U.S. EMBASSY MANAGUA - ANNUAL PROGRAM STATEMENT

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) Small Grants Program awards grants to U.S. and Nicaraguan citizens and non-profit and non-governmental organizations to support innovative projects focused on empowering Nicaraguans through educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. 

There is no fee to apply. Submissions are accepted only during the application period in this Annual Program Statement.

The maximum amount considered under the PAS Small Grants Program is US$40,000.00. It is essential to provide a clear budget with a thorough and reasonable cost breakdown for the project, including specific categories for which the funds would be used. All awards are subject to funds availability.

Recipient cost-share is encouraged but is not required.

The projects can be short-term, or up to twenty-four (24) months.

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) is interested in projects that promote U.S.-Nicaragua relations through proposals that will: 

• Improve instruction and academic achievement in English language proficiency and/or science, technology, environment, architecture/art, and math (STEAM)
• Strengthen entrepreneurship and economic development, and expand access among minority communities, women, and disadvantaged communities
• Engage alumni of U.S. sponsored exchange programs
• Promote civic education 

All projects should target youth, ages 15-35, and contain an element of interaction between Americans and Nicaraguans.

The Public Affairs Section encourages applications from U.S. and Nicaragua only:

• Registered not-for-profit organizations, including civil society/non-governmental organizations with programming experience
• Nicaraguan and U.S. Individuals
• Institutions of Higher Education 

Other Eligibility Requirements:

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

The Small Grants Program cannot fund: 

• Projects supporting primarily partisan political or religious activity
• International air travel unless essential to the goal of the project
• Charitable activities
• For-profit, commercial or trade activities
• Fundraising campaigns
• Scientific research 
• Institutional development per se or support of an organization 
• Activities that duplicate existing projects
• Construction and infrastructure
• Purchase of vehicles
• Salaries as the main purpose of the grant
• Refreshments as the main element of the grant
• Lobbying for specific legislation or programs

The PAS Small Grants Program will evaluate and score proposals according to the following criteria:

1. Quality of the Program Plan: The program idea should clearly show originality and the program objectives are well articulated with the expected results of the program. The goals and objectives of the proposal should clearly align with the goal and objectives in this APS. In addition, a U.S. component or exchange between Nicaraguan and American individuals should be clearly stated in the proposal.
2. Ability to Achieve Program Objectives: Applications should clearly demonstrate how the applicant would meet the objectives. Activities should be reasonable and feasible, and the application should clearly detail how activities would be carry out. Objectives should be clear, measurable, and have a well-articulated timeline.
3. Project Evaluation: Proposals should include a plan to evaluate the activity’s success, both as the activities unfold and at the end of the program. A draft survey questionnaire or other technique and a description of methodology to link outcomes to original project objectives are recommended. Sustainability: proposals should indicate how the program activities would have a positive impact after the end of the program.
4. Budget and Narrative Justification: The budget and narrative justification are complete and reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results. The plan for services and related cost estimates is realistic.

A review committee will evaluate submitted proposals. It will take the committee up to two months to complete its review process. Some applicants might be contact with questions during this review process. Funding decisions will be issued on a rolling basis in April and July 2021. This notice is subject to availability of funding.  If a proposal is recommended for funding, the Embassy has no obligation to provide any additional future funding. Further, the U.S. government reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received.

The U.S. Embassy advises all applicants to budget expenses related to advertising and the promotion of your programs to future prospective participants.

Interested applicants should submit a written proposal along with the application documents indicated below, in English. If the proposal is submitted in Spanish, an English translation should be provided. Applicants can find all templetes and forms under the "Related Documents" tab:

• Proposal form.
• Proposal Guidance.
• Application form for federal assistance: SF-424 form for organizations and instructions; or SF-424I form for Individuals and instructions.
• Budget forms: SF 424A form and the Budget Narrative.
• The SF-424B is required for all individuals and organizations not register in SAM.gov; nor fill out and submit their Administrator letter.
• Proof of DUNS, NCAGE numbers and SAM.gov registration (for organizations only).  
• Key contact form and CVs (maximum 2 pages per CV)
• SF LLL Disclosure of lobbying Activities Form (apply only to U.S. organizations and citizens engage in lobby activities.)
• Copy of a valid NICRA Agreement (if apply)

Please submit documents in: PDF, Word, Excel, or JPG format. The Embassy CANNOT receive emails with “zipped” attachments that contain WinZip or WinRAR extensions. 

