2025 TIP Office PEMS 9 Stage 1 NOFO.pdf

U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office)

Notice of Funding Opportunity – Program to End Modern Slavery 2025

Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of State

Program Office: Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in

Persons, International Programs Section

Funding Opportunity Title: 2025 TIP Office International Programs to Combat

Human Trafficking Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) – Stage 1: Statement of Interest for the Program to End Modern Slavery (PEMS)

Funding Opportunity: DFOP0017061

Announcement Type: 2025 TIP Office Notification of Funding

Opportunity – Statement of Interest, PEMS

Assistance Listing Number(s): 19.019

Deadline for Applications: 17:00 EST February 4, 2025

A. Program Description

The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) is pleased to invite organizations to submit Statements of Interest (SOIs) to combat human trafficking outside of the United States. For further details on this opportunity, please see Section C. This NOFO is for stage one of a two-stage competition for funding.

The TIP Office will allocate funding for anti-trafficking projects through an open, two-stage competitive process. In stage one of competition, also known as the SOI stage, applicants are invited to submit five-page-maximum SOIs for projects designed to address the priorities identified in Section C. The TIP Office will conduct a technical review to ensure SOIs meet all requirements identified in this funding opportunity. SOIs that pass the technical review will then undergo a programmatic review by a team of regional and/or subject matter experts. A limited number of applicants will be invited to stage two of the competition where the TIP Office will request full proposals and supporting documents. These full proposals will be reviewed by an interagency panel. TIP Office leadership will make final funding decisions. All funding for approved proposals is pending the availability of FY 2024 appropriated funds. The TIP Office anticipates issuing awards for the priorities identified below in the fall of 2025.

The TIP Office may exercise Non-Competitive Continuations (NCC) to awarded projects under this solicitation for additional years and funds to build on efforts of the base period of performance. If applicable, within the 90 days prior to the conclusion of the first period of performance, the TIP Office will notify the recipient of its intent to exercise or not to exercise an NCC after assessing the recipient’s performance. The decision to exercise an NCC will depend both on the satisfactory performance of the recipient and on the availability of funds. More information on NCCs will be shared in stage two of the competitive process when full proposals are submitted.

TIP Office-funded efforts also include partnerships with governments, academia, civil society, the private sector, other funders, and international organizations to advance the goals of the program and improve collaboration on the reduction of the prevalence of human trafficking.

The TIP Office welcomes strong SOIs (as measured by the criteria in Section G) that address human trafficking challenges on a significant scale, offer the potential to have a systemic and sustainable impact, and align with U.S.

government priorities and the TIP Office’s 2024 priorities, among other factors.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION

Approximate Average Award: $2,500,000 for initial period of performance Floor of Award Range: $500,000 Ceiling of Award Range: $5,000,000 for initial period of performance; $5,000,000 for total overall ceiling (Some Programming Priorities may have lower initial and total overall ceiling award ranges, see below.)

Award Duration: 24 – 54 Months Anticipated Award Date: September 30, 2025

Additional Information: The TIP Office reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase budgets in accordance with the needs of the program and the availability of funds.

FUNDING INSTRUMENT TYPE

Any funds awarded under this funding opportunity will be provided through a grant or cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement provides for “substantial involvement” between the agency — in this case the TIP Office — and the recipient during the award’s period of performance. If awarded as a cooperative agreement, the TIP Office will undertake reasonable and programmatically necessary substantial involvement, including active participation or collaboration with the recipient in the implementation of the award.

Examples of substantial involvement by the TIP Office may include, but are not limited to: review and approval of one stage of work before another can begin;

review and approval of all proposed sub-awards or contracts; joint presentation of results with the recipient; and/or involvement where the TIP Office requires specific programmatic oversight over the award beyond normal monitoring.

Substantial involvement is in addition to routine monitoring that includes approval of changes in key personnel; approval of the recipient’s budget and plan of work prior to award; standard oversight, monitoring, and administration of federal awards; and unanticipated actions to correct a recipient’s performance, administrative, or financial deficiencies identified during the implementation of the award.

US GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO COMBATTING TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 USC §7101 et seq.), as amended (TVPA), established the TIP Office in the U.S. Department of State. The TIP Office leads the United States’ global engagement to combat human trafficking and seeks partnerships with foreign governments, civil society organizations, and multilateral organizations utilizing the “3P” paradigm: prosecuting traffickers using a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach, protecting trafficking victims through proactive identification and the provision of comprehensive, trauma-informed care, and preventing trafficking in persons through targeted programs that make it more difficult or risky for traffickers to commit the crime.

The TIP Office also recognizes the importance of partnerships and collaborative efforts with relevant governmental and nongovernmental actors in anti-trafficking work. TIP Office programs and projects combat human trafficking – a crime that involves compelling a person to work or engage in a commercial sex act through the trafficker’s use of force, fraud, or coercion. It should be noted that when a person younger than 18 is used to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion.

The U.S. government defines “trafficking in persons” as:

• Sex trafficking, which encompasses the range of activities involved when a trafficker uses force, fraud, or coercion to compel another person to engage in a commercial sex act or causes a child to engage in a commercial sex act with or without force, fraud, or coercion.

• Forced labor, sometimes also referred to as labor trafficking, encompasses the range of activities involved when a person uses force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the labor or services of another person.

Trafficking in persons does not require the movement of a person. Under the TVPA and generally consistent with the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Protocol), individuals may be trafficking victims regardless of whether they once consented to provide commercial sex acts (with the exception of children, who cannot provide consent), labor, or services; whether they participated in unlawful acts their traffickers compelled them to commit; whether someone transported them into the exploitative situation; or whether they were simply born into a state of servitude. The TIP Office will not support projects that use alternate definitions of trafficking.

The TVPA requires that the Department of State submit to Congress an annual report assessing the efforts of governments to address trafficking in persons. The annual TIP Report is the primary tool for the Department’s engagement with other governments on human trafficking and informs U.S. policy and assistance priorities to combat this crime. The 2024 TIP Report is available on the TIP Office website, www.state.gov/j/tip.

Since 2000, when the United Nations adopted the Palermo Protocol and the United States enacted the TVPA, the number of parties to the Protocol has risen to over 190 countries. In addition, a majority of countries have criminalized all forms of human trafficking, and many countries have established specialized law enforcement units, set up human trafficking victim assistance mechanisms, and launched public awareness campaigns. Nonetheless, the number of victims identified and assisted – and the number of traffickers investigated, prosecuted, and convicted – remains low relative to the size of the problem; governments also continue to face challenges in effectively implementing anti-trafficking legal and policy frameworks.

The TIP Office works to build the capacity of partner governments and civil society to address these challenges in a number of ways, including through foreign assistance programs. Information on U.S. government anti-trafficking efforts is available at https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking/ and a summary of international projects currently funded by the TIP Office is available at https://www.state.gov/tip-office-project-descriptions/.

Applicants are expected to submit SOIs that reflect an understanding of victim-centered, trauma-informed, and survivor-informed approaches to anti-trafficking programming. Applicants should also include these approaches in any plans for direct engagement with individuals with lived experience of human trafficking;

applicants are encouraged to work with and/or consult individuals with lived http://www.state.gov/j/tip https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking/ https://www.state.gov/tip-office-project-descriptions/ experience of human trafficking in the development of their SOIs if possible.

When relevant for the SOIs, applicants are expected to reflect the provision of comprehensive services to victims of trafficking. Strong applicants should incorporate these approaches, where relevant, into their proposals and explain how each concept will be appropriately applied in project activities. The TIP Office defines these concepts as follows:

Victim-Centered Approach Placing the crime victim’s priorities, needs, and interests at the center of the work with the victim; providing nonjudgmental assistance, with an emphasis on self-determination, and assisting victims in making informed choices; ensuring that restoring victims’ feelings of safety and security are a priority and safeguarding against policies and practices that may inadvertently re-traumatize victims. A victim-centered approach should also incorporate a trauma-informed, survivor-informed, and culturally competent approach.

Trauma-Informed Approach A trauma-informed approach recognizes signs of trauma in individuals and the professionals who help them and responds by integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, practices, and settings, and seeking to actively resist re-traumatization. This approach includes an understanding of the vulnerabilities and experiences of trauma survivors, including the prevalence and physical, social, and emotional impact of trauma. A trauma-informed approach places priority on restoring the survivor’s feelings of safety, choice, and control.

Programs, services, agencies, and communities can be trauma-informed.

Survivor-Informed Survivor-informed proposals include programs, policies, interventions, or products that are designed, implemented, and evaluated with intentional leadership, expertise, and input from a diverse community of survivors to ensure that the program, policy, intervention, or product accurately represents their needs, interests, and perceptions.

