U.S. Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues’ (S/GWI) Small Grants Initiative Program

January 13, 2010

The Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues (S/GWI) is pleased to announce the launch of its first small grants initiative program. S/GWI works to increase women’s and girls’ access to education and healthcare and to combat all forms of violence against women and girls. For more information, please visit State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues website. Project proposals and questions should be directed to Ms. Berna Keen (keenb@state.gov) at the US Embassy in Ankara.

Project proposals should not exceed $100,000 and are due by February 1st, 2010. All the projects that are submitted worldwide will be evaluated and selected by the Department of State. There are no specified quotas for any countries for project selection.

Priority Issues of this Program

Projects that support women’s leadership and economical advancement programs, as well as technical assistance and capacity building, will be prioritized. Please visit here for more information on current projects.

Suggested Project Area

Democracy and political empowerment: Leadership training initiatives, equal access to justice, and promoting women’s property rights;

Economic Opportunity: Programs to provide training in business and management through mentoring and support for women’s artisan groups for product design, marketing, and related needs;

Education: Women’s literacy and innovative ways to keep girls in school and health education initiatives;

Gender-based violence (GBV): Support to NGOs or community-based resource centers in combating GBV practices ranging from honor killings to domestic violence and support for victims of domestic violence;

Food security: Supporting small-holder female farmers through women’s leadership and property rights training and land tenure reform advocacy initiatives.

Required Methodology and Information for Project Proposal

Proposals should not exceed six pages in length and should be prepared in English. Proposals must include:

1.  a statement clearly identifying the problem/topic to be addressed,
2.  a summary of the proposed program,
3. a project description, including specific activities, desired outcomes, and performance measures,
4. a detailed budget of no more than $100,000,
5. and a description of the recipient organization, including its technical and management capacity.

The project should not be longer than eighteen months. Organizations are required to provide a detailed report midway through the project period and again at the conclusion of the project.

The deadline for proposal submission is February 1st, 2010.

Please contact Berna Keen (keenb@state.gov) with questions and project proposals.