PD Poland Grant: Supporting Programs to Enhance Understanding of the U.S. at American Spaces

For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.

To be eligible for consideration, the applicant organization must be registered to operate in Poland, or if this is not the case, they are strongly encouraged to partner with a local Polish organization registered to operate in Poland.

Program Description:

U.S. Embassy Warsaw and U.S. Consulate General Krakow, Public Diplomacy Section (PD Poland) announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to compete for a grant or cooperative agreement award to deepen understanding of the United States through interactive, engaging programming at American Spaces in Poland. PD Poland invites proposals from eligible organizations for projects beginning no earlier than May 15, 2024. The deadline for this NOFO, #WAWNOFO-FY24-03, is Thursday, April 4, 2024.

American Spaces are U.S. State Department supported cultural and information centers around the world that provide free and open access for members of local communities to learn more about the United States, develop skills, and access a wide range of resources. They are designed, configured, and equipped to promote critical thinking, innovation, and thoughtful discussions of issues important to the United States and host countries.  American Spaces programming showcases the breadth and depth of American values, ideals, culture, and perspectives on a variety of themes.

In Poland, there are six American Corners (Gdańsk, Lublin, Katowice, Łódź, Radom, Wrocław) and one American Center (Kraków). 

Please follow all instructions below. 

Program Objectives: 

PD Poland invites proposals to implement impactful programs focused on leadership, democracy, entrepreneurship and innovation, media literacy, and/or climate solutions and sustainability at up to seven American Spaces in Poland to forge enduring connections between the United States and emerging leaders in Poland.   

Participants and Audiences 

Mission Poland American Spaces’ primary audiences for this funding opportunity are emerging leaders in Poland to include high school and university students and young professionals, ages 15 – 35. PD Poland encourages efforts to ensure gender parity and socio-economic inclusion across all its activities. Applicants should be as specific as possible in their proposals about their project’s primary audience and how they will engage them through programming at the American Spaces. The term “general public” is not an adequate description of the targeted audience. Tourists and other visitors to Poland are not a primary audience for PD Poland.

Priority Programming Areas:

A successful proposal will include a robust calendar of activities spanning at least three months and directly address at least one of five key programming areas:

·       Building Future Leaders Network: Soft skills and leadership-building workshops, seminars, and trainings that develop human capital to engage the next generation of Poland’s emerging leaders. Programs should encourage participants’ active community engagement. 

·       Promoting Democratic Values: Programs that encourage civic engagement and strengthen democratic participation and/or promote tolerance and integration of minorities and socially marginalized groups while cultivating DEIA principles.

·       Fostering Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programming that fosters innovation and/or entrepreneurship and engages youth at Poland’s American Spaces through participatory and/or problem-solving workshops such as “tech camps,” and/or that make use of existing MakerSpaces located within some of the American Spaces. 

·       Media Literacy & Digital Inclusion: Course or series of workshops aimed at high school and college students to raise media literacy and combat dis/mis information, cyberbullying, cyber violence, and hate speech.   

·       Climate Solutions & Sustainability: Hands-on programming to expand understanding of environmental and climate change challenges and clean energy solutions. 

All proposals are required to have a clear connection to the United States, through U.S. organizations, experts, models, and/or best practices to increase awareness and understanding of U.S. perspectives, policies, and society. 

Preference will be given to proposals offering programs at two (2) or more American Spaces that foster sustained engagement with participants, while limiting overhead, equipment, and other expenses that do not directly support program participants. 

The principal method of engagement will be through in-person programming at the American Spaces.  Virtual engagement may be a part of the overall strategy, augmenting in-person programming, when possible, and acting as the primary method of engagement, when necessary. 

Additional proposal elements to note:

·       Overall design and implementation plan for programs at the American Corners in Gdańsk, Katowice, Lublin, Łódź, Radom and/or Wrocław, and/or the American Center in Kraków. There is a preference for proposals for programming at multiple American Corners.  

·       Activities should generally be designed to engage audiences of 15 to 30 individuals at a time. 

·       Competitive programs will have a minimum of twenty contact hours with program participants in total. 

·       The grantee is expected to lead recruitment efforts of program participants in coordination with the American Spaces; U.S. Mission Poland will amplify program opportunities on its social media platforms. 

·       The language of instruction can be English and/or Polish. 

·       The proposal must include detailed information about the project members. and trainers(s), including CV, resume and other relevant professional experience. 

·       The trainers or facilitators of the program should be experienced professionals working in the field. 

·       The proposal must include a proposed activity schedule and monitoring and evaluation plan to measure program impact. 

·       Marketing and outreach strategies to recruit target program participants are required. 

The proposal budget must include: 

·       Costs of program materials for target participants,

·       Salary or honorariums of implementers, trainers, or speakers,

·       Marketing and recruiting costs, 

·       Programming costs, and

·       Field trips/transportation cost (if any). 

Organizations will be responsible for leading the recruitment of participants, in coordination with the American Spaces, and ensuring DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and access) principles are promoted in the recruitment process. Please note that some American Spaces are not fully accessible for people with physical disabilities and program organizers will need to take this into account in the recruitment and selection of participants. 

Activities that are not typically funded include, but are not limited to:

·       Projects that are inherently political in nature or that contain the appearance of partisanship/support to individual or single party electoral campaigns;

·       Projects that support specific religious activities;

·       Exchange programs;

·       Social welfare projects;

·       Trade activities; fundraising campaigns; commercial projects; scientific research; construction projects; projects whose primary aim is the institutional development of the organization itself;

·       Conferences, lectures, scientific research, studies, etc.;

·       Book publishing or translation for the purposes of publishing a book;

·       Ongoing salary costs of organization staff;

·       Equipment, including but not limited to, cameras and for the office; and

·       Food and drink beyond the cost of coffee breaks and working lunches (alcohol will not be funded).