Grant Application Instructions(ENG).doc

Small Grants Program

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

READ CAREFULLY THESE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE COMPLETING THE APPLICATION FORM

· USE ONLY THE STANDARD FORM. PROJECTS SUBMITTED IN ANY OTHER FORMAT WILL BE DISQUALIFIED

· EACH SPACE FOR YOUR ANSWERS IS RESTRICTED.

· THE APPLICATION FORM MUST BE COMPLETED IN ENGLISH. PROJECTS SUBMITTED IN OTHER LANGUAGES WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

· MAKE SURE YOUR ORGANIZATION MEETS THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.

· MAKE SURE THAT THE PROJECT YOU ARE SUBMITTING IS RELATED TO AT LEAST ONE OF PROGRAM PRIORITIES

· WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU KEEP A COPY OF THE COMPLETED FORM FOR YOUR RECORDS.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION:

1.1. Applicant Organization

a. Organization Name (English): Enter the full name of the applicant organization in English.

b. Organization Name (Original): Enter the full name of the applicant organization in English and Arabic

c. Address: Enter the complete physical address of the organization (street, number, floor, office/apartment #)

d. City: Enter town

e. District: Enter district

f. Website: Specify the address of the website. Write none if the applicant does not have a website

g. UEI: unique entity identifier (UEI) and sam.gov registration.

1.2. Organization leader

a. Last Name: Enter last name of the leader of applicant organization

b. First Name: Enter first name of the leader of applicant organization

c. Telephone: Enter contact telephone number of the leader (fixed line)

d. Mobile: Enter contact telephone number of the leader (Mobile)

e. Fax: Enter the fax number

f. E-mail: Enter e-mail address of the leader of organization. If you have multiple e-mail addresses, include the one you check more often.

1.3. Project Coordinator (if different)

a. Last Name: Enter last name of the project coordinator

b. First Name: Enter first name of the project coordinator

c. Telephone: Enter contact telephone number of the project coordinator

d. Mobile: Enter contact mobile telephone number of the project coordinator

f. E-mail: Enter e-mail address of the project coordinator

2. BACKGROUND OF ORGANIZATION:

2.1. Description

Provide a short description of the organization. Try to answer the following questions:

· What kind of organization is it?

· What is the main mission of the organization?

· What is the primary target group (beneficiaries) of the NGO (youth, elderly, women, students, unemployed, etc)?

2.2. Past Grants (Embassy)

List the grants the organization has received in the past from the U.S. Embassy:

Start with the most recent grants.

For each grant include grant period, project title/brief description and the amounts received in US dollars.

2.3. Past Grants (Other)

List the grants the organization has received in the past from other donor agencies:

Start with the most recent grants.

For each grant include grant period, project title/brief description and the amounts received in US dollars.

3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

3.1. Project information

a. Project Name: Include a short descriptive name for the submitted project proposal.

b. Project topic: Choose the theme from the list which best represents the theme of your proposal

c. Amount requested: Include the dollar-amount of the grant requested from the U.S. Embassy

d. Duration (months): Include the duration of the project in months. Note that the duration of the project cannot exceed 12 (twelve) months.

e. Start date (month/year): Include the anticipated start date of the project. The full process may take up to three months. We recommend that you keep this in mind when planning your project.

f. End date (month/year): Include the anticipated end date of the project

3.2. Executive summary: (max. 1500 characters)

This is the summary of the entire proposal and should include brief descriptions of key information from each section of the proposal. The Executive Summary should answer the following questions:

· Who is requesting a grant?

· Why are you requesting it?

· How much are you requesting?

· What problems will you address and where?

· How long will the project last?

· What are your goals and objectives?

· How will you meet those goals and objectives? (What are the activities?)

· What results do you expect to achieve?

We recommend that you write this part after you will have completed other parts of the application.

3.3. Project Justification: (max. 2000 characters)

Write about the problem the project intends to address and the credibility and qualifications of the organization. Describe the problem or need for the project:

· Why should we pay attention to the problem you describe? Be brief.

