U.S. Embassy in Nairobi: Ambassadors Special Self Help Fund (Kenya)

Deadline: 31-Dec-23

The Ambassador’s Special Self Help Fund (SSH) of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is pleased to request applications for funding under the Ambassador’s Special Self Help fund program.

Purpose

The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help (SSH) program is a grass-roots grant assistance program that allows U.S. Ambassadors to support local requests for small community-based development projects. The purpose of the Special Self-Help Program is to support communities through modest grants that will positively impact local communities. The SSH philosophy is to help communities ready to help themselves.

Funding Information

Floor of Individual Award Amounts: $1,000
Ceiling of Individual Award Amounts: $10,000
Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in one year or less

Eligible Projects

Small construction projects (less than 10,000 sq. ft.) – school rooms, community centers, health facilities, foot bridges, housing for a government or community-paid nurse or teacher, workshops, community abattoir, grain storage, rural airstrip for a hospital, and school dormitory for distant students.
Water-related projects – wells, latrines, pumps, bore holes, shower stalls and sinks and fish ponds.
School equipment and supplies – desks, chairs, laboratory equipment and library items.
Communal construction equipment such as a brick-making machine.
Miscellaneous durable goods – stove or refrigerator for a school or hospital, or a washing machine for a clinic.
Income generating equipment – weaving looms, tools for furniture making, rice-milling machine.

Ineligible Projects

Remodeling or renovating an existing facility that is in disrepair as a result of neglect or lack of money (purchasing paint to repaint a school).
Activities with unmitigated and negative environmental consequences, such as dams, roads through relatively pristine forest lands; activities that contribute to commercial deforestation or conversion of land-use from forest to livestock; actions that are likely to jeopardize, threaten, or endanger species and/or their habitat, and actions that are likely to degrade protected areas significantly, such as introduction of exotic plants or animals.
Sports equipment or uniforms for a national sports team.
Musical instruments or uniforms for a national orchestra or dance company.
Salaries.
Ongoing needs for education/training.
Office supplies such as pencils, paper, forms and folders

Participants and Audiences

Local grants are intended for grassroots registered self-help groups, youth groups, community based organizations, and specific types of educational institutions and medical facilities. Organizations registered as NGOs are not eligible under this funding. All Special Self-Help projects are community-based, initiated locally, administered at the local level, and include significant community contributions in cash, labor or materials.

Eligibility Criteria

Applications are encouraged from all grassroots community based organizations.
Types of Projects Funded
- Local Community Involvement
  - Local involvement of the organization or group must be at least 10% in cash or in kind of the total project costs. The personal contribution of funding may be crucial to make a choice between two viable requestors. The local contributions can be in cash or in kind. In-kind contributions could be: labor (wages of masons and workers), food, accommodation for qualified labor, carts of sand or gravel, bricks for construction, sand, fence, water supply, transportation costs, donations of materials etc.
  - Additionally, community leaders must also sign the statement of interest. Community leaders include local municipal leaders, religious leaders, tribal or clan leaders, or any governing body that has oversight over where the project will be implemented. At least one community leader must sign the statement of interest; however, multiple signatures are strongly encouraged. Community leaders may also submit letters of support for the project, so long as they specifically mention the project by title.
- Kenyans with special needs
  - The Ambassador’s Self-Help Fund is supporting projects that assist special populations which may be vulnerable or at-risk. They consider projects that improve the lives and living conditions of groups such as Kenyans with disabilities, orphans, and vulnerable children. The fund also awards grants to schools for equipment, solar energy projects, and limited construction materials.
- Protection of environment
  - They seek to support projects that actively protect, preserve, or restore the environment. The primary goal of an environmental project is not income generation, but to address a specific environmental concern. For example, support could be considered for a tree nursery where the seedlings are used to reforest a riverbank or a tree nursery where the chief activity is to sell seedlings to the public and also donate seedlings to the community.
- Water
  - The Ambassador’s Self-Help Fund can support community water projects that bring clean, safe drinking water to a significant number of people. It does not currently fund the purchase or construction of individual household water tanks but may support school-only systems, pumps or pipes for irrigation projects. The submission of a professionally prepared design report with bill of quantity and blueprint(s) is an application requirement.
- Income generating Activities
  - The Ambassador’s Self-Help Fund may consider support for an innovative or unique income generating activity within a community. The activity should provide a benefit for the community-at-large, beyond that of income received by individual group members. The group must show that it has already obtained appropriate training or the knowledge to implement its activity, must demonstrate a clear understanding of the market for its product or service, and already be actively engaged in the enterprise. The Ambassador’s Self-Help Fund also entertains applications for income-generating activities that are primarily horticultural or agricultural.
- Medical equipment
  - They consider requests for appropriate medical equipment from community-initiated clinics or dispensaries that are already in operation with a professional facility and staff.

For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.