Please ensure:

• The proposal clearly addresses the goal and objectives of this funding opportunity.
• All documents are in English.
• All budgets are in U.S. dollars.
• All pages are numbered.
• All documents are formatted to 8 ½ x 11 paper.

All Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with a minimum of 1-inch margins.

Please email the application documents together to: 

E-mail Address:          PASManagua@state.gov;

E-mail Subject:          PAS Small Grants Application

Applications for the PAS Small Grants Programs will be accepted from December 2020 through June 11, 2021. No applications will be accepted after this deadline. 

The Public Affairs Section will inform applicants whether their proposals were selected for funding or not.

Note: We do not provide any pre-consultation for application related questions in this Annual Program Statement. Once an application has been submitted, the Embassy officials and their staff may not discuss this competition with applicants until the entire proposal review process is completed.

IMPORTANT: due to COVID 19 crisis, please carefully consider the start date of your program and try to foresee different scenarios that might cause problems or delays due to the health crisis or an unrest situation in the country.

NOTE: this funding opportunity does not receive applications through Workspace in Grants.gov. Applicants should submit their applications according to the instructions in this notice of funding.

Applicants (organizations only) to U.S. Federal awards will require online registrations to the so-called DUNS, NCAGE/CAGE, and SAM.gov.

All registrations must be done on-line and before submitting application documents. There are no fees related to this service.  

The order for on-line registration is as follow:

1. NCAGE/CAGE registration for organizations only:

https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/CageTool/home

For help within the U.S., call 1-888-227-2423

For help outside the U.S., call 1-269-961-7766

Email ncage@nspa.nato or ncage@nspa.nato.int for any problems in getting an NCAGE code

2. DUNS number for organizations only: 

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform 

For help outside of the U.S.:

For customers located outside the US, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands, including America

 territories-Guam Marianas Islands and American Samoa:

www.dnb.com/govtduns

Grants Customer Support Center

Email: support@grants.gov

Telephone: 1-800-518-GRANTS(4726)

Hours of operation are Monday-Friday 7:00 am-9:00 pm EST

3. SAM.GOV registration for organizations only:   

Go to: www.sam.gov 

For new applicants (organizations without a SAM registration) check the tutorial video on how to register at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jvMm7mErmc.

REMINDERS:

1. All organizations must renew their SAM.gov registrations annually.
2. All organizations are required to submit the SAM Administrator Letter to the Federal Service Desk (FSD) at https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/home.do for their SAM.gov registration. U.S organizations must use the template #1 and Nicaraguan organizations must use the template #3.

 NOTE: if your organization requires any kind of help regarding your registrations in SAM.gov, please go to: https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/home.do

The complete grant process takes approximately four to five months. However, it is important to note that this timeline may vary, depending on availability of funds. The stages of the process are:

• project proposal and application submitted
• proposal and application reviewed by Embassy
• project is approved or denied (you will be notified in writing of the decision)
• negotiation period between Embassy representatives and grantee
• grant is issued and signed by grantee and Embassy
• funds are available for use about 2-3 weeks after grant is signed  

The grant will be written, signed, awarded, and administered by the Grant Officer. The grant agreement is the authorizing document, and it will be provided to the recipient for review and signature within 10 days. The grantee may only start incurring program expenses beginning on the start date shown on the grant document signed by the Grant Officer.

The Embassy of the United States of America in Managua advises all grantees (individuals and organizations) to read the Foreign Agent Law issued by the Nicaraguan Government in October 2020. https://www.lagaceta.gob.ni/2020/10/192/

Miscellaneous

• Other
• Individuals

Nonprofit

• Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)
• Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3)