Key Strategic Policy Themes for Mission Turkey’s Grants Program
U.S. Mission Turkey announces its country-wide grants program. Funding is available to support projects that address one or more of the following key bilateral themes:

Support Shared Security
Projects for consideration in this category should support and advance cooperation between the United States and Turkey in efforts to counter terrorism, address transnational crime, promote the role of women in peace and security, and increase cooperation in the eastern Mediterranean.

Strengthen Economic Prosperity, Promote Innovation, Foster Entrepreneurship, and Improve the Digital Economy
Proposals in this category may include, but are not limited to, entrepreneurship training; small-and-medium enterprise (SME) planning; teaching marketing and outreach techniques; fostering research and development/innovation; and advancing awareness of and adherence to labor rights and laws. Proposals are welcome that strengthen the open and dynamic digital economy and that highlight sectors with growth potential such as local tourism/hospitality, value-added agrobusiness, innovative agricultural technology/practices, and inclusive financial services. These projects could include the utilization of cloud-based technology to meet local needs, training on the importance of the free flow of data, and improving the data literacy of citizens to take advantage of publicly-available information. Proposals are welcome to increase cooperation between U.S. and Turkish scientists and industry, particularly in the fields of agricultural technology innovation, green technology applications, combatting climate change, developing the blue economy, and efforts to address Covid-19. Proposals that partner with U.S. private sector firms to strengthen business-to-business relationships and those that harness the Turkish-American diaspora’s knowledge, experience, and investment resources to spur growth in economically disadvantaged regions across Turkey are welcome.

Reinforce Democratic Values
Proposals in this area should reinforce respect for international human rights norms within Turkey, counter gender-based violence, support LGBTQI rights, promote the rule of law and freedom of expression, and/or strengthen the capacity of Turkish media and civil society in order to advocate for human rights and freedoms. Programs here may also aim to assist Turkish media as well as media consumers in identifying and responding to misinformation and disinformation.

Foster Turkish and U.S. Ties
Proposals for this category should include programs to develop English language teaching/learning that also promote diversity, inclusion, and/or the representation of specific marginalized communities. Proposals are also welcome that promote STEAM education, develop networks between U.S. and Turkish STEAM educators and organizations, and encourage study in the United States. Activities would seek to build personal, educational, and commercial ties between the Turkish and American people and promote a positive understanding of the value of the relationship between the two countries. Proposals aiming to protect and/or restore important cultural and historical sites are also welcome.
Call for Proposals is now OPEN as of April 26, 2021
Call for Proposals will CLOSE on June 18, 2021, 17:00 Turkey Time
Please click here to download the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for additional information
This notice is subject to availability of funding.

IMPORTANT NOTE
Due to the heavy workload, we are not able to accept telephone inquiries or meeting requests. Please check the Frequently Asked Questions section of this page. If you have any questions about the grant application process, please submit your questions in English to GrantsTurkey@state.gov before 17:00 on May 28, 2021.

Who can apply?
• U.S. and Turkish not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations
• Public and private higher educational institutions
• Individuals
The U.S. Mission cannot give grants to commercial firms, not-for-profit companies (such as techno parks), municipalities, or government establishments.
There are no such restrictions for project partners.

Other Eligibility Requirements
In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a unique entity identifier (Data Universal Numbering System/DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet), as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov. Please see the section Required Registration below for information on how to obtain these registrations. Individuals are not required to have a unique entity identifier or be registered in SAM.gov.
Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.
Organizations and individuals with an existing, open grant with U.S. Mission Turkey are ineligible to apply for additional grants until the existing grant is closed.

How much?
The total amount requested per grant cannot exceed $50,000. Minimum amount for a grant is $5,000. Staffing costs should not exceed 25% of the total budget requested from the U.S. Mission. The budget proposal must be submitted in U.S. dollars.

How to apply?
Applications must be submitted in English; applications submitted in Turkish will be considered ineligible. For an application to be considered eligible upon technical review, all mandatory documents must be submitted. Any documents missing would cause the application to be considered ineligible and will not be subject to further evaluation.
Mandatory Documents SF424 Forms: Please make sure to submit all three SF424 forms. These forms can be found under the “Docs & Forms Applications” section of this page.
1.1   Form SF424 (Application for Federal Assistance for organizations) if applying as an organization or form SF-424-I (Application for Federal Assistance for individuals) if applying as an individual.
1.2   Form SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction programs)
1.3   Form SF424B (Assurances for Non-Construction programs) Budget Justification Narrative: There is no specific form for this; any format is acceptable. Explain how and why each budget line item helps to meet the project deliverables. In other words, describe each of the budget expenses as to how the costs were estimated and justify the need for the cost. Include information about your project’s scalability. For example, can your budget increase or decrease based on such factors as the number of participants or geographic spread? Note that increased budget flexibility can increase a proposal’s competitiveness. The budget justification narrative can also be included in the end of the Grant Application Form. Grant Application Form: Please use the Grant Application form provided under the “Docs & Forms for Applicants” section of this page. The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to achieve. Please do not exceed the character limits. Make sure that your application package consists of at least 5 attachments (mentioned above). If any of the documents mentioned above are missing, the submitted application will be considered ineligible, regardless of the amount of funding requested. Attachments: (Optional)
4.1   Legal registration documents of civil society organizations and non-profit organizations
4.2   One page CV or resume of each key personnel who are proposed for the program
4.3   Letters of support from project partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner or a Memorandum of Understanding among all partners (if applicable)
4.4   Official permission letters, if required for project activities (if applicable)
4.5   If your organization has a NICRA and includes NICRA charges in the budget, your latest NICRA should be included as a PDF file (Applicable to only U.S. organizations).