Non-Competitive Continuations (NCCs) To maximize the impact and sustainability of the award(s) that result from this funding opportunity, the TIP Office retains the right to execute NCCs. The total duration of any award, including potential NCC amendments, generally will not exceed 60 months, or five years. Any NCC is contingent on performance and pending availability of funds. An NCC is not guaranteed, and the Department of State reserves the right to exercise or not to exercise this option.

C. PROGRAMMING PRIORITY/IES

The TIP Office has identified programming priorities for potential funding. These priorities are heavily informed by recommendations from the annual TIP Report, coordination with a broad range of anti-trafficking donors, and engagement with foreign governments and local civil society, and are based on the TIP Office’s current anti-trafficking efforts.

The TIP Office generally prioritizes foreign assistance in those countries assessed below Tier 1 in the TIP Report and where governments demonstrate political will, but lack the economic resources or anti-trafficking expertise, to effectively address the problem. Applicants may apply for up to the total amount listed below and should submit funding requests rounded to the nearest $5,000 (e.g.

$735,000 rather than $734,097).

The TIP Office may fund activities in high-income countries, but the use of foreign assistance funding to benefit a high-income country requires additional review.

The TIP Office considers high-income countries to be those designated as high income by the World Bank using the gross national income (GNI) per capita (Atlas method).

To be eligible for consideration, SOIs must respond to the specific priority or priorities identified below. Applicants can submit up to three (3) proposals as the prime applicant for projects that align with the below priority.

Specific Information on this programming priority as well as background on the Program to End Modern Slavery (PEMS) is provided below.

PEMS Background: The goal of PEMS is to measurably and substantially reduce the prevalence of human trafficking and the harms associated with the crime in targeted populations through innovative interventions driven by research, monitoring, evaluation, and learning, and the expansion of partnerships with government, academia, civil society organizations, international organizations, and the private sector.

PEMS-funded efforts conduct scientifically rigorous research to establish evidence on the effects of anti-trafficking (including forced labor and sex trafficking) programs on the reduction of the prevalence of human trafficking through the advancement of sound prevalence measurement methodologies, strong monitoring and evaluation practices, evidence-based programming, and the application of victim-centered and trauma-informed approaches and interventions.

The U.S. Congress has appropriated $25 million annually since 2016 for PEMS, with $200 million in funding obligated to date. The TIP Office plans to allocate up to $22 million in FY24 funding to this funding opportunity.

Programming Priority Summary:

PEMS programming aims to support the development and scaling of impactful counter-trafficking interventions, by providing funding at three critical stages: 1) the research and design of innovative solutions; 2) the implementation and rigorous evaluation of promising practices; and 3) the replication or scaling up of effective solutions.

This year’s funding opportunity builds on prior PEMS-funded initiatives and is designed to address critical evidence gaps on what approaches are effective in responding to trafficking in persons. While the 2023 PEMS funding opportunity focused heavily on stage 1 with the research, development, and piloting of projects through Intervention Development Research (IDR), the 2025 PEMS opportunity is focused more heavily on stage 2, validating promising interventions that have already been developed but have not undergone rigorous evaluation.

This NOFO requests that applicants identify and propose a promising practice or intervention approach that has some initial evidence showing its potential for effectiveness and impact. Applicants will propose to implement the intervention alongside a rigorous evaluation to validate the model, understand its success, and document its potential for adaptation for other contexts. This opportunity will cover the costs of implementing the intervention as well as the evaluation.

More information on what types of interventions are considered promising and eligible, what evidence of effectiveness can be provided, and potential evaluation methods that will be considered rigorous can be found below in the “Statement of Interest Guidance” section of this document.

For the purposes of this funding opportunity, the term “intervention” is defined as: a set of planned activities or strategies designed to bring about specific changes in a situation or group. An intervention can involve multiple components that work together to achieve clearly defined outcomes. For example, an intervention might include efforts spanning two or more of the four Ps

(prevention, protection, prosecution, partnerships) or activities across multiple countries targeting a shared goal. The funding opportunity focuses on the implementation and evaluation of promising interventions that fall into any one of these categories:

a) An existing intervention which has shown promise but has not been rigorously evaluated;

b) An intervention that has shown success in other fields (such as combating gender-based violence) but has not been adapted and tested as a human trafficking intervention;

c) An intervention for which there is a design for programming supported by significant research, but has not yet had the funding to implement and evaluate the intervention.

