Deadline: 31 March 2020
The U.S. Embassy in Morocco has announced that funding is available through its Public Diplomacy Grant Program.
The objectives of the Public Diplomacy Grant Program are to promote positive relations between Morocco and the United States; reinforce shared values; and connect Morocco’s emerging leaders to the American people through projects that:
- Strengthen understanding of U.S. values and institutions; highlight U.S. culture, including American Studies, English language teaching/learning, and study in the United States; and support diversity, acceptance of minority groups, and other areas of mutual interest;
- Help Moroccan youth explore and discover their potential through innovative science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM,) programs, as well as entrepreneurship programs;
- Encourage Moroccan youth to participate in civic life through social entrepreneurship, volunteerism, and community engagement.
Funding Information
Projects ranging in value from $5,000 to $25,000.
Activities
Activities that are typically funded include, but are not limited to:
- Programs that reinforce and amplify lessons learned by alumni of State Department-funded exchange programs (both American and Moroccan alumni);
- Youth engagement, leadership, and education 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;
- Initiatives in support of the above program objectives that make creative use of any of the Mission’s four American spaces—Dar America in Casablanca, the Marrakech American Corner, the Oujda American Space, and/or the American Center at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat.
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.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Public Affairs Office encourages applications from all sectors: committed and organized civil-society organizations, local representatives of civil society, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions, academic institutions, and individuals;
- All grantees must have a non-profit status;
- Proposals for activities that engage geographically and demographically diverse audiences within Morocco;
- U.S. NGOs and individuals may apply, but preference is given to Moroccan NGOs or to partnerships that develop capacity with Moroccan NGOs.
Selection Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by the Public Affairs Office’s Grant Committee. Each application submitted under this announcement will be evaluated and rated based on the following criteria:
- Strength of U.S. component/content;
- The degree to which proposals present clear, achievable, and measurable objectives
- The strength of project monitoring and evaluation components;
- The degree to which the proposed project addresses one or more of the objectives of the Public Diplomacy
- Grant Program, as outlined above;
- Its ability to engage youth audiences or strengthen the ability of established community leaders to engage youth audiences;
- The extent to which it will create new ties between U.S. and Moroccan peer institutions, new connections between Americans and Moroccans, or present American culture and society in an innovative manner;
- Production of engaging content that would expand the reach of the project to digital audiences; and
- Promotion of diversity and acceptance of minority groups, including persons with disabilities and other disadvantaged communities.
Applicants selected for further consideration will receive official written notification and detailed information on the process of finalizing awards. Applicants selected for further consideration must provide official copies of all registrations outlined in the eligibility requirements. Failure to provide these documents will result in disqualification.
For more information, visit https://ma.usembassy.gov/education-culture/funding-opportunities/public-diplomacy-annual-program/