Cultural Grants Program

U.S. Department Of State U.S. Embassy Sarajevo, Office Of Public Affairs Notice Of Funding Opportunity

Overview:

The goal of the U.S. Embassy’s Cultural Grants Program is to support programs that share the richness and diversity of American culture with the Bosnian public and to promote mutual understanding and cultural dialogue between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Grants generally range between $1,000 and $15,000 are awarded to non-profit organizations and institutions for artistic and cultural performances, guest speakers/directors/performers, the rights to American works, exhibits, workshops, etc., that further the goals of the program. Grants will be reviewed three times annually – on January 31, May 31, and July 31. Proposals should be submitted 3-6 months before the planned event or activity.

What are we looking for?

• A program component that helps build and enhance relationships between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States and/or introduces a new element of American culture to Bosnia and Herzegovina
• A project with strong artistic merit
• An educational component, such as a workshop or master class by a visiting artist
• Projects that benefit a wide group of people or have a plan to amplify the results among the public

Your proposal will also be evaluated on the following:

• Compliance with proposal guidelines and inclusion of mandatory components
• Concrete and logical budget
• Implementation capacity of applicant

How to apply:

Please download the application from this page, complete it in English, and submit it to SarajevoOPAGrants@state.gov. Please read the below instructions carefully before completing your application.

Mandatory application forms:

Your application cannot be reviewed without all of the below elements. All forms and instructions are available on our web site, under Grant Opportunities.

• SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – organizations). Please make sure to include your DUNS number in the application.
• SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs)
• SF-424B (Assurance for Non-Construction programs) is required only for those applicants who registered in SAM.gov before February 2, 2019
• Project Application (6 pages maximum): The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do.
• DUNS Number (to be included on the SF–424 application)
• Screenshot of your SAM registration or a printout of your registration document from the SAM.gov web page.

Please note: Obtaining the DUNS number and registering in the SAM system can take up to one month. We strongly encourage you to start this process as soon as possible, since we cannot review any projects that do not include DUNS numbers and completed SAM.gov registrations.

Application Instructions

• Applicant’s Contact Information
• Basic Information about the Proposal
• Project title:
• Amount requested (USD)/Amount of cost share (USD)/Total cost (USD): Please list the amount of funding requested from the Embassy. If there is a cost share (another organization covering part of the total cost of the project), please list the amount here. Please list the total cost of the project.
• Elevator pitch: In 50 words or less, describe what your project is about and why it should receive support from the U.S. Embassy.
• Description of activities: Explain the activities you plan to implement in the scope of your project, including any educational component.
• How does your project meet the goals of the Cultural Grants Program? Describe how your project brings American culture to the Bosnian public and promotes mutual understanding and cultural dialogue between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Activity locations: List the cities/towns/communities where you will implement the project activities.
• Target audience: Describe the anticipated beneficiaries of your project, including estimated number and age range.
• Proposed dates of project (please bear in mind that proposals should be submitted 3-6 months before the planned event or activity to allow adequate time for proposal review and processing)
• Background of implementing organization: Briefly explain the mission of the organization, examples of past and current programs implemented, as well as its technical and management capacity.
• Previous U.S. Government funding: Indicate whether the implementing organization has received previous funding from the U.S. Government. If so, please state the name of the project, the year and the amount of funding for each project.
• Detailed budget (please review budget guidelines below): Present the budget in the form of a spreadsheet, in USD amounts, dividing the budget into the categories delineated in the application. In case of cost sharing, clearly separate the costs which will be funded by the U.S. Embassy from those which will be funded by the applicant or other donors. If you include co-sharing in your application, you are accountable for providing additional funds and justifying the costs.

Budget Instructions:

Grant funds may not be used for the following:

• Long-term infrastructure needs
• Materials and equipment (unless purchased for the purpose of providing training to the participants)
• Expenses incurred outside of the territory of BiH, such as travel to international conferences, or the purchase of goods or payment of services in other countries
• Provision of direct social services to a population
• Partisan political activity (Note: non-partisan election education and public information activities are allowable.)
• Funding of charitable activity and humanitarian aid, commercial projects, or fund-raising campaigns

How to write your budget:

• Detailed budget should be written in USD, with a maximum amount of $15,000.
• Budget should NOT include VAT expenses.
• Budget costs should be grouped into the following categories:
• Personnel costs (salaries of the engaged personnel, fees for project manager, project coordinator/assistant, and or accountant)
• Fringe (social and pension insurance contributions)
• Travel (transportation costs, lodging, meals and incidentals)
• Supplies (office supplies and other materials for project implementation)
• Contractual (fees for trainers, moderators, experts, and educators, engaged to implement certain project activities on a one-time basis, printing of the promotional materials, renting of space/equipment, broadcasting of TV and radio shows, web site development, and other contractual services needed for project implementation.)
• Other direct costs: (office rent, utilities, phone/fax/internet, office supplies, bank charges, etc.)
• The total of personnel costs, fringe and other direct costs should not exceed 30% of total award amount.
• Costs for food or drink should not exceed 10% of the total award amount.
• The total costs of promotional materials (brochures, banners, T-shirts, posters, leaflets, etc.) should not exceed 10% of the total award amount.
• Alcohol, entertainment, or “miscellaneous” are not allowable expenses.
• Costs incurred before the grant period start date will not be reimbursed.

How to Apply for Required Registrations

Who must apply?

All organizations applying for grants (except individuals) must obtain these registrations. All are free of charge:

• Unique entity identifier from Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS number)
• NCAGE/CAGE code
• SAM registration
• Note: individuals are exempted from the DUNS and SAM.gov registration requirements. Simply enter 123456787 into the DUNS field in the SF-424 form.

First, get your DUNS Number

To get a DUNS number please go to the Dun and Bradstreet website. Please allow ample time as the process can take up to thirty days.

Next, get your NCAGE/CAGE code

• To apply, go to CAGE/NCAGE Code Request page
• Instructions for the NCAGE application process are available here.
• For NCAGE help from outside the U.S., call 1-269-961-7766
• Email: NCAGE@dlis.dla.mil for any problems in getting an NCAGE code.

After you receive your NCAGE code, complete your SAM.gov registration

• To register in the SAM system, go to their web site.
• Please read the quick guide for grants registration attachment which is the part of the application package that is posted on the Embassy web site.
• SAM registration must be renewed annually, so even if you are already registered in SAM from a previous grant, please check to see if your registration is still valid.

Preuzeto sa: ba.usembassy.gov