U.S. Embassy in South Africa announces PEPFAR Community Grants 2020

Deadline: 15 April 2020

The U.S. Embassy South Africa through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Community Grants Program of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications.

The Community Grants Program provides an opportunity for direct funding to community based organizations in the districts with the highest HIV burden in South Africa, that are providing services within HIV prevention, particularly those implementing interventions for adolescent girls and young women and/or community-based care and support for people living with HIV (PLHIV).

Priority Regions

Organizations operating within the 27 PEPFAR priority districts are eligible to apply:

• Eastern Cape: Alfred Nzo, Buffalo City, Chris Hani, O R Tambo, Amatole;
• Free State: Lejweleputswa, Thabo Mofutsanyane;
• Gauteng: City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Sedibeng;
• KwaZulu-Natal: eThekwini, Ugu, uMgungundlovu, uThukela, uThungulu/King Cetshwayo, Zululand, Harry Gwala;
• Limpopo: Capricorn, Mopani;
• Mpumalanga: Ehlanzeni, Gert Sibande, Nkangala;
• North West: Bojanala Platinum, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, Ngaka Modiri Molema;
• Western Cape: City of Cape Town (focusing on townships, informal settlements).

Note: Applicants targeting adolescent girls and young women in prevention priority districts will be given preference for funding.

Program Objectives

All organizations funded through the Community Grants Program must be providing one or more of the following services:

• HIV Prevention – This includes targeted, evidence based* prevention programs, particularly programs that focus on adolescent girls and young women. Prevention programs may focus on one or more of the following categories:
  • HIV prevention;
  • Stigma and discrimination;
  • Norms and behavior change;
  • Gender based violence;
  • Prevention of HIV and sexual violence;
  • Child protection;
  • Positive parenting.

*Evidence based means that the program uses a specific curriculum, implementation is monitored and can be measured, and the program has been proven to yield positive results.

• • DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe) prevention programs targeted at adolescent girls 10 – 14, including girls in/out of school and OVC (orphans and vulnerable children), adolescent girls 15 – 19, including girls in/out of school and OVC and young women 20 – 24, including sex workers which focus on the following elements will be given preference for funding:
    • Empower girls and young women and reduce risk – This includes activities such as targeted condom promotion and provision, targeted HTS, PrEP, post-violence care, expanded and improved contraceptive mix/adolescent-friendly sexual reproductive health services and enhanced social asset building;
    • Mobilize Communities – This includes activities such as school-based HIV and violence prevention and community mobilization and norms change;
    • Strengthen Families – This includes activities such as parenting/caregiver programs and social protection;
    • Reduce risk in sex partners – This includes activities such as combination socioeconomic approaches.
• Community based Care and Support – This is service delivery specifically for PLHIV, which includes activities such as adherence clubs, support groups, ART defaulter tracing and case management. Please note, all care and support activities must be focused on people living with HIV, with an emphasis on treatment linkage, and retention.

Funding Information

• Awards may range from a minimum of $27,000 to a maximum of $50,000;
• Total available funding: $2.3 million;
• Length of performance period: 12 to 24 months – Grant implementation can be for one or two years with a maximum budget request of R600,000.

• Key populations include: sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender persons, people in prisons and people who inject drugs.
• Priority populations include: adolescent girls and youth women, adolescent boys and young men, adult men, clients of sex workers, displaced persons, military, mobile/migrant populations and non-injecting drug users.

Eligibility Criteria

The following organizations are eligible to apply:

• Be a registered NPO, NPC or Trust in South Africa;
• Serve HIV-affected, infected and/or high-risk populations;
• Be implementing within one or more of the 27 PEPFAR priority districts (listed above);
• Been in operation for at least two years;
• Not be receiving any other direct funding from the U.S. Government;
• Not be receiving funding as a sub-recipient of a PEPFAR partner;
• If an organization is a previous Community Grants recipient, the previous award must have closed more than a year prior to the start of this grant period, which means prior to October 1, 2019.

Evaluation Criteria

Each application will be evaluated and rated based on the evaluation criteria outlined below.

• Alignment with PEPFAR objectives;
• Feasibility of program implementation;
• Financial management;
• Organizational systems, policies and structures;
• Organizational governance;
• Level and quality of service delivery;
• Linkages and relationships with the community and stakeholders;
• The applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements as stated by law, donors and governing bodies.

How to Apply

Please ensure:

• The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity;
• All documents are in English;
• All budgets are in South African Rand (ZAR).

Applicants can apply online via the given website.

For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=324283