Closed · MWI-ASSHF-FY18 · CFDA 19.700 · Continuation

U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund, U.S. Embassy Lilongwe

Federal grant opportunity posted by U.S. Mission to Malawi, cataloged on Grants.gov.

$3K-$15K
Award range
Closed
Status
July 9, 2019
Close date
10
Expected awards

The verdict

U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund, U.S. Embassy Lilongwe is a closed continuation listing from U.S. Mission to Malawi that offered $3,000 -- $15,000 across 10 expected awards. Future funding cycles may be published under the same CFDA number. PlainGrants indexes 23 other opportunities from U.S. Mission to Malawi.

$3K-$15K
award range
Closed
application status
10
expected awards
19.700
CFDA program

Archived opportunity record

U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund is closed (last close July 9, 2019). Check the agency catalog for replacement NOFOs. U.S. Mission to Malawi still indexes 23 other opportunities here.

According to Grants.gov (extract vintage 2026-08-10), this record reflects the officially published listing. See methodology.

Deadline tracker

Application window closed

Closed July 9, 2019

Posted Jun 3 Closes Jul 9

Est. Total Funding

$100,000

Expected Awards

10

Instrument

Grant

Cost Sharing

Required

Description

The U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self-Help (SSH) Fund was established in Malawi in 1966 as a way to address urgent development needs at the community level. The goal of the fund is to improve the basic economic or social conditions of Malawians at the local community or village level. Over the past 50 years, this fund has disbursed over $6 million to 1,463 projects covering all 28 Districts in Malawi. Projects funded have included classroom blocks, under-five clinics, pregnant mothers waiting shelters, school libraries, girls’ hostels, installation of biogas digesters, eco-stove production, and provision of clean and safe drinking water through boreholes and shallow wells. This grass-roots grant assistance program allows U.S. Ambassadors to support local requests for small community-based development projects. The purpose of this program is to fund small development activities that generate public awareness of U.S. foreign assistance efforts but that fall outside the structure of established USAID projects. The program is intended to be flexible and allow the Ambassador to respond quickly and directly to requests from local communities for assistance with small community projects that have immediate impact and further Mission policies and objectives. Equally important, this program is structured to encourage communities to be self-reliant and undertake similar activities on their own in the future. All are community-based, initiated locally, administered at the local level, and include significant community contributions in cash, labor, or materials. The SSH philosophy is to help communities that are ready to help themselves. The U.S. Embassy funds a variety of projects each year, with an objective to obtain geographical diversity in project selection. Projects for which women and girls are the primary beneficiaries are encouraged. We will not consider projects that benefit only small number of individuals. Each grant ranges from between USD $3,000 and USD $15,000.

Catch-all / unrestricted eligibility mark · MWI-ASSHF-FY18

Grants.gov marks U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund with a catch-all / unrestricted eligibility code (Others (see official listing text)). Read the official announcement text for the real applicant filter — the code alone is not a door list. Applicant cost-sharing is required on the Grants.gov extract. Instrument: Grant. Funding-activity code maps to Community Development (CD). This eligibility-code string dominates the U.S. Mission to Malawi book (15 peers, 63% of 24).

Code 25
Others (see official listing text)

Codes are Grants.gov eligibility category values from the extract vintage 2026-08-10. Confirm the full eligibility statement on the official listing or the Grants.gov eligibility reference.

Official Listing on Grants.gov

View full details, application forms, and submission instructions.

View on Grants.gov

Agency Contact

Kisa L Ngoma Grantor Phone 265887010655

What to do next

U.S. Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund is closed; use the parent program and agency catalog for the next funding cycle.

  • Browse open federal opportunities in the same category when this listing is closed. Open opportunities
  • Look up CFDA 19.700 across all indexed listings before you commit to this opportunity alone. Eligibility finder
  • Compare award ranges across federal categories before you pick a single CFDA. All categories

Opportunity deadlines and eligibility change on Grants.gov; PlainGrants mirrors the extract and is not the submission system.

Disclaimer: This information is sourced from Grants.gov and SAM.gov and is for informational purposes only. Opportunity details, deadlines, and eligibility requirements change frequently. Always verify current information directly on Grants.gov before applying. PlainGrants is not affiliated with any federal agency.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from the SAM.gov Assistance Listings and Grants.gov. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainGrants