I. Funding Opportunity Description Sports diplomacy has emerged as an integral part of efforts to build ever-strengthening relations between the United States and other nations. Sports Envoys are athletes and coaches who travel overseas to lead programs developed by U.S. embassies and consulates. These American coaches and athletes hold sports clinics for young people and their coaches, participate in community outreach activities, and engage youth in a dialogue on the importance of leadership and respect for diversity. II. Purpose of Grant The goal of this grant is to hold a one-week program to train girls ages 13-17, and mentors ages 18-25 from two at-risk communities on the north coast and/or the D.R.-Haiti border. The soccer clinics coached by two current or retired US women’s soccer players will promote sports as a tool for gender equality and conflict resolution. The program must include life skills, empowerment, health, and/or personal development workshops to help girls create life plans and prevent teenage pregnancy, school dropout and other risky behaviors while promoting healthy choices, good decision making and planning for the future. The program will consist of two two-day clinics (one per community), including both soccer skills clinics and life skills sessions. While the focus for younger participants aged 13-17 would be these soccer and life skills development, young women aged 18-25 would be able to learn from the professional soccer players and other educators to work towards becoming mentors themselves. Alumni of U.S. government exchange programs may be invited to serve as mentors and facilitators. Please reference this suggested calendar and schedule for your proposal: Suggested calendar of activities Day 1: Sport Envoys arrive from the U.S. to Santo Domingo Day 2: Meeting with the U.S. Ambassador in the Dominican Republic, pre-program press conference and travel to the first community Day 3: Clinic day 1 in the first community Day 4: Clinic day 2 in the first community Day 5: Travel to second community Day 6: Clinic day 1 in the second community Day 7: Clinic day 2 in the second community and post-program press conference Day 8: Sport Envoys depart from the D.R. to the U.S. Suggested schedule for the clinics Day 1 08:00 – 09:00 Arrival and breakfast 09:00 – 10:00 Introductions, ground rules, goals 10:00 – 13:00 Soccer clinic 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch 14:00 – 15:00 Life skills session/mentor training session 15:00 – 16:00 Soccer clinic 16:00 – 17:00 Life skills session/mentor training session and wrap-up *Players would arrive at 9am and depart at 4pm Day 2 08:00 – 09:00 Arrival and breakfast 09:00 – 10:00 Life skills session/mentor training session 10:00 – 13:00 Soccer clinic 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch 14:00 – 15:00 Life skills session/mentor training session 15:00 – 16:00 Soccer clinic 16:00 – 17:00 Planning for the future, next steps, evaluation, group photo, certificates *Players would arrive at 9:30am and depart at 5pm Total: 8 hours of soccer and 4 hours of life Please note that there will be a visit and planning meeting with U.S. Embassy staff prior to the workshop. Allowable Activities and Costs Travel expenses from/to the United States for the Sports Envoys will be covered by the U.S. Embassy. Activities that are typically funded include, but are not limited to: In-country transportation, rental of venues for project activities, trainer or speaker expenses, reasonable equipment and materials, meals or refreshments integral to the project goals (i.e. breakfast and lunch for participants and facilitators). Activities that are not typically funded include, but are not limited to: Grants to individuals, academic or scientific research, paying to complete activities begun with other funds, projects that are inherently political in nature or that contain the appearance of partisanship/support to individual or single party electoral campaigns; sustained staff salaries, office space, and overhead/operational expenses; large items of durable equipment or construction programs; alcohol, excessive meals, refreshments, or entertainment; charitable or development activities or the provision of direct social services to a population; programs that support specific religious activities; and fundraising campaigns III. Award Information The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo reserves the right to award less or more than the funds described in the absence of worthy applications or under such other circumstances as it may deem to be in the best interest of the U.S. government. Eligible organizations interested in submitting an application are encouraged to thoroughly read this request for applications to understand the type of project sought the application submission requirements and the evaluation process. The U.S. government may make the award on the basis of initial applications received, without discussions or negotiations. Therefore, each initial application should contain the applicant’s best terms from a cost and technical standpoint. The U.S. government reserves the right, however, to enter into discussions with one or more applicants in order to obtain clarifications, additional detail or refinements in the program description, budget, or other aspects of an application. IV. Eligibility Information: The U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo Public Affairs Section encourages applications from American and/or Dominican based committed and organized civil-society organizations, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions, that meet all eligibility requirements below. We do not accept grant applications from third country (i.e., not registered or located in the Dominican Republic) for profit organizations or individuals, even if the project will take place in the Dominican Republic. To be eligible for a federal assistance award, in addition to other conditions of this request for applications, organizations must have a commitment to non-discrimination with respect to beneficiaries and adherence to equal opportunity employment practices. Non-discrimination includes equal treatment without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender and political affiliation. By law, commercial firms are ineligible to receive funding through this award mechanism. V. Application Submission How to Apply The Sports Envoy program must take place in the 2020, starting no earlier than June 2020 and ending no later than August 2020. Please consider that if approved, this grant must be issued at least two-months prior to the beginning of the program. Applicants should not incur any expenses before the grant is approved. The U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo will not be responsible for any expenses incurred to prepare your application and/or before the grant is approved. The application deadline for this NOFO is Friday, March 13, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. All applicants are typically contacted 6-8 weeks after their proposal submission and are informed whether or not their proposal was selected. Proposals should be submitted online to the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo at the following email address:
