Deadline: 28-Mar-22
The U.S. Embassy in Pristina announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a program that strengthens civil society organizations’ resilience, facilitates new partnerships, and advances underserved communities.
Program Goal
- 2022 Democracy Commission Small Grants Program will strengthen civil society organizations’ resilience and improve the collaboration to hold better government institutions accountable, transparent, and serve as public opinion leaders.
- This grant program will empower underserved communities and bolster community collaboration on solving community-level issues, especially in small/rural areas of Kosovo.
- The goal of this NOFO is to solicit proposals that address and implement projects that contribute in any of the following themes:
- Strengthening CSO resilience and cooperation.
- Empowering underserved communities.
- Community-level conflict resolution.
Program Objectives
The 2022 Democracy Commission Small Grant Program’s objectives are as follows:
- By the end of the program, grantees will have promoted the increased collaboration of civil society organizations and will have established new partnerships.
- Civil society organizations will have strengthened their capacity, better-held government institutions accountable and transparent, and positioned themselves as public opinion leaders to advocate effectively for communities or groups.
- By the end of the program, grantees will have increased the public debates over public interest or concerns and increased their engagement with citizens to collaboratively work and participate in community decision-making processes.
- By the end of the program, grantees will have increased awareness among underserved communities (as defined in the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Underserved Communities) on exercising their rights.
- By the end of the program, grantees will have increased citizen involvement in identifying and addressing community challenges of underserved communities, in particular underrepresented women of rural areas, non-majority communities, and LGBT+.
- By the end of the program, grantees will have advanced the position of underserved communities by equipping them with skills that make them competitive in the labor market.
- By the end of the program, grantees will have improved multiethnic collaboration on community and socio-economic issues of communities in small ethnically diverse municipalities.
Funding Information
- Length of performance period: Proposed programs should be completed in one (1) year or less.
- Number of awards anticipated: up to 15 awards (dependent on funding and award amounts)
- Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $50,000
- Total available funding: $350,000
- Type of Funding: Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia – AEECA Funds
- Anticipated programs start date: Applicants should plan to submit their proposals 3 – 6 months before they intend to begin their program activities.
- Funding Instrument Type: Grant, and fixed amount award.
- Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 12 months or less.
Participants and Audiences
- Deepening on addressed specific objectives applicants should select one primary program audience from categories in their activities. Applicants are welcome to further focus and narrow their primary audiences for higher project impacts.
- Youth in Transition: This audience includes youth, age 14 – 18, high school students and students transitioning into higher/technical education; and 18 – 23, graduate students and youth transitioning into the job market.
- Emerging Decision Makers: This audience includes people aged 24 – 35 who are future leaders in business, technology, education, government, and public administration. They include entrepreneurs, social activists, and civil servants with three to five years of working experience in government positions and have been identified as “rising stars.”
- Established Influencers: This audience includes people ages 35+, including but not limited to alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs, public figures at the top of their industry (e.g., innovators, teach leaders, business owners, and politicians) who can exert a positive influence on society.
Eligibility Criteria
The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Kosovo not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Independent media outlets, officially registered in Kosovo.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=337779