U.S. Mission to Tajikistan announces Democracy Commission Small Grants Program 2020

Deadline: 31 May 2020

The U.S. Embassy Dushanbe Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce funding is available through the Embassy’s Democracy Commission Small Grants Program.

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This program supports the development of Tajikistan’s democratic institutions and civil society by competitively awarding small grants to Tajik nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and associations, to nonprofit civil society organizations (CSOs), and to independent local media organizations.

Priority Themes

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Economic/social empowerment, entrepreneurship, and skills development, particularly for women, youth and vulnerable populations to advance economic independence and sustainable development.

Goal 1: Empower entrepreneurs to scale and market their small enterprises
Key Beneficiaries: Seed entrepreneurs who have already tested ideas and started small-scale businesses, entrepreneurs who have NGOs
Ideal Partners include but are not limited to: Business incubators, business mentoring programs
Examples include but are not limited to:
Programs that teach social media and other modern marketing skills to individual entrepreneurs and/or assists them with maintaining on online portal where customers can find, purchase, and order their products or services
Programs that provide consultation and liaison services for entrepreneurs regarding their rights and regulations that apply to small businesses
Programs that give business skills training and mentorship for emerging entrepreneurs
Programs that assess the skill levels of target populations and individuals and the level of consumer demand for various goods and services they are capable of providing at a competitive cost
Goal 2: Provide workplace development skills for individuals from vulnerable or disadvantaged groups
Key Beneficiaries: Women and young adults ages 18 and above, in particular, unemployed youth, vulnerable women who are at risk of domestic violence, people with disabilities and their families, orphans, separated families (abandoned wives and children without a parent present)
Ideal partners include but are not limited to: civil society, public/ nongovernment organizations
Examples include but are not limited to:
Economic programs that facilitate vocational training and entrepreneurship skills
Programs that support or establish sustainable training institutions and enterprises that will regularly train and employ people from disadvantaged groups
Programs that help advertise and find consumers for independent entrepreneurs from vulnerable groups
Programs that help employers understand the importance and value of hiring people with disabilities and members of other vulnerable groups
Programs that offer skills training and counseling to vulnerable groups
Programs that help new entrepreneurs develop successful business models, market their products, understand customer preferences, and distribute their products
Programs that involve successful business people as speakers to inspire people from vulnerable groups to become entrepreneurs
Countering violent extremism by promoting pluralism and tolerance, Worldwide, individuals at risk for recruitment to violent extremism are those who experience a sense of frustration, marginalization, and disempowerment and seek out remedies, including, but not limited to extremist groups.

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Goal: Reduce the severity and scope of societal problems that lead to radicalization and violent extremism
Key Beneficiaries: Young adults aged 16-35, districts with high levels of out-migration and separated families, districts which were the source of a relatively high number of foreign terrorist fighters, religious leaders, community leaders, teachers, professors, parents of at-risk youth, orphans, refugees
Ideal partners include but are not limited to: Non-governmental organizations with experience in countering or preventing violent extremism
Examples include but are not limited to:
Programs that target individuals with grievances and help them pursue non-violent solutions or strategies to address the problems
Programs that empower community-level dialogues over problems or grievances and empower communities to advance local solutions
Programs that focus on educating the public on early warning signs of violent radicalization, which engage family members of individuals who have gone to fight in foreign conflicts or become radicalized
Multi-media informational campaigns that warn vulnerable groups about the realities and consequences of engaging in violent extremism (through traditional and social media, radio, video, theater, film, documentary, booklets, comic books, video clips, etc.)
Multi-media campaigns that promote moderate ideas, quotes, and leaders, as well as peaceful resolution of conflicts
Programs that offer consultation services to vulnerable groups at risk of radicalization
Promoting free flow of accurate information on important issues in Tajikistan’s society through the development of independent, professional, and amateur journalism

Goal 1: Counter disinformation and promote awareness of important issues in Tajik society through improving media literacy, journalistic skills, and attract more engaged citizens to the field of journalism
Key Beneficiaries: students and youth, journalists and others working in the sphere of journalism
Ideal partners include but are not limited to: Non-governmental organizations
Examples include but are not limited to:
Programs that train professional journalists and regular citizens on various techniques and approaches to journalism, including investigative journalism, the use of video and audio, effective use of social media, blogging, fact-checking, analytical reporting, photo-journalism, and citizen journalism
Programs that educate journalists and regular citizens about bias in media, how to detect it, how to write objectively, and how to find reliable sources of information
Programs that support citizen journalists, networks of bloggers and social media users, online collections of their reports, and distribution or promotion of their reports
Programs that offer training and education through Tajikistan’s American Spaces on various subjects related to media literacy and journalistic skills
Programs that support the technical capacity of media outlets and citizen journalists (ex. bloggers) to reach wider audiences
Goal 2: Expand sources of reliable information that will help Tajik citizens make informed decisions about their society, and increase the reach of these messages
Key Beneficiaries: General population, students and youth, journalists and others working in the sphere of journalism
Ideal partners include but are not limited to: Non-governmental organizations
Examples include but are not limited to:
Programs that teach media outlets about different business models and techniques for growing their audience and profits
Programs that strengthen or establish media outlets that report in areas that lack diverse and reliable sources of information, and among populations that are vulnerable to radicalization and disinformation
Programs that distribute reliable information on important subjects to audiences that typically lack access to these sources of information
Programs that translate, publish, and distribute international news reports, analytical articles, and other informational and educational content relevant to Tajikistan
Programs that study and analyze trends in media consumption, audience size of various media outlets, level of disinformation and misinformation, and other bias in news reporting in Tajikistan
Programs that organize and lead educational and analytical presentations, debates, discussions, and seminars on key issues in Tajikistan’s news, working closely with American Spaces
Funding Information

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Estimated Total Program Funding: $500,000
Award Ceiling: $50,000
Award Floor: $10,000
Anticipated period of performance: 9-12 months
Number of awards anticipated: 10-20
Eligibility Criteria

The Public Affairs Section administers the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program. This program supports the development of Tajikistan’s democratic institutions and civil society by competitively awarding small grants to Tajik nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and associations, to nonprofit civil society organizations (CSOs), and to independent local media organizations.
State bodies are encouraged to work with NGOs to submit applications. American or other donor country organizations or individuals are not eligible for grants under this program.
Current Democracy Commission grant recipients may not apply for funding; open grants must be closed before new applications can be considered.
Previous grant experience should be documented in the organization’s proposal. A copy of the organization’s registration should be provided with the proposal application. Organizations should submit a copy of their certificate of registration from the appropriate government organization.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=325013