This funding opportunity is designed to be accessible to organizations of varying sizes, locations, and capacities; it recognizes that frontline organizations around the world have developed many promising approaches through practice-based knowledge and expertise. In order to definitively and reliably identify what works and would be effective when replicated or at scale, PEMS is looking to provide funding for organizations to implement their promising interventions alongside rigorous evaluations. Preference will be given to applications proposing interventions that build the evidence base for the most critical needs or which have promise to impact large numbers of people experiencing or highly vulnerable to trafficking in persons.

To be eligible, SOIs must present a promising intervention model and summarize existing evidence to support the intervention’s effectiveness. SOIs must outline a plan for implementing the intervention in a specified context alongside a rigorous evaluation and articulate how the evaluation adds value to the applicant’s work as well as to the knowledge base on effective anti-trafficking programming

Applicants may propose a variety of evaluation methods and approaches that have the potential to meaningfully demonstrate not only whether an intervention achieved its intended target(s), but also whether the intervention successfully contributed to its intended outcomes and impact – more information on this can be found in the “Statement of Interest Guidance” section of this document.

This NOFO presents an opportunity for organizations with promising approaches to refine and validate their intervention model, including the theory of change and intervention approach, in preparation for a rigorous evaluation, and to implement the intervention with strong monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning support. The TIP Office may provide external guidance and support for awardees to support the preparation of interventions’ designs for implementation alongside an evaluation. Applicants must be open to working with external guidance and open to refining and adapting their intervention model based on learnings throughout the project to strengthen their approach and increase their potential for impact. All proposed projects should start with a period in which they review the intervention’s evidence and theory of change and determine whether any modifications should be made to the intervention to enhance effectiveness or prepare it for evaluation.

Detailed instructions for developing SOIs and specific questions for applicants to address can be found in the “Statement of Interest Guidance” section of this document, as well as the section “Application Contents and Format” which contains all technical formatting and structure requirements. Applicants must comply with all technical and content requirements laid out in this document.

Applications will be assessed according to the evaluation criteria laid out in

Section G, Application Review Criteria, below. Prospective applicants should review the evaluation criteria below in addition to the instructions in this document to have a clear understanding of how applications will be scored.

Additional Information and Considerations:

Each SOI may focus on only one intervention that will be evaluated as a whole.

SOIs must specify the country or countries proposed for implementation under this funding opportunity. One example of when multiple countries or locations are acceptable is if an applicant chooses an instance of human trafficking which involves movement and an effective intervention would involve source, transit, and/or destination sites. There is no preference or requirement under this opportunity on the focus of the intervention (prosecution, protection, and/or prevention), and there is no preference or requirement for interventions implemented in certain countries or regions. Applicants are encouraged to propose their most promising interventions to combat human trafficking and most strategic locations for implementation.

Applicants can submit multiple SOIs on different interventions that are not interdependent, however, organizations may only submit up to (3) proposals as the prime applicant. There is no limit to the number of applications in which an organization is listed as a partner organization. Applicants with multiple country locations, offices, or entities must coordinate to limit the total number of proposals in which the organization is listed as the prime applicant to comply with the limits above.

Country-specific considerations:

As noted above, applicants may apply with any anti-trafficking intervention to be implemented in any country; the TIP Office encourages applicants to apply in countries and contexts most appropriate to showing positive impact of the proposed intervention.

In addition, the TIP Office requests applications from applicants with significant local expertise to build on previous programming efforts in the following locations: Costa Rica (sex trafficking) and West Africa (sex and/or labor trafficking). Applicants may apply under the programming priority above, identifying promising interventions ready for replication in additional areas or with additional stakeholders and/or identifying promising interventions that address critical remaining needs.

Statement of Interest Guidance

Statements of Interest should be developed to include responses to the items below. The TIP Office recognizes that the applicant may have a great deal of information they could provide in response to the following questions. Please briefly summarize the response to the questions; those applicants who are invited to submit a full application will have the opportunity to provide additional details.

1) Description of the Intervention: Provide a description of the intervention – what human trafficking issue or issues does the intervention address?

Include information such as type of trafficking (sex, labor, or both), sector, key beneficiaries, etc. What are the main intervention objectives and activities, and what is the desired change the intervention will produce?

Summarize the project’s logic, including root causes of challenges or problems the intervention addresses, and how the activities or components lead to outputs and overall outcomes. If a theory of change or logic model has been developed for the intervention, you may include that as an optional annex (Annex A).

2) Implementation Plan and Approach for Proposed Project: Please summarize plans for how and where your organization will implement the intervention under this funding opportunity. Include information on the planned location, scale, target beneficiaries, and the general timeline.

