2022 Ambassador's Special Self-Help Program

Projects must be locally initiated, must have strong community involvement, must significantly benefit to a large number of people and will be self-sustaining.

Furthermore, projects must have community participation and contribution of 10% or more of the total cost of the project. Community contribution may be cash or in kind, such as volunteer time and labor, donated land, equipment and materials. The U.S. contribution will be a one-time basis only.

Acceptable project objectives include, but are not limited to, the following:

•Economic diversification, including small business creation and income generation 

·        Generate sustainable income and employment opportunities in local communities benefiting the larger community beyond individual group members; 

·        Advance economic diversification at the grassroots level and promote a culture of entrepreneurship; 

·        Encourage use of local natural resources for income generation through agricultural projects; 

·        Purchase of income generating-equipment such as weaving looms, threshing machines, oil presses, beehives etc.

•Social services 

·        Improve the lives of populations which may be disadvantaged or at-risk on a temporary or chronic basis, including people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, the elderly and female heads of household;

·        Construction and/or furnishing of community-initiated health clinics;

·        Water and sanitation related projects.

•Youth and child development

·        Create opportunities for youth, including employment;

·        Construction of school rooms or community centers;

·        Purchase of school equipment and furnishings.

•Community-based natural resource management 

·        Expand effective community ownership and management of natural resources; 

·        Developing sustainable community-based tourism; 

·        Promoting the conservation of natural resources.

Ambassador’s Self-Help Program funds may be used to fund construction projects. These projects should be small in scale (under 10,000 sq ft) and provide a public benefit.

The following forms should be included in the application when proposing construction projects: SF-424C (Budget for construction programs), SF-424D (Assurances for construction programs), and SF-271 (Outlay Report and Request for construction programs). These forms can be found on www.grants.gov.

Great care should be taken when preparing budgets for construction projects as prices of materials often increase from the time when proposal is submitted until a project selected for funding is implemented to avoid failure due to running out of funds.

 The following is not eligible for funding:

 ·        Projects relating to partisan political activity, including fund raising campaigns;

·        Purchase and set up of surveillance equipment;

·        Creating, continuing, or supplementing technical assistance programs;

·        Duplication of other U.S. Government programs;

·        Projects that would benefit, either personally or politically, to any employee (e.g. direct hire, contractor, part-time) of the U.S. Government, or the spouse or family member of a U.S. Government employee;

·        Charitable or donation related activities;

·        Projects that support specific religious or military activities, as well as those relating to police, prisons, or other law enforcement.

·        Scientific research;

·        Projects intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the organization;

·        Purchase of alcohol, medicine, school uniforms, school fees, bursaries, or personal expenses;

·        Support for educational or other facilities used to a significant degree by U.S. employees or their dependents;

·        Support for abortion-related facilities and services;

·        Purchase or production of toxic or otherwise unsafe products such as pesticides or hazardous chemicals;

·        Salaries for implementing organization staff or contractors

·        Purchase of food, refreshments, food parcels; medicines and other consumables

·        Support for private businesses, private crèches, or public/government schools unless through involvement of a Parent-Teacher Association.

·        Training costs

·        Travel costs

·        “Start up” or “Seed” capital or loans

·        Other activities barred by the Foreign Assistance Act, or the program

Participants and Audiences:

The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program will only accept proposals from not-for-profit organizations registered on the federal or state level in Nigeria.

Strong preference will be given to established, local, grassroots groups (self-help associations, youth groups, parent-teacher associations, community cooperatives) based within the communities where the projects are implemented.

Groups who have been funded through the Ambassador’s Special-Self Help program in the past are not eligible to apply.

For-profit, commercial entities and individuals are not eligible to apply.  

Content and Form of Application Submission 

Please follow all instructions below carefully.

The submission of the SOI is the first step in a two-step process. Applicants must first submit a concise (3-pages maximum) statement of interest designed to clearly communicate program idea and objectives. This is not a full proposal. The purpose of the SOI process is to allow applicants to submit program ideas for evaluation prior to requiring the development of a full proposal application. Upon a merit review of eligible SOIs, selected applicants will be invited to expand on their program idea by submitting a full proposal application. Full proposals will go through a second merit review before final funding decision are made.

