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Guidelines for administration of the US Embassy Riga's Small Grants program

The US Embassy Riga’s Small Grants Program was initiated as a flexible mechanism to enable the US Embassy to support initiatives that contribute to more open and competitive political and economic systems and the protection of human rights. The following are program guidelines that the Embassy follows as they respond to the situation in Latvia and MPP/MSP objectives. The Embassy also adheres to USG rules and regulations pertaining to grants administration. Questions related to US Embassy Riga’s Small Grants Program may be referred to the Embassy’s Public Affairs Section at pas@usembassy.lv or +371-721-6571.

A. Program Summary

  1. The implementing office at the Embassy is the Public Affairs Section (PAS), which is under the authority of the Ambassador.
  2. The Ambassador may choose whether to review and approve grant requests.
  3. Grants are aimed primarily at indigenous NGOs. Grants are awarded on the basis of a determination of need by the PAS staff.
  4. Funds are disbursed by the Public Affairs Officer or other public diplomacy grants officer.

B. Proposal Guidelines

Eligibility:

  1. The Embassy may award grants to indigenous non-profit organizations and individuals.
  2. American or third country organizations and individuals are not eligible for grants
  3. Grants are normally made on a one-time basis. A repeat grant to a particularly worthy organization may be issued if post determines the activity advances a clearly defined priority objective.

Themes:

  1. Grants should support initiatives such as promotion of civil society; free flow of information (including support for independent media); transparency in government; public education and advocacy; association building; rule of law and legal reform; conflict resolution; human rights; civic education; environment; market economy; anti-trafficking and anti-corruption awareness campaigns and training; ethnic, minority, and women’s equality, and art and culture.
  2. Grants may not be used for partisan political activity. However, public education, get-out-the-vote, election monitoring and other non-partisan election activities may be supported.
  3. Grants may be used to promote non-discrimination and tolerance for disadvantaged minorities, but should not be used to promote the particular agenda of a specific group, practice, or lifestyle over any other. Close attention should be given to applications addressing tolerance and human rights (focusing on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation), HIV/AIDS, trafficking in persons, and similar issues. Before awarding any grant related to these issues, Embassy staff must brief grantees on the distinction between support for human rights and our inability to advocate for a specific lifestyle or the views of any specific organization.

Allowable Budget Items:

  1. Grants should not provide for long-term infrastructure needs that are not sustainable once grant funds are depleted.
  2. Salaries, overhead, equipment, and other administrative expenses are allowable only as they relate to specific project activities. Salary or honoraria should be listed according to rate of pay and percentage of time spent on program-related activities. While salary expenses are permissible for indigenous personnel, payment of honoraria and other expenses for foreign experts will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
  3. Funds for representational events should not be more than 10% of the total project budget.

C. Application Process

  1. Proposals may be submitted directly to PAS by email at pas@usembssy.lv or by mail to US Embassy, Smilsu 7, Riga, LV-1050.
  2. Review of grant proposals is carried out by PAS. The purpose of the review is to ensure compliance with program parameters and to verify that budgets are accurate and allowable.
  3. Approval time for grants is usually no more than five working days.
  4. Grant proposals do not need to follow any particular length or format but should include the following information:
    • Organization Information
      • Name of Organization
      • Address of Organization
      • Organization Website and E-Mail, if applicable
      • Name of Director of Project and/or Organization
    • Project Title
    • Amount Requested
    • Project Purpose and Description
    • Project Dates
    • Budget Breakdown
  5. Budgets may be calculated in Latvian Lats or U.S. dollars (total should be rounded to the nearest Lat or dollar).

E. Grants Administration

  1. Department of State policy stipulates that the Department’s and the U.S. Embassy’s seal or logo shall be used only on official Department documents. It may not be used by non-USG entities. This is to prevent the seal from being viewed as an endorsement of a particular grantee or a grantee’s activities. The seal can be used with special permission from the US Embassy. For example, on a conference agenda where the Department is sponsor or co-sponsor of the conference. In these cases, the grantee should not include the seal in its printed or electronic materials without getting approval for each use with the Department of State or U.S. Embassy.
  2. All publications produced under Embassy grants must contain a disclaimer. According to Article XII of the standard grant agreement for the Department, “Any publications or articles resulting from this research shall acknowledge the support of the Department of State and will include a disclaimer as follows: ‘This project was funded, in part, through a U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the Authors(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of State.’” Article XII should be considered to apply to all publications, not just those resulting from grantee's research, and posts must ensure that this disclaimer be included on all brochures, flyers, posters, billboards, or other graphic artwork that are produced under the terms of the grant. Embassy funding should not be used for any publications or materials that contain graphics, pictures, or artwork that could be construed as advocacy for lifestyles or the beliefs of an organization. In the event that posts decide that graphics, artwork, media, or publications are appropriate, all such material must be vetted with the Embassy prior to the publication and dissemination of the materials. This is a requirement for all grants.
  3. The Embassy must also adhere to Department of State guidelines and USG rules and regulations pertaining to grants administration.

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