied expertise to propose a comprehensive program in one proposal. However, one organization should be designated in the proposal as the lead applicant, with the other members designated as sub-award partners. DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on applicants that do not have previous experience administering federal grant awards, and these applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.
Ineligible
- Activities that are not typically allowed include, but are not limited to:
- The provision of humanitarian assistance;
- English language instruction;
- Development of high-tech computer or communications software and/or hardware;
- Purely academic exchanges or fellowships;
- External exchanges or fellowships lasting longer than six months; Off-shore activities that are not clearly linked to in-country initiatives and impact or are not necessary per security concerns; Theoretical explorations of human rights or democracy issues, including projects aimed primarily at research and evaluation that do not incorporate training or capacity-building for local civil society;
- Micro-loans or similar small business development initiatives;
- Initiatives directed towards a diaspora community rather than current residents of targeted countries.
For more information, visit DRL.