· Provide up-to-date statistics and research findings. Cite each statistic or finding with a parenthetical citation.

· Discuss the type of project that is needed to address the problem.

· Discuss relevance for Iraq

3.4. Project Goal and Objectives ( max. 1500 characters)

In this section of the proposal, list the overall project goal and the specific objectives.

Goal

The project goal refers to a general, long-term change, such as a change in attitudes or in public policy. Due to limitations in the scope of the intervention, geographic coverage, and available resources, a single project usually will not be able to achieve the goal by itself, but will contribute to the achievement of the goal. Thus, you will usually not attempt to measure your goal during the life of your project.

Tips for writing goals:

· Refer to the major social problem

· Refer to your focus population and location

· Use clear terminology Sample goal: To reduce maternal mortality and morbidity related to unsafe abortion by changing laws and policies to favor access to safe and legal abortion services for women in Country Z.

Objectives

Objectives refer to the intermediate changes desired among the focus population or in their environment, and describe the expected results of your project. Objectives are more specific than goals and refer to a specific location and time period. Unlike a goal, which a project will only partially contribute to achieving, the project objectives do need to be achievable and measurable within the scope of the project.

Later, as the project is implemented, you should report on each objective and provide data demonstrating the degree to which the project objectives specified in the proposal were met. In other words, the project objectives will need to be measured by the project.

Well-written objectives identify:

· WHO will be reached

· WHAT change will be achieved

· IN WHAT TIME PERIOD the change will be achieved

· WHERE (in what location)

· Relevance for Iraq It is important that objectives be realistic, not just impressive, as unfounded objectives undercut the credibility of the entire project.

Objectives should be "SMART":

· Specific to avoid differing interpretations

· Measurable to monitor and evaluate progress (preferably numerical

· Appropriate to the problems, goal and your organization

· Realistic achievable, yet challenging and meaningful

· Time-bound - with a specific time for achieving them Sample objective: At the end of the one-year project, increase awareness among national policymakers (legislators and Ministry of Health officials), women's groups and other nongovernmental organizations of the consequences and extent of unsafe abortion in Country Z and strategies to address it (emergency contraception, post-abortion care, and safe abortion services).

Present your objectives as "Objective 1," "Objective 2," and so on; this will help you refer to them in other parts of the document.

3.5. Project Activities ( max. 6000 characters)

In this section of the proposal, provide more details about the specific activities that will be conducted. The activities should support the achievement of the objectives and be related to the indicators.

For each activity, discuss:

· How will it be done or carried out?

· Why did you choose these activities?

· Who will conduct the activity?

· Who are the beneficiaries? Will the beneficiaries be involved in the design, implementation or evaluation of the activity?

· How many beneficiaries will be directly involved?

· How will you recruit or attract them? How can you maximize their participation in the activity?

· When will the activity occur? For how long? What will be the frequency of the activity? (Will it happen once, or will it be repeated?)

· What materials will you need to conduct the activity? Will materials or curricula have to be developed or do the materials already exist? Will the materials need to be adapted to the new population, and if so, how?

· Will your organization collaborate with other organizations to carry out the activity? What will be the role of each organization?

The activities described in this section need to be consistent with the budget.

3.6. Monitoring and evaluation (max. 2000 characters)

This section provides details on how the effects of the intervention will be measured. In addition, a well-designed monitoring and evaluation plan will enable project staff to understand how the project is functioning and to make programmatic decisions throughout the life of the project.

The monitoring and evaluation section should answer the following questions:

· What indicators will be measured?

· Where will the information or data come from?

· Who will collect the data?

· How and how often will data be collected?

· How and how often will reporting occur?

3.7. Key Personnel (max. 2000 characters)

We want to be convinced that the project will be carried out successfully, and that the human resources are adequate for the tasks proposed. In this section of the proposal, describe:

· Who will work on the project?

· What responsibilities will they have?

