Grants for Preserving Afghan Culture, Empowering Women, and Reinforcing Shared Values

The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Embassy, Kabul (Doha) is pleased to announce an open competition for eligible organizations to submit applications to carry out a program that implements activities that preserve Afghan culture, empower Afghan women, and/or reinforce U.S. and Afghanistan shared values.

Areas

PDS seeks proposals for a project that will address at least one or more of the following areas:

• Preserve and promote Afghan cultural heritage
• Strengthen Afghan civil society by supporting women’s organizations, including those working to counter and prevent gender-based violence
• Increase economic growth by empowering Afghan women with skills to start businesses or to enhance their competitiveness for gainful employment
• Reinforce respect for human rights, the rule of law, and freedoms of speech, association, and movement

Project Goal

• By providing support to organizations working on projects to preserve and promote Afghan culture, empower women as both civil and economic actors, and/or reinforce respect for human rights, the rule of law, and freedoms of speech, association, and movement, they will reduce some retrenchment of the gains in these areas hard won over the past twenty years.

Project Details

Proposals should include: A detailed implementation plan that shows a thorough understanding of the project’s objectives and also communicates specifics such as the applicant’s:

• Plan for documenting, digitizing, and virtually displaying materials on Afghan cultural heritage for a wide audience, as well as any programs or events to promote awareness of the cultural tradition, practice, art, music, craft or site, and how success will be measured, etc. [NOTE: Heritage-centered projects funded by the U.S. government cannot be religious in nature.]
• Plan for providing capacity workshops and technical assistance to women’s organizations, including which organization(s) will be targeted and why, how success will be measured, etc.
• Plan for awareness campaigns and/or virtual programs to counter and prevent genderbased violence, including location/audience for such events, and how success will be measured.
• Describe how the proposal’s activities will reinforce, protect, and promote respect for human rights, rule of law, and freedoms of speech, association, and movement

Funding Information

• Number of Awards Anticipated: Two

Anticipated Award Amount:

• Base Period: The floor for the base period is set at $200,000. The ceiling for the base period is set at $500,000.
• Option Period One: The floor for the option period is set at $200,000. The ceiling for the option period is set at $500,000.
• Funding Type: This project will be funded by Diplomatic and Consular Programs funds, authorized by the Smith-Mundt Act, and is subject to the statutory limitations of such funding.

Anticipated Performance Period:

• Base Period: 18 months
• Option Period: 18 months
• Anticipated Program Start Date: July 2022.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligibility is open to non-profit organizations. Organizations may sub-award/contract with other entities, but only one non-profit entity may be the prime recipient of the award. For-profit entities are not eligible to be the prime recipient of an award under this NOFO. When subawarding/contracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal. Per Section D, applicants must submit proof of their non-profit status with their proposal (proof of 501(c)(3) status for U.S. entities, the Afghan NGO license for Afghan entities, equivalent document for non-Afghan and non-U.S. entities). Applications that do not include this proof of non-profit status will not be reviewed or considered for an award. Individuals are not eligible for an award under this NOFO.

Source:https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=338478