U.S. Embassy Yerevan is pleased to announce the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program competition for the fiscal year 2018.
The program funds initiatives that develop democracy, promote respect for human rights and support civic education in Armenia. All applications must be written in English and submitted online by January 7, 2018, at 18:00 local times.
Purpose
The purpose of the program is to award small sums of money for specific projects and initiatives that support the development of democratic institutions in Armenia. Grants will be awarded to non‑governmental organizations (NGOs) and local independent media outlets. To be eligible for consideration, every applicant must submit a project proposal aimed at furthering the development of democratic institutions in Armenia. Projects must incorporate a concrete plan of activities aimed at and leading to positive changes in the democratic environment and citizens’ civic involvement in Armenia. In order for a project proposal to be successful, the application must be focused on one or more aspects of the democratic building contain a clear action plan of what is suggested to be done to bring about improvements in the given sphere, and provide a convincing explanation on how the suggested activities will result in the anticipated improvements. Project results shall be measurable by their long-term impact on the strengthening of democratic institutions in Armenia.
General Guidelines
- The maximum amount of the grant is the U.S. $24,000.
- U.S. and third-country organizations and individuals are not eligible for grants under this program.
- The Program CANNOT fund partisan political activity; humanitarian aid and charities or charitable activities; scientific research; fundraising campaigns; commercial projects; trade activities; conferences and individual trips abroad; projects aiming only at primary institutional development of the organization.
- Grants are made on a one‑time basis. A successful applicant may apply for a second grant following completion of the first grant, but the second proposal must be for a distinctly different project from the first project funded by the Democracy Commission.
Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria: relevance of the proposed project to the Democracy Commission Small Grants program goals; the topic of the project; the presence of clearly formulated objectives and target groups; project sustainability and the ability of the applying organization to carry out the project. Grants are appropriated locally after the responsible offices in the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. approved the project.
Application Procedures
Applicants must complete the online formal application in English providing substantial information about the applicant organization and its activities including a detailed description of the proposed project. The names of the organization's officers and a short biography of each person to be involved in the project should be attached to the application. Please note that successful organizations will have to obtain a DUNS number and register in SAM. If applicants do not have a DUNS number at the time of application, they can write the following numbers in answer to question #8c “123456787”.
The application must also include a statement describing the proposed project and explaining how it will meet one or more of the Democracy Commission's goals. The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do and why. Please be specific and focused on the subject.
The application must contain a convincing justification of the need of the project suggested. “What is the importance of the project?”, “Why should it be funded?”, ”Who will be affected by the project?”, “What difference will it make to Armenia?” are some of the questions that the application must address. The Democracy Commission will support only those projects that will make an important contribution to the development of democracy in Armenia.
Letters of endorsement, attesting to the seriousness of the proposal, may be attached.
For joint proposals, the relationship between cooperating partners must be described; the division of responsibilities and authority between them, as well as letters of commitment from all partnering organizations, must be submitted.
The U.S. Embassy cordially invites local NGOs and independent media outlets to attend a presentation on the recently announced Democracy Commission Small Grants Program Competition.
The presentation will be held:
Where: U.S. Embassy, Yerevan (Address: 1, American Avenue, Yerevan)
When: December 18, 2017, at 16:30
For more information about Democracy Commission, Small Grants Program Competition please visit:https://www.usa.am/announce/
Please RSVP by 09:30 am Monday, December 18, 2017, by e-mail: yerevangrants@state.gov or phone: 49-40-53 or 49-44-11
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://www.usa.am/forms/site/view?id=e99f65994fc081e8025d4216b52aa030