Required Registrations:
Any applicant listed on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) in the System for Award Management (SAM) is not eligible to apply for an assistance award in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 CFR 180 that implement Executive Orders 12549 (3 CFR, 1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 235), “Debarment and Suspension.” Additionally, no entity listed on the EPLS can participate in any activities under an award. All applicants are strongly encouraged to review the EPLS in SAM to ensure that no ineligible entity is included.
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
• www.SAM.gov registration

For instructions on how to obtain a DUNS number, NCAGE code, and register with www.SAM.gov, check the “Additional Resources” section of this page and the full Notice of Funding Opportunity document.
All applications must be submitted by e-mail to GrantsTurkey@state.gov by the deadline of June 18, 2021 at 17:00 Turkey time.

• Please do not send applications via cloud transfer systems.
• Do not send an e-mail with win.rar and win.zip attachments.
• The Embassy’s e-mail system has a 25 MB limitation. Any e-mail which exceeds 25 MB may not be delivered. Should your application package exceed 25 MB, consider sending it in several smaller e-mails.
• All applicants will receive an automatically sent confirmation e-mail. Please check your spam/junk mailbox and make sure you have received the confirmation e-mail. If you do not receive it, this means we did not receive your application.
• Applications received after the deadline of June 18, 2021 at 17:00 Turkey time will be considered ineligible.

Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization/individual per grant cycle. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization/individual, all proposals from that institution/individual will be considered ineligible for funding.
Shortlisted applicants may be asked to provide additional documentation or revisions to their proposals.
How are proposals evaluated?
Projects should have a public teaching/public dialogue or educational component. Applications with an American component are considered stronger, as are projects focused on underserved communities (youth, women, LGBT, etc.) and projects located outside Turkey’s metropolitan areas.
Applications that have in-kind or cost-sharing support are also considered stronger.
Preference will be given to individuals and organizations with a proven track record of executing superior cultural and NGO events and projects.
Projects that have an established working Memorandum of Understanding among partners will also be considered stronger.
Project implementation timeline should not start before October 2021.

Funding Restrictions:
Activities that are not typically funded include, but are not limited to: paying to complete activities begun with other funds; political party activities; charitable activities; construction projects; fund-raising campaigns; commercial projects; scholarships to support educational opportunities or study and research for individuals; or projects aimed only at primary institutional development of the organization.
Lump sum overhead costs, office rental, alcoholic beverages, and vague budget line items, such as “Miscellaneous Items” or “Unforeseen Expenses” will not be funded. Proposals with budgets in large part requesting funding for travel to the United States will be viewed unfavorably.

Evaluation criteria
A review committee will evaluate all eligible applications. Proposals will be evaluated according to the criteria below:

• Quality and Feasibility of the Program Idea – 20 points:
  o The project ideas are well-developed, with detail about how the project will be carried out (up to 10 points)
  o The proposal includes a reasonable implementation timeline and effectively allocates resources (up to 10 points)
•  Organizational Capacity and Record on Previous Grants – 10 points:
  o The organization has expertise in its stated field and has the internal controls in place to manage federal funds.  This includes a financial management system and a bank account.
• Program Planning/Ability to Achieve Objectives – 15 points:
  o Goals and objectives are clearly stated and program approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.
• Budget – 20 points: The budget justification is detailed.
  o Realistic – The budget is realistic, accounting for all necessary expenses to achieve proposed activities (up to 5 points)
  o Reasonable – Costs are reasonable in relation to the proposed activities and anticipated results (up to 5 points)
  o Scalable – The project’s scale and budget can be reduced, if necessary (up to 5 points)
  o Cost sharing – The applicant is seeking funds from other sources or willing to contribute (up to 5 points)
• Monitoring and evaluation plan – 15 points:
  o Applicant demonstrates it can measure program success against key indicators and provides milestones to indicate progress toward goals outlined in the proposal (up to 5 points)
  o The project includes output and outcome indicators and the proposed evaluation provides tangible/measurable products (up to 5 points).
• Impact and Sustainability – 10 points:
  Program activities will continue to have positive impact after the end of the program.
  o Impact – Goals and objectives are clearly stated, and project approach is likely to provide maximum impact in achieving the proposed results.  Project shows strong potential to reach a new or large target audience (up to 5 points)
  o Sustainability – Project activities will continue to have positive impact after the conclusion of the program (up to 5 points)
• Support of Equity and Underserved Communities – 10 points:
  o  Proposals should clearly demonstrate how the program will support and advance equity and engage underserved communities in program administration, design, and implementation.

Shortlisted applicants may be asked to provide additional documentation or revisions to their proposal.
All applicants will be informed about the results of this competition by e-mail by September 2021.
This notice is subject to availability of funding.