Further detailed information on the implementation plan will be asked from applicants invited to apply for Stage 2. Note that the proposed project should start with a review of the intervention model and include time to determine and design any alterations before programming starts, if needed, to enhance effectiveness, though detail on this process is not needed for the SOI application.

3) Design and History of the Intervention: Provide a brief summary of how the intervention was originally designed, by whom, and based on what knowledge/information (e.g., needs assessments, gap analysis, information from impacted stakeholders, research or related data collection) about the issue of focus and the population targeted. Applicants should also provide a brief history of the intervention’s implementation (has it been implemented previously? If so, where, at what scale, and by which implementing organization/s?).

This section should clearly state which category the proposed intervention falls into: a, b, or c from the list below:

a. An existing intervention which has shown promise but has not been rigorously evaluated;

b. An intervention that has shown success in other fields (such as combating gender-based violence) but has not been adapted and tested as a human trafficking intervention;

c. An intervention for which there is a design for programming supported by significant research, which has not yet had the funding to implement and evaluate.

4) Evidence on the Effectiveness of the Intervention: What existing evidence supports the results or effectiveness of the intervention? If the intervention has been used in other contexts (e.g., with other vulnerable groups, such as victims of gender-based violence, refugees, etc.) or sectors, what data documents its effectiveness? Applicants should provide a summary – highlighting relevant evidence (which can be qualitative, quantitative, or both) as well as sources. Sources can include but are not limited to your own or other organizations’ monitoring data (e.g. routine case management data, program evaluations, case studies), or external evidence of the efficacy of the intervention supported in academic journal articles, or other sources.

5) Systems Change and Sustainability: Will the intervention as proposed be integrated into existing systems and/or strengthen such systems (local, national, public, private, etc.)? If so, how? Will the intervention be sustained beyond the grant funding? If so, how?

6) Potential for Impact:

a. Describe the downstream outcomes and potential for impact of the intervention if implemented as proposed and funded in this application. For example, how many trafficking survivors will be supported directly through this intervention and in what ways? How many people at risk of trafficking will be impacted and what is the ultimate proposed outcome(s) that would reduce their risk? What is the basis for these calculations? This section should focus on what will be achieved with the funding applied for under this opportunity.

b. Additionally, describe the potential for impact of this intervention for other contexts if it is found to be effective and able to be replicated or scaled. Are there other contexts (additional locations, countries, trafficking types, etc.) where this intervention might be useful? Is there any data on the scale of the need for this intervention, such as how many people would benefit (as direct beneficiaries or through reduced prevalence of trafficking in persons in certain contexts, etc.)? Provide a basis or source for any calculations or data shared.

This section should focus on what could be achieved in the future if the intervention is replicated or scaled without taking into account funding currently available.

7) Evaluation Approach: Please describe your proposed program’s evaluation plans and approach as envisioned under this funding opportunity by answering the following questions. Note that further information on the evaluation approach will be required for applicants invited to Stage 2.

a. What is the gap between what is already known about the effectiveness of the project and what you think needs to be studied to get more concrete evidence on its effectiveness? What is the primary purpose of the evaluation, and what key learning and evaluation questions do you want answered? Note: a helpful resource that includes some research and learning questions for the anti-trafficking space is Innovation for Poverty Action’s Research and Learning Agenda, which has been developed under the Program to End Modern Slavery. Applicants may choose to address research questions included in this agenda or develop their question/s. Note that under this opportunity, applicants are welcome to propose a variety of evaluation approaches and are not limited to RCTs or other experimental or quasi-experimental approaches.

b. How do you intend to use findings from an evaluation of this intervention to inform your organization’s work? What are the perceived benefits? Do you see this evaluation having a wider impact on programming and/or policy within the anti-trafficking space? If so, please describe how.

c. Provide a summary of the evaluation methodology or methodologies planned. If methodologies have not been developed, please summarize how you will identify and develop your methodological approach(es).

d. NOTE: If a timeline extending beyond four and a half years would be beneficial for measuring outcomes and impacts assessed with the evaluation, please indicate that in the SOI, and the TIP Office may consider a phase funded project that allows for additional years.

