Sports Envoy 2020 “¡Gol! Empowering women and girls through soccer”

Description

I. Funding Opportunity DescriptionSports diplomacy has emerged as an integral part of efforts to build ever-strengthening relations between the United States and other nations.Sports Envoys are athletes and coaches who travel overseas to lead programs developed by U.S. embassies and consulates. These American coaches and athletes hold sports clinics for young people and their coaches, participate in community outreach activities, and engage youth in a dialogue on the importance of leadership and respect for diversity. II. Purpose of GrantThe goal of this grant is to hold a one-week program to train girls ages 13-17, and mentors ages 18-25 from two at-risk communities on the north coast and/or the D.R.-Haiti border. The soccer clinics coached by two current or retired US women’s soccer players will promote sports as a tool for gender equality and conflict resolution. The program must include life skills, empowerment, health, and/or personal development workshops to help girls create life plans and prevent teenage pregnancy, school dropout and other risky behaviors while promoting healthy choices, good decision making and planning for the future. The program will consist of two two-day clinics (one per community), including both soccer skills clinics and life skills sessions. While the focus for younger participants aged 13-17 would be these soccer and life skills development, young women aged 18-25 would be able to learn from the professional soccer players and other educators to work towards becoming mentors themselves. Alumni of U.S. government exchange programs may be invited to serve as mentors and facilitators. Please reference this suggested calendar and schedule for your proposal: Suggested calendar of activitiesDay 1: Sport Envoys arrive from the U.S. to Santo DomingoDay 2: Meeting with the U.S. Ambassador in the Dominican Republic, pre-program press conference and travel to the first communityDay 3: Clinic day 1 in the first communityDay 4: Clinic day 2 in the first communityDay 5: Travel to second communityDay 6: Clinic day 1 in the second communityDay 7: Clinic day 2 in the second community and post-program press conferenceDay 8: Sport Envoys depart from the D.R. to the U.S. Suggested schedule for the clinicsDay 108:00 – 09:00 Arrival and breakfast09:00 – 10:00 Introductions, ground rules, goals10:00 – 13:00 Soccer clinic13:00 – 14:00 Lunch14:00 – 15:00 Life skills session/mentor training session15:00 – 16:00 Soccer clinic16:00 – 17:00 Life skills session/mentor training session and wrap-up*Players would arrive at 9am and depart at 4pm Day 208:00 – 09:00 Arrival and breakfast09:00 – 10:00 Life skills session/mentor training session10:00 – 13:00 Soccer clinic13:00 – 14:00 Lunch14:00 – 15:00 Life skills session/mentor training session15:00 – 16:00 Soccer clinic16:00 – 17:00 Planning for the future, next steps, evaluation, group photo, certificates*Players would arrive at 9:30am and depart at 5pmTotal: 8 hours of soccer and 4 hours of lifePlease note that there will be a visit and planning meeting with U.S. Embassy staff prior to the workshop. Allowable Activities and CostsTravel expenses from/to the United States for the Sports Envoys will be covered by the U.S. Embassy.Activities that are typically funded include, but are not limited to: In-country transportation, rental of venues for project activities, trainer or speaker expenses, reasonable equipment and materials, meals or refreshments integral to the project goals (i.e. breakfast and lunch for participants and facilitators).Activities that are not typically funded include, but are not limited to: Grants to individuals, academic or scientific research, paying to complete activities begun with other funds, projects that are inherently political in nature or that contain the appearance of partisanship/support to individual or single party electoral campaigns; sustained staff salaries, office space, and overhead/operational expenses; large items of durable equipment or construction programs; alcohol, excessive meals, refreshments, or entertainment; charitable or development activities or the provision of direct social services to a population; programs that support specific religious activities; and fundraising campaignsIII. Award InformationThe Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo reserves the right to award less or more than the funds described in the absence of worthy applications or under such other circumstances as it may deem to be in the best interest of the U.S. government.Eligible organizations interested in submitting an application are encouraged to thoroughly read this request for applications to understand the type of project sought the application submission requirements and the evaluation process. The U.S. government may make the award on the basis of initial applications received, without discussions or negotiations. Therefore, each initial application should contain the applicant’s best terms from a cost and technical standpoint. The U.S. government reserves the right, however, to enter into discussions with one or more applicants in order to obtain clarifications, additional detail or refinements in the program description, budget, or other aspects of an application. IV. Eligibility Information:The U.S. Embassy Santo Domingo Public Affairs Section encourages applications from American and/or Dominican based committed and organized civil-society organizations, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, and academic institutions, that meet all eligibility requirements below. We do not accept grant applications from third country (i.e., not registered or located in the Dominican Republic) for profit organizations or individuals, even if the project will take place in the Dominican Republic. To be eligible for a federal assistance award, in addition to other conditions of this request for applications, organizations must have a commitment to non-discrimination with respect to beneficiaries and adherence to equal opportunity employment practices. Non-discrimination includes equal treatment without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender and political affiliation. By law, commercial firms are ineligible to receive funding through this award mechanism. V. Application SubmissionHow to ApplyThe Sports Envoy program must take place in the 2020, starting no earlier than June 2020 and ending no later than August 2020. Please consider that if approved, this grant must be issued at least two-months prior to the beginning of the program. Applicants should not incur any expenses before the grant is approved. The U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo will not be responsible for any expenses incurred to prepare your application and/or before the grant is approved. The application deadline for this NOFO is Friday, March 13, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. All applicants are typically contacted 6-8 weeks after their proposal submission and are informed whether or not their proposal was selected. Proposals should be submitted online to the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo at the following email address: SantoDomingoGrants@state.gov Applications are accepted in English or Spanish. Final grant agreements will be concluded in English. Applicants will receive a confirmation e-mail from the Embassy to indicate that we have received your proposal. VI. Application DocumentsApplicants must complete the following application form and submit a full project description in accordance with the following instructions and the specified evaluation criteria. The instructions give a broad overview of what the project description should include while the evaluation criteria provide details of more program-specific information that is needed. Small Grants Application (DOC, 535 KB)Cover Sheet: The Small Grants Application includes a cover sheet which provides a summary of the project description with reference to the amount and duration of the funding request.Narrative: In the narrative section of the Small Grants Application, outline a plan of action that describes the scope and detail of how the proposed work will be accomplished.Provide projections of the accomplishments to be achieved for each function or activity in such terms as the number of people to be served and the number of activities accomplished. When accomplishments cannot be quantified by activity or function, list them in chronological order to show the schedule of accomplishments/milestones and their target dates.Provide a list of evaluation efforts to each function or activities listed on your project proposal.List those organizations, cooperating entities, consultants, or other key individuals who will work on the project, along with a short description of the nature of their effort or contribution.Applicants must complete and submit a detailed budget, with narrative explanation for each line item. Please not that translation cost of documents can be included in the budget.Proposals should include all of the information requested in the application guidelines. Proposals will not be considered until all information is received in electronic form. Proposals must be completed in English and budget numbers provided in U.S. dollars. Questions should be addressed to SantoDomingoGrants@state.gov VII. Review and Selection ProcessEach application submitted under this announcement will be evaluated and rated on the basis of the following evaluation criteria. The criteria are designed to assess the quality of the proposed project, and to determine the likelihood of its success. The criteria are closely related and are considered as a whole in judging the overall quality of an application. Points are awarded only to applications that are responsive within the context of this program announcement. Application Evaluation Criteria:Goals and Objectives – The project is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving

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