PRM Grant for NGO Humanitarian Support to Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India

(a) Proposed activities should primarily support Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu, India.

(b) Proposals must focus on one or more of the following sectors: Protection; Shelter and Infrastructure; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH); and/or Livelihoods.

• Protection. Organizations are encouraged to include programming to address prevention of and/or response to gender-based violence (GBV) and/or trafficking as part of their proposal. Protection activities may also respond to the needs of stateless refugees who are eligible to regain their Sri Lankan citizenship per the Government of Sri Lanka’s 2009 amendment to the Grant of Citizenship to Stateless Persons Act.

• Shelter and Infrastructure. Projects addressing shelter needs should comply with Sphere standards and be planned and undertaken with the involvement of beneficiary populations and local governments. Appropriate consideration should be given to norms and conditions in surrounding Indian communities.

• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. Projects addressing WASH issues should comply with Sphere standards.

• Livelihoods. Projects may include a livelihoods support component; however, standalone vocational training not linked to income-generating activities will not be considered for funding in FY 2011. Micro-credit projects for small enterprises have been successful in Tamil Nadu and may be appropriate within refugee communities.

(c) PRM will accept proposals from any NGO working in one or more of the above mentioned sectors although, given budgetary constraints, priority will be given to proposals from organizations that can demonstrate:

• A working relationship with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), current UNHCR funding, and/or a letter of support from UNHCR for the proposed activities and/or overall country program (this letter should highlight the gap in services the proposed program is designed to address);

• A proven track record in providing proposed assistance both in the sector and specified location;

• Evidence of coordination with international organizations (IOs) and other NGOs working in the same area or sector as well as – where possible – local authorities;

• A concrete implementation plan with well-conceived objectives and indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and reliable, time-bound and trackable (SMART), have established baselines, and include at least one outcome or impact indicator per objective;

• A budget that is appropriate for meeting the objectives and demonstrates co-funding by non-US government sources;

• Appropriate targeting of beneficiaries in coordination with UNHCR and other relevant organizations. Because of PRM’s mandate to provide protection, assistance, and sustainable solutions for refugees and victims of conflict, PRM considers funding only those projects that include a target beneficiary base of at least 50% refugees.

• Adherence to relevant international standards for humanitarian assistance. See FY 2010 General PRM NGO Guidelines for a complete list of sector-specific standards.

For more details on this specific opportunity, please click the “Full Announcement” Grants.gov link. For PRM’s general NGO guidelines, please go to the Funding Opportunities page of PRM’s website: http://www.state.gov/g/prm/c27111.htm. After you’ve read both documents, please contact Program Officer Rebecca Kinsey at 202-453-9287 (kinseyrt@state.gov) with any questions. Funding opportunity announcements and PRM’s general NGO guidelines are also on PRM’s website.