ALUMNI SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM

CALL FOR PROPOSAL

Grant Funding Amount: up to € 4,000.00

Opening Date: 16 October 2018
Closing Date: 16 November 2018

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Kosovo United States Alumni announces the 2018 Alumni Small Grants Program funded by
the U.S. Embassy in Kosovo. Subject to availability of funds, KUSA will award small grants
as described below to alumni of U.S. Government-funded exchanges and training programs.
KUSA is a not-for-profit association, a diverse, non–partisan, independent group of bright
and creative individuals who are compassionate, action-oriented and who exhibit
uncompromising integrity. KUSA operates as a democracy that values diversity of opinion
and background, fosters open discussion and debate, and supports all alumni equally.
The program seeks to encourage alumni networking, professional development, and civic
involvement by supporting alumni-initiated projects that support civil society involvement
in Kosovo’s reform efforts, encourage tolerance and integration of marginalized or
displaced populations, and celebrate the strong links between the people of the United
States and the people of Kosovo. Specific thematic priorities and program requirements are
described in detail below.

II. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Kosovo United States Alumni is announcing the 2018 Alumni Small Grants Program for
Kosovo. Kosovo is continuing its ambitious effort to reform its institutions to bring
transparency to governance, reduce corruption, enhance democracy, grow its economy and
ensure sustainable development. Alumni of U.S. government-sponsored professional and
academic exchanges have made significant contributions to this effort by sharing skills and
best practices acquired during their U.S. exchange experience with colleagues and
communities across Kosovo. With funding support from the Alumni Small Grants Program,
the U.S. government seeks to support alumni initiatives. These projects will bring Kosovo
United States Alumni to engage with Kosovo citizens by discussing topics of strategic
importance to Kosovo. Successful proposals will bring together alumni of U.S. government-
funded exchange programs to work on a project together.

The Alumni Grant Program will be dedicated to projects targeted at topics such as:

▪ Promoting Rule of Law, Legal Reform and Access to Justice

▪ Anti-Corruption Campaigns and Trainings
▪ Economic Development and Entrepreneurship
▪ Education, particularly for women and minorities and STEM education
▪ Regional Security, including interethnic tolerance and relations with Serbia
▪ Countering violent extremism
▪ Media literacy and programs that counter disinformation

The Alumni Grant Program does NOT fund projects such as following:

▪ Visit of U.S. or international experts

▪ Fundraising campaigns
▪ Projects submitted by for profit, commercial organizations
▪ Projects that aim to support partisan political activity
▪ Projects that take more than a year to implement
▪ Projects that are not being implemented by alumni
▪ Academic Research
▪ Ongoing Projects

III. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

A. Eligibility of Applicants

To be eligible for consideration, applicants must meet the following respective criteria:

▪ Be alumni of the U.S. State Department funded exchange programs including, but
not limited to: IVLP, Fulbright, Humphrey, Ben Franklin, TLP, Access, YES, KYEP,
UGRAD, Ron Brown, Marshall Center and KAEF.
▪ Alumni must be registered members of KUSA.
▪ The project team must consist of at least three alumni.
▪ Kosovo citizen, with permanent residency in Kosovo.
* Please contact us for additional information on registering at grants@[Link]
B. Evaluation Process

A review committee will be composed of representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Pristina,
KUSA Staff, and KUSA Board Members. Each technically eligible application submitted will
be evaluated and rated by the Review Committee on the basis of the criteria set below. It
will take the committee up to one month after the application deadline to complete its
review process. Applicants may be contacted with questions during this review process.

C. Evaluation Criteria

The following evaluation criteria will be used to evaluate and rate each technically eligible
application:

a. Quality and Feasibility of the Project Idea - The project idea is well developed, with
sufficient detail about how activities will be carried out. The proposal demonstrates
originality and outlines clear and achievable objectives.

b. Alumni’s Record and Capacity - The applicants have expertise in the subject area and
demonstrate the ability to perform the proposed activities. The applicant demonstrate
capacity for successful planning and responsible fiscal management. The role of each
alumnus or alumna and other partners is detailed and additional documents of these
representatives are provided.

c. Budget - The budget plan and justification are sufficiently detailed well-organized, and
reasonable. Costs are reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated
results. There are no budget lines labeled miscellaneous expenses. Applicants are
encouraged to provide as much detail as possible so that the committee may determine the
extent to which the request represents an efficient use of U.S. government resources. The
budget demonstrates that the applicant has devoted time to plan for and assess actual
expenses associated with the project instead of providing rough estimates. Cost sharing is
strongly encouraged; however, it is not a requirement of an application in response to this
funding announcement.

d. Beneficiaries or target groups - The applicant has identified appropriate beneficiaries

or target groups in a way that maximizes project outputs and outcomes.

e. Innovative Idea - The project idea and approach are innovative. Proposed project
activities must be concrete, detailed, and supported by a reasonable work plan.
f. Measurement - The applicant has clearly articulated how it will assess and measure its
own performance throughout the project implementation phase using concrete
quantitative and qualitative assessment tools.

g. Sustainability - The project proposal describes clearly the approach that will be used to
ensure maximum sustainability of the project’s results after its completion.

h. Timeline - The proposal includes a reasonable implementation timeline. All the

proposed activities and budget expenses must be completed within the start and end date
of the grant period.

i. Project Management - Project implementation team must consist of at least three

members who are part of KUSA/U.S. State Department Alumni. Applications must include a
clear description of the project management structure. Besides information about the
alumni team members, the proposal should also identify other team members or partners
if there are any.