8) Cost Estimates: Provide a few sentences summarizing the anticipated costs of the total project, including costs for the intervention as well as monitoring and evaluation. Additional guidance for applicants as they prepare cost estimates at this stage is provided below. Note: Detail on the https://poverty-action.org/research-and-learning-agenda-human-trafficking-research-initiative https://poverty-action.org/research-and-learning-agenda-human-trafficking-research-initiative items below is not needed during Stage 1, however, applicants should factor in costs with the following information in mind:

a. A significant portion of the total budget is expected to be allocated within the country where interventions are proposed. Additionally, applicants should ensure there is ample budget for monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) costs in addition to the evaluation itself.

b. Note on total costs and maturity/scale of the proposed intervention:

Applicants should develop a total budget factoring in the size of the proposed intervention, evaluation methodology, and maturity or level of existing evidence for the intervention. Applicants must use their judgement and develop cost estimates that demonstrate strong value for money when considering these factors, with the strongest justifications required for applications at the upper end of the funding range. Funding for the development and piloting of more nascent promising interventions will be provided at lower levels than funding for interventions that have significant evidence of their effectiveness.

c. Budget totals should factor in costs for finalizing the intervention model and plan at the beginning and sharing the results of the evaluation at the end with key stakeholders including impacted local populations and stakeholders as well as other relevant policymakers and practitioners in broader settings. Dissemination events with relevant groups can be in person, online, or via other means and should include analysis on if the model was successful, why it was successful, and how it might be effectively adapted or scaled to other contexts.

9) Organizational Capacity and Partnerships: Describe the capacities and qualifications that enable your organization and partners to implement the proposed intervention in the proposed location, as well as to conduct the accompanying evaluation. Briefly provide a summary of the roles of each partner as envisioned at this stage.

a. Further guidance:

i. Applications are strongly encouraged from organizations based in the country where interventions are proposed. Applicants should possess significant contextual expertise and existing relationships with key stakeholders within the local system (government, civil society, etc.) or be partnered with a local organization(s) with such capacity.

ii. Similarly, partners included to support MERL initiatives should possess significant contextual expertise in the target countries, human trafficking issues, and methodology/ies proposed (e.g., local universities, research institutions, etc.).

iii. Note that applications are welcomed from organizations with minimal prior experience implementing government grants, and costs for building grant management capacity may be included under this opportunity.

Annex A (Optional):

• If the applicant has a developed a theory of change or logic model for the intervention, they may choose to include it for review with this application, however, submitting Annex A is optional and is not an application requirement. The TIP Office will accept both narrative and visual theories of change or logic models. Applicants may provide a theory of change or logic model that has been developed for the intervention in another context or geography as an illustrative design that can be adapted for implementation under this award.

• Annex A can be submitted as a pdf, word, jpeg, or excel file, may include differing fonts, margins, or colors, and should be no more than 2 pages on 8 ½ x 11-inch paper.

• Additional annexes (other than the optional Annex A) are unallowable and will result in failure of the technical review.

D. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

1. Applicants

The following organizations are eligible to apply:

• U.S.-based and foreign non-profits

• Non-governmental organizations, including faith-based organizations

• Public international organizations (PIOs)

• Institutions of higher education

• For-profit entities

• U.S. government agencies

Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards to earn a profit. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs. The allowability of costs incurred by commercial organizations is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR 30, Cost Accounting Standards Administration, and 48 CFR 31 Contract Cost Principles and Procedures.

U.S. government agencies may respond to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) with applications for projects that would be funded through an Interagency Agreement (IAA). While foreign governments are not eligible to apply, governments may be beneficiaries of projects provided that funding does not pay salaries of government agency personnel and that such assistance is not restricted by U.S. law or policy.

Organizations currently receiving funds from the TIP Office may apply for additional funding under the present funding opportunity. The eligibility requirements for applying to this funding opportunity do not restrict applicants from receiving other sources of funding from the U.S. government, including from other bureaus within the Department of State.

Under this funding opportunity, applicants may form a consortium and partner with other organizations to implement and carry out project activities. Applicants partnering with other organizations must clearly identify the lead applicant, and the lead applicant may designate one or more partner organizations as sub-recipients. For the purposes of this funding opportunity, a partner organization is any organization that would receive sub-award funding from a successful applicant to help the applicant organization implement anti-trafficking projects.

All mandatory terms and conditions for a successful applicant also apply to any sub-awards.

The TIP Office is committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all its projects and activities. The TIP Office welcomes applications irrespective of race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or other status.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing, cost matching, and cost participation are not required to carry out a project under this funding opportunity. While not required, applicants may propose to include voluntary cost share. Note that applications that include voluntary cost share will not be evaluated differently than other applications.

3. Audit Requirements

2 CFR § 200, Subpart F requires domestic non-federal entities with greater than $1,000,000 in federal award expenditures in a fiscal year to obtain a single audit or program-specific audit and to submit their reporting package to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC) within the earlier of 30 days after receipt of their auditor’s report, or 9 months after the end of their audit period. Although this provision (2 CFR §200, Subpart F) is not applicable to foreign non-profit and foreign for-profit organizations, the Department of State requires such recipients, if they expend $1,000,000 or more in Department of State funds in the organization’s fiscal year, whether as a prime or a subrecipient, to undergo a recipient-contracted single or program-specific audit annually. The cost of required audits may be charged either as an allowable direct cost to the award or included in the organization’s Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate or de minimis indirect costs. When completed, audits should be submitted to the Grants Officer (GO) assigned to the award. Foreign Public Entities may choose to submit audits as part of the pre-award process, but this should not be a mandatory requirement for such organizations.

4. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and System for Award Management (SAM) Registration

All organizations, whether based in the United States or in another country, must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and an active registration in SAM.gov. A UEI is one of the data elements mandated by Public Law 109-282, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), for all Federal awards. An applicant must maintain an active registration while it has a proposal under review by the Department and must continue to keep the registration active for the entire duration of the period of performance of any Federal award that results from this

NOFO.

The 2 CFR 200 requires subrecipients to obtain a UEI. Please note the UEI for subrecipients is not required at the time of application but will be required before an award is processed and/or directed to a subrecipient.

Note: The process of obtaining or renewing a SAM.gov registration may take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Please begin your registration as early as possible.

Organizations based in the United States or that pay employees within the United States will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a UEI prior to registering in SAM.gov.

Organizations based outside of the United States and that do not pay employees within the United States do not need an EIN from the IRS but do need a UEI prior to registering in SAM.gov.

Organizations based outside of the United States that do not intend to apply for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awards are no longer required to have a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) code to apply for non-DoD foreign assistance funding opportunities. If an applicant organization is mid-registration and wishes to remove an NCAGE code from their SAM.gov registration, the applicant should submit a help desk ticket (“incident”) with the Federal Service Desk (FSD) online at www.fsd.gov using the following language: “I do not intend to seek financial assistance from the Department of Defense. I do not wish to obtain an NCAGE code. I understand that I will need to submit my registration after this incident is resolved in order to have my registration activated.”

Organizations based outside of the United States and that DO NOT plan to do business with the DoD should follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Proceed to SAM.gov to obtain a UEI and complete the SAM.gov registration process. SAM.gov registration must be renewed annually.

Organizations based outside of the United States and that DO plan to do business with the DoD in addition to Department of State should follow the below instructions:

https://www.fsd.gov/

Step 1: Apply for an NCAGE code by following the instructions on the NSPA NATO website linked below:

NCAGE Homepage:

https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/sc/CageList.aspx

NCAGE Code Request Tool (NCRT): NCAGE Code Request Tool (nato.int)

Exemptions An exemption from the UEI and sam.gov registration requirements may be permitted on a case-by-case basis. See 2 CFR 25.110 for a full list of exemptions.

Organizations requesting exemption from UEI or SAM.gov requirements must email the point of contact listed in the NOFO at least two weeks prior to the deadline in the NOFO providing a justification of their request. Approval for a SAM.gov exemption must come from the warranted Grants Officer before the application can be deemed eligible for review.

E. APPLICATION CONTENTS AND FORMAT

To be competitive under this funding opportunity, applicants must be fully responsive to all directions in this document. Please pay close attention to all SOI requirements, including font and formatting requirements, and ensure that your application satisfies these requirements. Failure to do so will result in an automatic failure of the technical review and ineligibility for further consideration in this open competition for funding.

1. Programming Priorities To be considered for funding, all applications must build on the specific priority or priorities identified in this NOFO. Applicants pursuing multiple awards must submit separate SOI applications for each project.

2. Formatting Unless otherwise specified, all required documents must be written in the English language and submitted as Microsoft Word documents using one-inch margins and formatted to 8 ½ x 11-inch paper. All documents must use text that is black in color, 12-point in size, and either Calibri or Aptos fonts. All budget figures must be in U.S. dollars.

https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/sc/CageList.aspx

3. Required Documents Complete applications must include the following documents to be considered for funding:

• Project Narrative: The project narrative must not exceed five pages while complying with the font and formatting requirements. Applicants must clearly list the name of their organization, the region, country, and priority for which they are applying, the initial period funding amount, the total funding amount, and the point of contact and contact information for the application in bold at the top of the first page of the narrative. Citations, footnotes, charts, and other graphics are included in the five-page limit.

