Deadline: 31 January 2019

The Public Affairs Sections of U.S. Consulate General Jerusalem and U.S. Embassy Jerusalem, Tel Aviv Branch Office have announced a competition for a grant through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Local, international, and American non-profit/non-governmental organizations are invited to submit proposals for implementation in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel to promote cross-cultural cooperation based on common interest to drive sustainable relationships by building civil society capacity and/or strengthening problem solving and negotiation skills.

Program Objectives

• The initiative focuses on two main strategic goals:
  • To promote cross-cultural cooperation based upon a foundation of shared practical interests and to strengthen civil society capacity through mutually beneficial projects, which encourage innovation and economic growth.
  • To support and facilitate efforts to strengthen problem solving and negotiation mechanisms, particularly in Jerusalem.
• They will give special consideration to proposals which incorporate the following elements as techniques or tools for meeting the two strategic goals identified above:
  • Cooperation in project implementation between two cross-culture organizations.
  • New partners or civil society groups with whom the U.S. government has not previously cooperated.
  • Alumni of U.S. government programs and exchanges. This could include building upon previous programs or launching new initiatives with alumni from past projects.

Types of Award

Two types of awards are available under this NOFO:

• Mentoring: $300,000 will be reserved for awards up to $50,000 to established organizations, who have at least five years’ experience implementing projects to promote cross-cultural cooperation. Preference will be given to organizations that are registered in the United States. Proposals selected under this emphasis must include an element of mentoring a civil society organization that is new to these types of projects. It is for the applicants to determine how the mentorship will exactly take place and in which form as long as it includes a process of helping developing organizations outside the applying established organization.

• Grassroots: $100,000 will be reserved for awards up to $25,000, with preference given to organizations that have less than five years of experience in implementing these types of projects.

Eligibility Criteria

• Local, international, and American not-for-profit organizations are eligible to apply.
• Organizations applying under the Mentoring emphasis must have at least five years’ of work in promoting cross-cultural cooperation and preference will be given to organizations registered in the United States.
• Organizations that have not previously received program funding from the USG are encouraged to apply under this announcement.

How to Apply

All application materials must be submitted via email at the address given on the website.

For more information, please visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=311293