Deadline: 15 April 2019

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) has announced an open competition for organizationsinterested in submitting applications for projects that support democracy, good governance, religious freedom and human rights in Pakistan.

DRL’s strives to foster an environment of greater inter-communal and intra-communal tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Pakistan, allowing individuals to live their lives free from discrimination, abuse, and violence on account of their religious identity, practices, or affiliation.

Proposals must note the applicant’s current NGO registration status in Pakistan.

Program approaches could include, but are not limited to nor exclusive of, work in any of the following areas:

• Develop effective antidiscrimination strategies and techniques in local communities;
• Engage with community influencers and policy makers to advocate for community peacebuilding and respect for individuals with differing religious beliefs;
• Promote principles of intercommunal tolerance and mutual respect on a national scale, identify key local and national impediments for peace, and advocate for removal or resolution of impediments;
• Engage community members in interfaith action to promote tolerance and respect for the rights of all citizens regardless of their religion or beliefs;
• Broaden public engagement: strengthen networks of organizations devoted to peaceful coexistence to increase dialogue between religious groups, use traditional and social media methods to create awareness on the progress of efforts to promote greater respect and appreciation for differing views on religion;.
• Promote messages of religious tolerance, antidiscrimination and pluralism through means such as traditional print media, social media, and radio programming;
• Conduct awareness raising campaigns for civil society on how individuals and groups can use existing laws to ensure more robust protections for members of religious minorities, which may include focus on access to employment and education, labor rights, or political representation of minorities.

Where appropriate, competitive proposals may include:

• Opportunities for beneficiaries to apply their new knowledge and skills in practical efforts.
• Solicitation of feedback and suggestions from beneficiaries when developing activities in order to strengthen the sustainability of programs and participant ownership of project outcomes.
• Input from participants on sustainability plans and systematic review of the plans throughout the life of the project with adjustments made as necessary.
• Inclusion of vulnerable populations in needs and/or rapid assessments in order to identify challenges, gaps, and opportunities among these groups.
• Joint identification and definition of key concepts with relevant stakeholders and stakeholder input into project activities.
• Systematic follow up with beneficiaries at specific intervals (3 months, 6 months, etc.) after the completion of activities to track how beneficiaries are retaining new knowledge as well as applying their new skills.

Funding Information

• Funding Floor (lowest $$ value):$900,000
• Funding Ceiling (highest $$ value):$987,650

Eligibility Criteria

DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses.DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited.

How to Apply

Applications can apply online via given website.

For more information, please visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=312882