U.S. Embassy announces Small Grants Program - 2019

The goal of the Small Grants Program is to support civil society development in Belarus.

The program is interested in projects promoting:

Civic dialogue
Public advocacy
Social development and the strengthening of local communities
Gender equality
Entrepreneurship
Support to vulnerable and underserviced groups of the population
Environmental awareness

Proposals that reach the broadest number of users, involve networking with other organizations, focus on activities in the regions, and include funding from other sources will have a strong advantage.

Competition is open to registered Belarusian non-governmental non-profit organizations.

Focus / Priorities:

The Small Grants Program only funds proposals that contain accurate and well-developed implementation plans and clear explanations of how the project goals will be achieved, where those goals address the Program’s themes and priorities.
The Program prefers supporting complete projects instead of individual activities, such as one-time conferences, publications, or round tables. A complete project involves a sequence of coherent events, logically interwoven and linked in time, designed to achieve specific goals within a particular time frame, focusing on target audiences, and leading to concrete and measurable results that will directly benefit the local community. The time frame for the project should be appropriate to the project activities and should not exceed 12 months. The project proposals should be submitted on the standardized application form and be modest in size (up to 6 pages in Times New Roman font 12).

An application package must contain the following mandatory elements:

Signed SF424 Application Coversheet Form (pdf format)
Project Application Form in .doc format (original doc format)
CVs of the paid staff and experts
Registration certificate

Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Potential to contribute to the development of priority areas
Feasibility and financial soundness of the proposal
Past experience in successfully organizing and completing planned activities
Contribution of applicant organization (cost-sharing)

Guidelines:

Grant activities may not violate Belarusian legislation.
Grants may not be used for partisan/political activity.
Grants are normally made on a one-time basis. Duplicative projects will not be supported.
Administrative expenses should be linked to specific grant activities, not fixed overhead costs.
Embassy Small Grants Program funds should not be used to pay for international travel.
Proposals should be in English and Belarusian (or Russian).
Proposals that fail to meet the Small Grants Program criteria or submission requirements will not be reviewed

Commonly Asked Questions:

Who can apply? Belarusian registered NGOs. Applications from governmental, international, political party organizations or religious organizations will not be considered. Projects can only be submitted by organizations and not by individuals.
How do I apply? Please send your project application by email to MinskSmallGrants@state.gov, submit it by regular mail, or hand it in personally at the address: Public Affairs Section U.S. Embassy Minsk, 70, Myasnikova St., 220030, Minsk Belarus.
What is the maximum grant amount? $25,000.
When is the application deadline? May 02, 2019, 23:59.
How long will the process take? Turnaround time may vary, but normally takes about 3 months.
What do I do if there are questions about the application process? Contact our office directly at the following telephone number: (017) 211-05-67. Staff will assist you with any specific questions.
In what currency should the budget be? The budget should be prepared in USD and all costs must be itemized.
What is the maximum period of the grant? One year. The implementation of the project starts on the date of grant registration at the Department for Humanitarian Activities.