The U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania is offering this grant to support Community Activism and Capacity Building in Albania.

• Albanian not-for-profit organizations, including civil society, non-governmental organizations, and think tanks that are able to respond to the NOFO, and have experience and expertise working on community activism programs.

• U.S. organizations and individuals are not eligible for grants under the program.

• Cost sharing or matching is not required and is not part of the evaluation criteria. However, the applicants are encouraged to explore the possibility of a cost-share whenever possible.

2. Other Eligibility Requirements

• In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number issued via www.SAM.gov, as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Please see Section D.3 for more information. Note: Individuals are not required to have a UEI or be registered in SAM.gov.

• Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

A.   PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania announces an open competition for non-governmental organizations to submit applications for a community activism program. Proposals should focus on expanding and/or strengthening a network of activists by enhancing their capacities to advance positive community engagement solutions and programs. Proposals should clearly articulate how they will contribute to or create a culture of activism and advocacy, including facilitating interaction with civil society organizations, media, local government, and the public to produce tangible results.

Please follow all instructions below:

Priority Region: Albania

Program Objectives:

The proposed actions should:

·        Provide direct support to community grass-root initiatives or civil society organizations to improve their understanding of activism as a process and ways how it can be used in local contexts to improve public services, protect and promote human rights, and contribute to a vibrant, local democracy.

·        Help consolidate a community of activists with improved capacities to engage in citizen-driven initiatives.

·        Contribute to increased and/or improved dialogue processes with the local and national authorities by residents.

·        Facilitate concrete initiatives to support pressing issues of civic concern.