[email protected] Applications are accepted in English or Spanish. Final grant agreements will be concluded in English. Applicants will receive a confirmation e-mail from the Embassy to indicate that we have received your proposal. VI. Application Documents Applicants must complete the following application form and submit a full project description in accordance with the following instructions and the specified evaluation criteria. The instructions give a broad overview of what the project description should include while the evaluation criteria provide details of more program-specific information that is needed. Small Grants Application (DOC, 535 KB) Cover Sheet: The Small Grants Application includes a cover sheet which provides a summary of the project description with reference to the amount and duration of the funding request. Narrative: In the narrative section of the Small Grants Application, outline a plan of action that describes the scope and detail of how the proposed work will be accomplished. Provide projections of the accomplishments to be achieved for each function or activity in such terms as the number of people to be served and the number of activities accomplished. When accomplishments cannot be quantified by activity or function, list them in chronological order to show the schedule of accomplishments/milestones and their target dates. Provide a list of evaluation efforts to each function or activities listed on your project proposal. List those organizations, cooperating entities, consultants, or other key individuals who will work on the project, along with a short description of the nature of their effort or contribution. Applicants must complete and submit a detailed budget, with narrative explanation for each line item. Please not that translation cost of documents can be included in the budget. Proposals should include all of the information requested in the application guidelines. Proposals will not be considered until all information is received in electronic form. Proposals must be completed in English and budget numbers provided in U.S. dollars. Questions should be addressed to
[email protected] VII. Review and Selection Process Each application submitted under this announcement will be evaluated and rated on the basis of the following evaluation criteria. The criteria are designed to assess the quality of the proposed project, and to determine the likelihood of its success. The criteria are closely related and are considered as a whole in judging the overall quality of an application. Points are awarded only to applications that are responsive within the context of this program announcement. Application Evaluation Criteria: Goals and Objectives – The project is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results and the organization. The project addresses the Sports Envoy objective as previously outlined. Applicant demonstrates it can measure program success against key indicators and provide milestones to indicate progress toward Embassy goals. (30 points) Strengths and Innovation – Applicant clearly describes how its proposal will address the requested program within the proposed time frame and articulates an innovative strategy or plan. The project builds civil society/organizational leadership and capacity and demonstrates sustainable capacity building. (25 points) Organizational Capacity – The organization has expertise in one or more of U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo’s thematic priorities and demonstrates the ability to perform the proposed activities. Where partners are described, the applicant details each partner’s respective role and provides curriculum vitas (CVs) for persons responsible for the project and financial administration. Each key person responsible for the proposed project and its financial administration is listed and a CV for these persons is provided. (25 points) Budget and Budget Justification – The budget and narrative justification are reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results and the plan for services is realistic and allowable (please see Department of State’s Terms and Conditions: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/271865.pdf ) (20 points) VIII. Award Administration Award Notices: The award agreement shall be written, signed, awarded, and administered by the Grants Officer. The Grants Officer is the U.S. government official delegated the authority by the U.S. Department of State Procurement Executive to write, award, and administer grants. In some instances, a Grants Officer Representative will be the grantee’s primary point of contact. The assistance award agreement is the authorizing document and it will be provided to the recipient. Organizations whose applications will not be funded will also be notified in writing. Anticipated Time to Award: Applicants should expect to be notified within four to six weeks after the announced deadline to receive proposals. Reporting Requirements: All awards issued under this announcement will require both program and financial reports on a frequency specified in the award agreement. A final grant report and budget/accounting in English is due 90 days after completion of the award end date. The disbursement of funds may be tied to submission of these reports in a timely manner. All other details related to award administration will be specified in award agreement as well. Upon Selection of Your Proposal If your project is selected, your organization will need to: 1) Obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet in order to receive a grant. The DUNS number is a unique nine-digit identifier that identifies an organization. Once an applicant organization has received its DUNS designation, then it will have to apply for an NCAGE code designation. Once these two steps are completed, your organization must also register via www.sam.gov. Applicants cannot receive grants until these steps are complete. Instructions on how to register will be provided to those who are awarded a grant. 2) Fill form SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance (to be provided) Upon Receipt of a Federal Assistance Award Recipients of the Embassy’s Small Grant Program are required to submit a final certified Federal Financial Report (SF-425) and a Narrative Report (SF-PPR) within 90 calendar days of the end of the period of performance delineated in the award. Some grants may also require quarterly reports. Grantees will be informed of their reporting responsibilities upon the awarding of the grant. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements may jeopardize eligibility for future awards or will result in suspension of any future payments under this award until such time as this deficiency has been corrected. Some of the required forms include: Narrative Report Instructions SF-PPR [PDF, 269 kB] Federal Financial Report SF-425 [PDF, 575 kB] Instructions for the Federal Financial Report [PDF, 160 kB] Request for Advance or Reimbursement SF-270 [PDF, 192KB] All recipients must be aware of the Standard Terms & Conditions that apply to overseas grantees and comply with all applicable terms and conditions during the project period. You can access the Standard Terms and Conditions at this link: http://a.m.state.sbu/sites/OPE/FA/SitePages/Toolkit.aspx?&phase=Award Also please note that according to the U.S. government’s federal assistance policy, recipients do not receive advance payments in excess of their “immediate cash needs.” In general, up to 20% of the grant total is withheld as a final payment to ensure that final reports are submitted by the grantees. All successful applicants will be provided with this information upon the awarding of the funds.