SOIs that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible.

Content of SOI must include:

·        Project name and location, legal name, status and address of applying organization, contact name, email address and phone number

·        A brief project description summarizing goals, objectives, outcomes, performance indicators, description of target groups and number of direct and indirect beneficiaries, and proposed timeline. Please ensure that the proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Program.

·        Introduction to the applying organization including a description of past and present operations as well as information on previous grants from the U.S. government and other donors.

·        A clear statement of the applicant’s organizational capacity to carry out the proposed activity and manage U.S. Government funds.

·        Total budget amount in U.S. dollars including a brief description of costs and community contribution.

Please ensure:

-         All documents are in English

-         All pages are numbered

-         SOI must not exceed 3 pages including the budget

2.     Submission Dates and Times

SOIs are due no later than April 30, 2022.

3.     Funding Restrictions

 Any costs incurred in preparation of your proposal or in advance of an award will not be reimbursed.

4.     Other Submission Requirements

The SOIs are to be submitted via email to: AbujaPolEconGrants@state.gov

-         Subject line of the email should state: 2022 ASSH Statement of Interest – Name of applicant organization (as appropriate)

-         SOIs should be attached as one PDF document

-         We are unable to access google docs or other links, documents sent through a link will deem the application ineligible.

-         Documents that are not readable due to low scan resolution will deem the application ineligible.

 APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION

1.     Criteria

Each SOI will be evaluated and rated based on the evaluation criteria outlined below.

Quality of Program Idea (maximum 5 points): The SOI is responsive to the program framework. The idea is communicated well and is feasible. Project is locally initiated. The SOI demonstrates strong community involvement and self-sustainability. The SOI promotes a creative approach to address program objectives.   

Organizational Capacity and Record on Previous Grants (maximum 5 points): The SOI demonstrates the organization’s expertise and previous experience in administering programs in its stated field. 

Number of Beneficiaries (maximum 3 points): The number of people to benefit directly and indirectly will be considered when determining if a project can be funded.  

Budget (maximum 3 points): Costs are realistic, accounting for all necessary expenses to achieve proposed activities. Budget is in line with the grant amount ranges denoted in this notice. Applicant demonstrates at least 10% cost sharing contribution.

2.     Review and Selection Process

A Grants Review Committee will evaluate all eligible SOIs. All eligible SOIs will be reviewed against the criteria listed above. SOIs are reviewed individually against the criteria and not against competing SOIs. For a balanced review all panelists will review the first page of the SOI up to the page limit and no further. The panel may provide conditions and/or recommendations on SOIs to enhance the proposed program. Conditions must be addressed, and recommendations should be addressed in a full proposal application.

Following the review, only successful SOI applicants will be contacted before May 31, 2022

and instructed to submit full applications.

A full application will include the following forms found on www.grants.gov

·        SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – organizations) 

·        SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs)

3.     Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov)

Required Registrations:

Any applicant listed on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) in the System for Award Management (SAM) is not eligible to apply for an assistance award in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 235), “Debarment and Suspension.” Additionally, no entity listed on the EPLS can participate in any activities under an award. All applicants are strongly encouraged to review the EPLS in SAM to ensure that no ineligible entity is included.

Organizations are not required to have a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number –formally referred to as DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number- nor active SAM.gov registration to apply at this stage of the solicitation. 

However, if a SOI is accepted for a full proposal application, the organization must obtain a UEI and have an active SAM.gov registration before submitting its full proposal application. Therefore, we recommend starting the process of obtaining a SAM.gov registration as soon as possible. The process can take several weeks. Please note there is no cost associated with UEI or SAM.gov registration.

Full text of the funding opportunity and submission instructions can be found on the U.S. Embassy Abuja website through this link: https://ng.usembassy.gov/education-culture/ambassadors-small-grants-program-2/