· What qualifications do they have?

· What proportion of their time will be used to support the project?

If volunteers will constitute a significant portion of the human resources needed for the completion of the activities, then this can be described as Key Personnel and their responsibilities and qualifications should be specified.

If your project will rely on a consultant, include the consultant in this section as well. Discuss whether you already have the staff needed for the project, or whether the staff needs to be identified and hired.

3.8. Project Partners (max. 1000 characters)

Who will be your partners in implementation of this project? Describe the role of each partner.

3.9. Strengths and Innovation (max. 1500 characters)

Providing funds to an organization is not only an opportunity to address important issues, but also a risk. To help minimize the risk and to reassure that the project will meet its objectives, it is important to convey the strengths of the project. This may relate to your organization, your partners, your experience with the focus populations, the fact that the strategies have been successful elsewhere, and so on.

In addition, we want to consider new initiatives, pilot projects, or projects with innovative qualities. This section of the proposal is a place for you to reiterate what is innovative or interesting about your project, what sets it apart from other projects. Talk about the innovative features in the project design, in the process of conducting the project, or in the programmatic elements. For example, if you will reach out to youth with new technology as part of the project, this may be considered innovative if it has not been done before. If you are reaching out to a population that has been neglected before, mention this. If your organization is forging links between groups that have never worked together before in order to address the same goals, then discuss this. The innovative qualities of a project should be highlighted in the Executive Summary and discussed in the Activities sections of the proposal, as well.

Some projects are justifiably not striving for innovation; rather, they may be implementing strategies that have been proven to be effective. In this case, you may choose to focus on the strengths of the project.

3.10. Sustainability (max. 2000 characters)

Sustainability refers to the ability of a project to continue once the initial grant or external source of funding has ended.

Thinking about the Sustainability of a new project may seem difficult. You may wonder, "If the project has not even started, how can we plan for its continuation?" The following reasons justify thinking about Sustainability:

· To ensure that beneficiaries will continue to be served

· To reassure the donors that their investment will not be lost

· To convince the donor that you have planned wisely for the future of your project

· To ensure that the organization's investment (direct and indirect) is not lost

Although assuring the continuation of activities beyond a period of donor funding is a challenge, it is possible. Designing your project appropriately from the beginning can help. Some strategies to generate local income or to cover the costs of the project that could be explored are as follows:

· Integrate the project into your organization's budget and cover its costs through normal fundraising means.

· Seek other local, national, or international donors who can support the project and may have a long- term interest in the project's success.

· Sign agreements or enter into collaborations with other institutions, such as governmental agencies, which can assume some responsibility for the project or can finance the project.

· Involve the community or beneficiaries in planning for the Sustainability of a project that affects them.

· Offer to sell your organizational expertise gained from the project to other organizations, through the provision of technical assistance or training.

· Improve efficiency and reduce costs.

· Collect fees from clients or users for services and products provided, as appropriate.

· The project itself may not need to continue, but aspects of it may be incorporated into the regular work of the organization. For example, if your project created guidelines for a special kind of service delivery, these may be included in the overall protocols and training materials of the organization.

In the proposal, it is important to demonstrate you have thought about the issue, and will explore strategies that are feasible to achieve some level of Sustainability.

4. BUDGET:

The Budget section should reflect the staffing and resource requirements for the project. It should include costs for personnel, materials, equipment, and activities mentioned in the proposal. Make sure that this section is as clear as possible. The Budget should be accompanied by a narrative. We should be able to look at the Budget and the accompanying Budget Narrative and see almost everything we need to know to make a decision about the project. The Budget relates directly to the Activities described in the proposal. Consider the following tips relating to the budget format and costs:

Format

• Figures can be rounded to the nearest single unit of currency.

• Budget should be presented in U.S. dollars.

