Deadline: 30 September 2020
The Public Affairs Section (PAS) at the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi of the U.S. Department of State has announced that funding is available through its Public Diplomacy Small Grants Program.
PAS Lilongwe invites proposals for programs that strengthen cultural ties between the U.S. and Malawi through cultural and exchange programming that highlights shared values and promotes bilateral cooperation between the people of the two countries.
Priority Program Areas
- Promote Good Governance and Rule of Law.
- Facilitate and encourage growth of youth entrepreneurship.
- Facilitate economic growth through increased private sector trade with U.S. private companies.
- Promote gender equality to increase adolescent girls and young women’s participation in education and improved health decision-making.
- Promote stronger, more numerous University partnerships between U.S. and Malawian Universities
- Increase transparency of government activities through a more capable media.
- Supporting and improving conditions for vulnerable and marginalized citizens, such as the disabled, people living with albinism, and those subject to stigma or persecution.
- Preventing Gender-Based Violence and Trafficking In Persons.
Funding Information
- Minimum Individual Award Amount: $1,000
- Maximum Individual Award Amount: $25,000
Activities that are not funded include, but are not limited to:
- Social welfare projects;
- Individual travel to conferences;
- Construction projects;
- Completion of activities for projects 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;
- Political party activities; and,
- Projects that support specific religious activities.
Eligibility Criteria
- PAS encourages applications from organizations located in Malawi, the U.S., or abroad:
- Registered not-for-profit organizations.
- Civil society/non-governmental organizations with at least two years of programming experience.
- Educational institutions.
- For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.
- Only projects that take place in Malawi will be considered. PAS encourages applicants to provide cost-sharing from additional sources in support of the proposed project.
Evaluation Criteria
Each application will be evaluated and rated on the basis of the evaluation criteria outlined below. The criteria listed are closely related and are considered as a whole in judging the overall quality of an application.
- American component: There is a clearly apparent American cultural element, or connection with American expert/s, organization/s, or institution/s in a specific field that will promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives.
- Organizational capacity and record on previous grants: The organization has expertise in its stated field, and has clearly done the research to understand the issue and proposes appropriate methods to address it and PAS is confident of its ability to undertake the program. This includes a financial management system and a bank account.
- Non-Duplication of efforts: The U.S. Embassy is not already funding a similar project, or, this one differs enough in significant aspects as to justify funding.
- Quality and Feasibility of the Program Idea: The program idea is well developed, with detail about how program activities will be carried out. The proposal includes a reasonable implementation timeline.
- Goals and objectives: Goals and objectives are clearly stated and program approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.
- Embassy priorities: Applicant has clearly described how stated goals are related to and support U.S. Embassy Malawi’s priority areas or target audiences.
- Budget: The budget justification is detailed. Costs are reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results. The budget is realistic, accounting for all necessary expenses to achieve proposed activities.
- Monitoring and evaluation plan: Applicant demonstrates it is able to measure program success against key indicators and provide milestones to indicate progress toward goals outlined in the proposal. The program includes output and outcome indicators, and shows how and when those will be measured.
- Sustainability: Program activities will continue to have positive impact after the end of the program.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325113