IV. FUNDING LEVELS AND ALLOWABLE EXPENSES

Requests for funding provided by Kosovo United States Alumni should not exceed
4,000.00 €. Allowable costs are those directly related to the project activities. The budget
should be consistent with the narrative description of the program and should reflect the
applicant’s understanding of the allowable cost principles described below. Applicant must
submit the budget narrative form which provides as much details and information about
each budget line and its allocation.

*Costs incurred before or after the official grant period will not be reimbursed.

A. Cost Sharing - Priority consideration will be given to applications which provide in-kind
contributions and/or coordinate funding with other donors. The Alumni Grants
Commission may encourage applicants to seek funding from other donors and to offer
some type of cost sharing (volunteer time, space, equipment etc.)

B. Budgets cannot include funding requests for the following:

▪ Salary or payment for alumni. (i.e., alumni are expected to volunteer their time).
▪ Entertainment costs (receptions, ceremonies, alcoholic beverages, cocktail
parties, guided tours).
▪ Travel, lodging, or per diem for international participants or speakers at events.
 ▪ Office rent and utilities
▪ Ongoing operating costs and capital improvements
▪ Purchase of furniture and office decorations
▪ Purchase of vehicles
*For more details please refer to Annex II: Budget Instruction

V. How to apply?

Application materials must be submitted by email to grants@[Link]. The subject

line of submission emails should follow this format: Alumni Small Grants Application Project
Title. For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, please email
grants@[Link]. The application forms are available for download at:
[Link]

A. Application Files

In addition to the completed application form, proposals should include the following
documents:

o Application Form
o Budget
o Budget Justification
o Short Bios of team members
o Detailed work-plan (not mandatory)
o Letter of support (not mandatory)

B. Deadline for submission of application

All applications must be submitted by email on or before November 16, 2018, at

grants@[Link]. Applications submitted after that time will be ineligible for
consideration. There will be no exceptions to this application deadline.

C. Period of Performance: This program supports projects up to 6 months in duration.

VII. CONTACT INFORMATION

Should additional information be required, please contact Kosovo United States Alumni at
grants@[Link] or +383 44 573 066.z
APPLICATION CONTENT AND FORMAT

Applicants must follow the instructions and conditions contained herein and supply all
information required.

Failure to furnish all information or comply with stated requirements will result in
disqualification from the competition.

Applicants must set forth full, accurate, and complete information. Providing false or
misleading information in an application will result in disqualification from this and future
Alumni Small Grants competitions.

DISCLAIMER

Applicants can expect to be notified of the status of their application within approximately
40 days of the submission deadline. It does not commit KUSA to pay for costs incurred in
the preparation and submission of proposals. KUSA reserves the right to reject any or all
proposals received. If a proposal is selected for funding, KUSA has no obligation to provide
any additional future funding in connection with the award. KUSA reserves the right to
reduce, revise, or increase proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of the project
evaluation requirements.

* When the grant contract is successful please be aware that:

KUSA and U.S. Embassy logos need to be shown in all material corresponding to the grant.
This includes programs, educational material, and posters. Banners indicating support by the
Embassy needs to be displayed at all events.
APPENDIX I: APPLICATION FORM INSTRUCTION
Section I: Provide Information about the individual applying (who is also the project
leader), including the name of the U.S. government funded exchange program in which
the applicant participated, and the program year.

Section II: Provide project dates. If the project is linked to a specific event or date, please
note it here. If the project can be implemented earlier or later than indicated, please note
it here.

Section III: Summarize the project and its intended goal and major activities.
Section IV: Describe the project in detail, linking project activities to intended results.
Explain why the project is important, and how and why the particular audience and
project location was selected. Include a description of how project managers will measure
results (not mandatory).

Section IV: Describe project goals and objectives and how they will be achieved, including
activities and/or equipment needed.
Section VI: Provide information about the target audience. Who is the audience? Are they
students, organizations, implementers, etc.?
Section VII: Provide a description about the intended short-term and long-term project
results. Include and describe the continued activities after the project ends.
Section VIII: Include a detailed timeline that explains how the project will be
implemented, when and by whom. Include what event or activities will take place and
when funding would be needed. Fill in the table with the requested information (time
when the activity will take place, discretion of the activity, who will implement it, and
where).

Section IX: Provide information on individual, organization/s or institution/s project

partners, if any. Please be reminded that there must be at least 2 alumni project partners
and/or key personnel.

Section X: Please state the funding amount requested. Budget Narrative should contain
detailed descriptions of all categories. Budget items should be concrete and linked to the
narrative. Also explain why you are seeking funding for this project and what, if any,
other funding sources are anticipated.
APPENDIX II: BUDGET FORM INSTRUCTION
Budget should contain detailed descriptions of all categories. Budget items should be concrete
and linked to the narrative. Budget should be presented in EURO.

Please feel free to change names of subcategories, type over all existing text and renumber
the entries as necessary. Fields are fixed-length, so please continue typing in the cells below
if you need more space. Only numbers can be entered in the three right columns that
display amount.

Budgets should contain an estimated amount for bank fees.

Funding should not duplicate on-going activities but could supplement such initiatives.
Funds should not be used for food expenses. However, if coffee breaks or working lunches
for seminar/conference participants are an integral part of the overall project, and
funding is not available from other sources. Meals should not include alcoholic
beverages.
Salaries are discouraged because alumni activities are usually in addition to volunteer
bases. Whenever necessary, compensation in reasonable amounts can be paid to
project's key personnel for the portion of their time devoted to the work in this project.
Compensation levels should be no higher than other local salaries (where appropriate),
and should include all taxes.

The use of "miscellaneous expenses" or any similar term as a budget item is

unacceptable.