The U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs Public Diplomacy Section is offering the English Language for Global Access (EL4GA) Grant to enhance English language skills and promote cultural understanding in the Palestinian territories.

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Public Diplomacy Section (PD) of the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (U.S. OPA) announces an open competition for a grant through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The English Language for Global Access (EL4GA) Program will offer funding to American and/or Palestinian non-profit organizations to implement activities which advance the applicant’s goals, the objectives defined below, and the U.S.OPA-PD mission: to advance a comprehensive and lasting peace through a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the development of a vibrant, representative, and responsive Palestinian civil society, private sector, and governing institutions through substantive engagement with American people, institutions, ideas and ideals in order to improve American-Palestinian relations and create greater opportunities for mutually beneficial partnership and cooperation.

Priority Region: Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza or a combination of two or three of them.

Program Objectives:

All proposed projects must aim to advance the U.S. OPA-PD mission goals stated above and improve English language skills while increasing participants’ understanding of American culture, values, society, and/or current issues through exposure to information on those topics and/or through direct exchange with Americans. This could be done through any of the following specific proposal objectives, but is not limited to:

·        Increase ability of groups within Palestinian society to communicate their narratives, build mutual understanding, exchange culture, and access audiences in the United States and internationally through English Language

·        Enhance employability, proficiency, and/or careers of Palestinian professionals through improved English Language skills tailored to various professional fields including but not limited to tourism, banking/finance, journalism, medicine, legal, and/or academia/teaching/education.

Special Consideration will be given to proposals that demonstrate how the program advances equity with respect to race, ethnicity, religion, income, geography, gender identity, sexual orientation, and/or disability

Participants and Audiences:

Proposals may target various groups within Palestinian society, including but not limited to: pre-high school aged students, youth or children (less than 15 years old); college students and young adults; professional adults with intermediate or above English language skills looking for higher level English language skills for their profession; parents and/or family members of students. This is an open call for proposals and this list of potential audiences is not exhaustive.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Length of performance period: up to 18 months

Number of awards anticipated: To be determined based on the number and amount of awards funded under this NOFO. No more than two proposals per organization will be considered.

Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $80,000

Total available funding: $80,000

Type of Funding: FY22 Smith-Mundt Act Public Diplomacy Funds

Anticipated program start date: September 30, 2022

This notice is subject to availability of funding.

Funding Instrument Type:  Grant, Fixed Amount Award, or Cooperative Agreement (to be determined by the selection committee in coordination with successful applicants)

Program Performance Period: Proposed projects should be completed in 18 months or less, noting that at least the last 1 -3 month(s) of the period of performance — after the end of the substantive project activity — should be dedicated to short and medium term measurement and evaluation of project success to determine if goals and objectives have been met.

C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

1.     Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants for this funding must be not-for-profit Palestinian and/or American organizations working with Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and/or Gaza, including think tanks, educational, and civil society/non-governmental organizations..

2.     Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost share is allowed but not required and will not factor into the merit review process.

3.     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. Individuals are not required to have a UEI or be registered in SAM.gov.

Proposals must be submitted in English; proposals submitted in Arabic or other languages will not be considered.

Organizations wishing to submit proposals to the Public Affairs Section should click this link to review the documents and forms: https://www.grants.gov/forms/sf-424-family.html

To see the full grant announcement, click this link: https://il.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/English-Language-for-Global-Access-EL4GA-NOFO-FY22-3.pdf