Applicants are reminded to double-check the page count prior to submission. Applicants must comply with all technical and substantive requirements provided in this NOFO. Applications will be assessed according to the evaluation criteria laid out in Section G, Application Review Criteria, below.

F. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND DEADLINE

1. Application and Submission Platform

All applications must be fully submitted via MyGrants (formerly SAMS-Domestic) by the application deadline (17:00 EST/EDT on February 4, 2025). MyGrants can be found at https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants. The TIP Office will not accept applications or updated documents submitted by any other method, including email, fax, the postal system, delivery companies, couriers, or U.S.

embassies.

To address and avoid delays caused by technical issues, applicants are strongly encouraged to initiate the electronic application early in the application period and to submit their application before or early on the due date. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that it has an active registration in MyGrants. Applicants are required to document that the application has been received in its entirety by MyGrants. The TIP Office bears no responsibility for disqualification that results from applicants not being registered before the due date, for system errors in MyGrants, or other errors in the application process.

https://mygrants.service-now.com/grants

Beginning with MyGrants as a New User Organizations using MyGrants for the first time must register on the MyGrants website to create a New Applicant account as soon as possible. This application step must be completed before an application can be submitted. To register with MyGrants, click the “Create an Account” link and complete the “MyGrants User Registration Request” application form. Users will receive an email requesting account verification. This verification step must be completed before an application can be submitted.

If the applicant has previously received funding from the Department of State, please submit a ticket through ILMS (see Support below) and contact JTIPGrants@state.gov after the account has been created to ensure the account is associated with the correct organization. If an applicant has not previously received funding from the Department of State, the TIP Office cannot associate a new account in MyGrants to an organization. Note that a new user account does not need to be associated with an organization in order to submit an application.

Submitting Applications in MyGrants To upload the application, navigate to MyGrants, select “Apply, then Funding Opportunities,” and select the “Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Programs” funding opportunity. Select the “Apply Here” button, enter the applicant organization’s information, and click the “Save” button. Complete each portion of the application in the corresponding section of the “Additional Documents to Be Submitted” tab. Please ensure that you select “Allow anyone in my organization to edit this proposal” to ensure other members of your organization have access to edit this application.

Electronic applications submitted via MyGrants must contain the completed SF- 424 online forms and all required documents specified in this funding opportunity. All application documents must be submitted in English.

Support

For assistance with MyGrants, please contact the ILMS Support Desk at 1-(888)- 313-4567 (toll free for international callers) or submit a ticket using the ILMS Self Service Portal (https://afsitsm.service-now.com/ilms/home). Customer Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please note support hours may change mailto:JTIPGrants@state.gov https://afsitsm.service-now.com/ilms/home on Federal holidays. Direct questions regarding the process of uploading applications to Customer Support. Technical difficulties not resolved by the Support Desk by the time of submission must be fully documented and reported to the TIP Office at JTIPGrants@state.gov only. Please do not contact any other Department of State personnel.

2. Submission Dates and Times All applications must be fully submitted via MyGrants (formerly SAMS-Domestic) no later than (17:00EST/EDT on February 4, 2025).

3. Late Submissions Late submission will only be accepted due to technical difficulties near the deadline, and only with proper documentation. If an organization experiences difficulty submitting an application near the deadline, their application will only be accepted late if they have opened a ticket with the ILMS Support Desk to resolve the problem prior to the deadline and have emailed jtipgrants@state.gov before the deadline with the ticket number and a brief explanation of the problem.

The application process is not complete until the applicant receives notification from MyGrants that its application has been validated and forwarded to the granting agency (TIP Office). Please allow sufficient time for entering the application into these systems and to troubleshoot any issues. It is the responsibility of the applicant to monitor its application to ensure that it is successfully received and validated.

4. Funding Restrictions The U.S. Department of State restricts the use of federal assistance funds for certain purposes as listed below.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). None of the funds awarded resulting from this Notice of Funding Opportunity may be made available for subawards, direct financial support, or otherwise used to provide any payment or transfer to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Activities Encouraging Mass-Migration Caravans towards the United States Southwest Border. None of the funds awarded under this grant may be made available to encourage, mobilize, publicize, or manage mass-migration caravans mailto:jtipgrants@state.gov towards the United States southwest border. Funds may not be made available for legal counseling on the United States asylum process; and/or for referrals to legal or representation in the United States.