Deadline: 23 December 2016
USAID Civic Engagement Project is inviting civil society organizations (CSO) alliances in Macedonia to apply for its Partnership Grants with an aim to support CSO alliances to:
- Become leaders in shaping and constructively engaging in issues of public concern.
- Enhance their capacity to engage citizens, media, government institutions and other stakeholders in advancing the public’s wellbeing.
- Strengthen their institutional capacity.
Funding Information
- The maximum grant award for each proposal is 120,000 USD, and is for activities lasting up to 3 (three) years.
- The Project reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.
Funding Priorities
The Project will give priority to CSO alliances that:
- Focus on priority issues of concern to citizens in Macedonia including: good governance, public service improvement, rule of law, anti-corruption, human rights, economic growth, business enabling environment, and monitoring and oversight of public institutions;
- Have five or more CSO members and a proven track record of engaging in joint actions at least for the last three years;
- Support multi-culturalism and inter-ethnic cooperation and take progressive stances vis-à-vis gender equality and social inclusion;
- Demonstrate understanding and commitment to cooperate with a wide range of stakeholders, including the media, private sector, think tanks and academia, and public institutions to advance reforms;
- Are willing to commit to substantial capacity development of their CSO alliance; and
- Are insufficiently supported by other USAID programs or other donors.
Eligibility Criteria
- CSO alliances legally registered in Macedonia or not-registered are eligible to submit proposals in response to this RfA. The Project will award grants to CSO alliances that are not legally registered to a CSO that is a member of the respective CSO alliance, based on a Memorandum of Understanding that is signed by all the respective CSO alliance members prior to the grant award.
- The criteria listed below apply to the secretariat/coordinating body of the legally registered CSO alliances and the CSO alliance member that will manage the grant on behalf of the CSO alliances that are not legally registered.
- Applicant CSO alliances (or the legally registered CSO that will manage the grant on behalf of a CSO alliance that is not legally registered) should meet the following criteria:
- Have at least 5 CSO members – individual (person) members of CSO alliances do not count for the purposes of this criterion;
- Have at least three years of undertaking joint actions – as a rule, the Project will not provide “start-up” funding, although the Project may make a rare exception if sufficient evidence is presented to show that the CSO alliance’s leadership has adequate prior experience and the CSO alliance is capable of filling a niche that has been underserved in the past;
- Have a governance structure that ensures proper rotation of leadership and delegation of power, including, at least a Board of Directors, a Chairperson, and an Executive Director or CSO Alliance Coordinator. The same individual should not hold the position of the Board Chairperson and Executive Director/CSO Alliance Coordinator. If this criterion is not met, the applicant must submit a proposed reform process that will work towards meeting these standards.
- Have a transparent system of bookkeeping that complies with the Macedonian legislation and International Accounting Standards (IAS). If such a system is not in place, upon grant award, the grantee must work closely with the Project office to ensure that accurate financial management and transparent bookkeeping systems are developed.
- Must not be a debtor of the Government of Macedonia and must have cancelled any debt to the state or arranged for debt collection by the state prior to receiving the first disbursement of the Project grant funds.
- Must operate as an independent non-politically affiliated organization.
- Must not be debarred, suspended, excluded or otherwise ineligible to receive U.S. Government funding.
How to Apply
Interested applicants must download the application form via given website.
For more information, please visit Partnership Grants.