Please note that this notice is subject to availability of funding. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade announces an open competition for individuals and organizations to submit applications for the Alumni Small Grants Program. Priority Region: Serbia. Note: PDS Belgrade strongly urges potential applicants to consider submitting proposals with activities focusing on participants or audiences in cities and towns in Serbia besides Belgrade. Program Objectives: Funds for the Alumni Small Grants Program are specifically designated for use by past participants of U.S. Government (USG)-sponsored exchange programs. (See below for the list of USG-sponsored exchange programs.) The Alumni Small Grants Program allows our alumni to leverage their experience in the United States to develop ideas and implement projects about how to give back to their home community, or to Serbian society more generally. These projects allow alumni to showcase their leadership and organizational skills, their creativity and innovative approaches to solving problems, and their ability to network and work with allies to achieve their goals. Grant activities may take any number of forms, including trainings, conferences, workshops, courses, academic competitions, summer camps (focused on language study, sports, etc.), cross-border exchanges, curriculum development, exhibits, hackathons or app development, online projects, mock trials or moot court competitions, simulations and role-playing activities (e.g., Model Congress, Model United Nations), film or theater festivals, performances, or other activities. Alumni small grants proposals should be crafted with a S.M.A.R.T. logic model. The objective of your activity should be: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant to the problem or challenge, and Time-based, meaning that you will meet them by a certain date. In accordance with the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Underserved Communities, proposals should demonstrate how the program advances equity with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, income, geography, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability. The proposal should also demonstrate how the program will further engagement in underserved communities and with individuals from underserved communities. Proposals should demonstrate how addressing racial equity and underserved communities will enhance the program’s goals and objectives, as well as the experience of participants. In light of social distancing measures, and to limit the spread of COVID-19, we welcome proposals that utilize video conferencing, distance learning tools, etc. If your proposal includes in-person activities, please consider the inclusion of contingency plans, if the health situation requires that social distancing measures be implemented during the grant period. Grantees are expected to: publicize your activities, including through social media and/or traditional press outlets; and highlight U.S. Embassy support, with our logo included on project-related materials. Participants and Audiences: Primary audiences for proposals should be youth, students, teachers and administrators, young professionals, and/or others related to your program theme. Depending on focus, projects may have secondary audiences or beneficiaries including media, civil society organizations or wider professional audiences, which you may note in the proposal. Participants or audiences for the proposal should be citizens or legal residents of Serbia. If your project idea might involve citizens of other countries, please see C.4. in the full text of the NOFO, to understand restrictions on funding. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION Number of awards anticipated: 10-15 awards (dependent on dollar amounts of the grants) Award amounts: awards may range from a floor (minimum) of $5,000 to a ceiling (maximum) of $35,000. Total available funding: $200,000. Type of Funding: FY22/23 Economic Support Funds under the Foreign Assistance Act. Anticipated program start date: Your project should start no earlier than July 1, 2022 and no later than June 1, 2023. Funding Instrument Type: Grant or Fixed Amount Award Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 24 months or less (including the time you have built in for project assessment and evaluation). Funding Restrictions: You may NOT apply for a grant from PDS if your project: a. involves partisan political activity; b. involves charitable activities and/or the distribution of humanitarian aid; c. is a fundraising campaign; d. is commercial in nature, i.e., you or a project partner are making money from this project, or the activity supports a current or future business or entrepreneurial venture. e. involves the provision of health care or services, childcare, food subsidies, or other social services to populations. This funding opportunity aims to support specific projects with objectives which can be achieved within a set timeframe. We will not accept applications which are aimed more broadly at supporting your organization’s usual or typical daily activities and operations. Those will be deemed technically ineligible and will not be considered for funding by the review committee. For this particular NOFO, grant funding can be used to cover the cost of travel within the region or between the United States and Serbia if attendance by participants from neighboring countries is an essential part of the project. As a general rule, participants or audiences should not be charged for taking part in any PDS-funded activity. If you envisage that your project activity will not be free for some reason, please contact PDS while you are in the process of completing the application to see whether that could be allowed. Depending on the funding source, PDS might be able to support your project, but only if you can demonstrate how the revenue generated will be used to support the larger objectives and explain that your organization will profit from the modest entrance fee. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 1. Requesting the Application Package All the mandatory application forms required below are available online in the Related Documents Tab and at https://rs.usembassy.gov/alumni-small-grants-notice-of-funding-opportunity-2021/ . We do not send out hardcopy versions of the application packages. 2. Content and Form of Application Submission Please follow all instructions below carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible. Please ensure that: · the proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity · all documents are in English · All budgets are in U.S. dollars · All pages are numbered · All documents are formatted either to A4 or 8 ½ x 11 paper. The following documents are required: a. One of the following two forms: · SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – organizations) if the applicant is an organization; or · SF-424-I (Application for Federal Assistance --individuals) if the applicant is an individual person; b. SF-424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs) c. SF-424B (Assurances for Non-Construction programs) if the applicant is: · an individual; · an organization whose registration in SAM.gov is still pending. d. Grant Application Form for FY2022 (Fiscal Year 2022). Note: Detailed directions for filling out the form may be found in Appendix A. e. Budget Justification Narrative (Excel Spreadsheet): After filling out the SF-424A Budget (above), use the Excel spreadsheet template to describe and explain each of the budget expenses in detail. See section H. Other Information: Guidelines for Budget Submissions below for further information. f. Attachments · 1-page CV or resume of key personnel who are proposed for the program · Letters of support from program partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner, if applicable. · If your organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, your latest NICRA should be included as a PDF file. · Official permission letters, if required for program activities. · If you still have not completed SAM.gov registration, a screenshot from SAM.gov reflecting that you have started the process. Please follow all the instructions in Appendix A when filling out the Application Form. Submission Dates and Times: Applications are due March 1, 2022 Other Submission Requirements: All application materials must be submitted by email to
[email protected]. If PDS does not receive a complete project proposal at the above address by the deadline, it will be considered technically ineligible and will not be considered for funding. Review and Selection Process: A grants review committee will evaluate all eligible applications. You may be asked to submit additional information and/or a revised budget. Please also be aware that, depending on the availability of funding, PAS might be able to fund only part of the budget you have requested. Anticipated Announcement and Federal Award Dates: PDS anticipates that final funding decisions will be made by April 15, 2022. The full text of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is available in the Related Documents Tab and on the Embassy's website. Please check for information on other PAS funding opportunities on the U.S. Embassy website at: https://rs.usembassy.gov/education-culture/grants-programs/.