Unallowable Items:

· Furniture;

· Construction services and construction materials

· Public utilities (heating, gas, electricity);

· Office rent

· Prizes, entertainment, alcoholic beverages;

Budget items with limitations:

Meals (working lunches, coffee breaks, dinners). The amount requested for meals cannot exceed 10% of the total requested from the Embassy. Whenever possible, try to cover the costs related to these expenses from own contribution or contribution of other donors. The goal of our grants is to teach timeless principles, food -- which has no intrinsic educational value and (usually) no lasting effect -- wouldn't seem to be the best thing on which to spend our limited funds. Make absolutely sure it is integral to the program event i.e. a clear necessity for the success of the project. Your grant funds may never pay for alcoholic beverages or entertainment. If they are indeed deemed necessary for the success of an event, get someone else to pay for it. In cases when restaurants are readily available, a better solution than providing food is providing per diem.

Salaries. Salaries may be paid only to persons directly involved in the project. Staff costs should reflect salaries by monthly rate, and the proportion of their time to be spent on the project. For example: Project Coordinator (100%) @$100/month x 12 months = $1,200

Total salary levels (including other sources) should be reasonable and no higher than other local salaries, and certainly US salaries, for similar work.

They should be calculated based on the total number of hours to be worked by the employees for the duration of the project. Try to take into account other work they may be performing for other projects or activities when estimating the total hours worked each day on your project.

Equipment: Equipment costs must be well researched and justified. From the Activities section, and the Budget narrative, it should be clear why your project needs new equipment, e.g. a computer projector. Items that appear unreasonably expensive, or surprisingly inexpensive, will undermine the credibility of the proposal and the project.

4.1. Budget Summary

Category: Enter budget Category, for example Salaries and Honoraria, Equipment, Travel and Transportation, etc. You may have up to 7 budget categories Description: Provide some details about the category. For example:

Project Coordinator ($100/month x 12 months) Training Coordinator ($100/month x 12 months)

Accountant ($50/month x 12 months)

Total: Calculate the total per category.

Requested: Amount requested from the U.S. Embassy

Other contribution: Amount requested from other donor

Note: You may be asked to submit a detailed budget in a spreadsheet format

4.2 Contributions from international donors

If you seek funding from other international donors or in the event that you have received partial contribution to this project, make sure you specify this information in this section. An international donor means a grant-making institution which may, or may not, have an office in Iraq. It may be a foreign government, foreign private company, or private foundation.

Donor agency: Include the name of the donor agency: E.g. Soros Foundation Iraq Description/Details: Include details about the contribution. E.g. Transportation costs ($500); Equipment ($5000)… Total: Enter the total U.S. dollar amount of contribution requested/received from donor Status: Choose the status of your application:

· Approved: The donor has committed its support to this project. You may be asked to provide a confirmation letter.

· Projected: You are planning to apply for contribution

· Pending: You have applied and your are awaiting the results

4.3 Local contribution

If you have local contribution to this project, make sure you specify it in this section. Local contribution means any cash or in-kind contributions from individuals, local businesses, and/or local administration.

Contributor: Specify the name of the contributing institution/individual Description/Details: Provide details about contribution (E.g. Free use of training facility) Total: Include the total value of contribution. In case of in-kind contribution, provide the estimated value in U.S. Dollars. E.g. If the organization is providing a computer which will be used throughout the project, don’t include the value of the computer, include the cost of using this computer, i.e. imagine you would have to rent a computer from a company.

Type: Choose the type of the contribution. It may be cash or in-kind.

4.4 Own contribution

This is the section where you have to specify the input of your organization into the project. Your organization may be contributing with cash, or monetary means, or have an in-kind contribution, or non-monetary contribution, to the project (volunteer work, equipment use, use of facilities)

Category: Specify the budget category (E.g. Salaries; Food and Refreshments, Equipment) Description/Details: Provide details about category Total: Provide dollar amount of the contribution Type: Choose the type of the contribution. It may be cash or in-kind.

4.5 Budget narrative

PRINT \* MERGEFORMAT This is a narrative description of the budget that clearly explains to the donor what is included in each budget line.

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