FY 2011 Funding Opportunity Announcement for NGO Programs Benefiting Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India

Funding Opportunity Number: PRM-ANE-11-CA-SA-010611

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number: 19.519 - Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for Near East and South Asia.

Announcement issuance date: Thursday, January 6, 2011.

Proposal submission deadline: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) EST. Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.

ADVISORY: Grants.gov is expected to experience continued high volume of activity in the near future. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to allow time to address difficulties that may arise due to system delays.

Proposed Program Start Dates: April 1-30, 2010.

Duration of Activity: Twelve months. Applicants with multi-year programs must continue to re-compete for PRM funding each year. Furthermore, in funding a project one year, PRM makes no representations that it will continue to fund the project in successive years and encourages applicants to seek a wide array of donors to ensure long-term funding possibilities.

Current Funding Priorities for Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu, India: PRM will prioritize funding for proposed non-governmental organization (NGO) activities that best meet the Bureau’s priorities for Sri Lankan refugees in India as identified below.

(a) Proposed activities should primarily support Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu, India.

(b) Proposals must focus on one or more of the following sectors: Protection; Shelter and Infrastructure; Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH); and/or Livelihoods.

• Protection. Organizations are encouraged to include programming to address prevention of and/or response to gender-based violence (GBV) and/or trafficking as part of their proposal. Protection activities may also respond to the needs of stateless refugees who are eligible to regain their Sri Lankan citizenship per the Government of Sri Lanka’s 2009 amendment to the Grant of Citizenship to Stateless Persons Act.
• Shelter and Infrastructure. Projects addressing shelter needs should comply with Sphere standards and be planned and undertaken with the involvement of beneficiary populations and local governments. Appropriate consideration should be given to norms and conditions in surrounding Indian communities.
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. Projects addressing WASH issues should comply with Sphere standards.
• Livelihoods. Projects may include a livelihoods support component; however, standalone vocational training not linked to income-generating activities will not be considered for funding in FY 2011. Micro-credit projects for small enterprises have been successful in Tamil Nadu and may be appropriate within refugee communities.

(c) PRM will accept proposals from any NGO working in one or more of the above mentioned sectors although, given budgetary constraints, priority will be given to proposals from organizations that can demonstrate:

• A working relationship with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), current UNHCR funding, and/or a letter of support from UNHCR for the proposed activities and/or overall country program (this letter should highlight the gap in services the proposed program is designed to address);
• A proven track record in providing proposed assistance both in the sector and specified location;
• Evidence of coordination with international organizations (IOs) and other NGOs working in the same area or sector as well as – where possible – local authorities;
• A concrete implementation plan with well-conceived objectives and indicators that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and reliable, time-bound and trackable (SMART), have established baselines, and include at least one outcome or impact indicator per objective;
• A budget that is appropriate for meeting the objectives and demonstrates co-funding by non-U.S. government sources;
• Appropriate targeting of beneficiaries in coordination with UNHCR and other relevant organizations. Because of PRM's mandate to provide protection, assistance, and sustainable solutions for refugees and victims of conflict, PRM considers funding only those projects that include a target beneficiary base of at least 50% refugees.
• Adherence to relevant international standards for humanitarian assistance. See FY 2010 General PRM NGO Guidelines for a complete list of sector-specific standards.

International Organizations (IOs) that are engaged in programs relevant to the assistance addressed by this PRM funding announcement should ensure that these programs are made known to PRM on or before the closing date of this funding announcement so that PRM can evaluate all IO and NGO programs for funding consideration.

Funding Limits:

In FY 2011, PRM anticipates providing approximately $1 million to fund NGO programs benefitting Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu, India. PRM will consider projects submitted with budgets in the range of $200,000 to $1,000,000. As stated in the FY 2010 General PRM NGO Guidelines, PRM looks favorably on cost-sharing efforts and seeks to support projects with a diverse donor base and/or resources from the submitting organization.

Proposal Submission Requirements:

See “How to Apply” (http://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant_faqs.jsp#applying) on Grants.gov for complete details on requirements, and note the following highlights:

• Proposals must be submitted via Grants.gov. Organizations not registered with Grants.gov should register well in advance of the February 8, 2011 deadline as it can take up to two weeks to finalize registration (sometimes longer for non-U.S. based NGOs to get the required registration numbers). To register with Grants.gov, organizations must first receive a DUNS number and register with the Central Contract Registry (CCR) which can take weeks and sometimes months. See “Applicant FAQs” section on Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/help/applicant_faqs.jsp#applying) for complete details on registering.
• Do not wait until the last minute to submit your application on Grants.gov. Applicants who have done so in the past and experienced technical difficulties were not able to meet the deadline. Please note: Grants.gov is expected to experience continued high volumes of activity in the near future. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to avoid submission delays. We recommend that organizations, particularly first-time applicants, submit applications via Grants.gov no later than one week before the deadline to avoid last-minute technical difficulties that could result in an application not being considered.
• If you encounter technical difficulties with Grants.gov please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk at support@grants.gov or by calling 1-800-518-4726. Applicants who are unable to submit applications via Grants.gov due to Grants.gov technical difficulties and who have reported the problem(s) to the Grants.gov help desk and received a case number and had a service request opened to research the problem(s), should contact PRM Program Officer Rebecca Kinsey at (202) 453-9287 or kinseyrt@state.gov to determine whether an alternative method of submission is appropriate.
• Applications must be submitted under the authority of the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) at the applicant organization. Having proposals submitted by agency headquarters helps to avoid possible technical problems.
• Pursuant to U.S. Code, Title 218, Section 1001, stated on OMB Standard Form 424 (SF-424), Department of State is authorized to consolidate the certifications and assurances required by Federal law or regulations for its federal assistance programs. The list of certifications and assurances can be found at: http://fa.statebuy.state.gov/content.asp?content_id=161&menu_id=68.
• NGOs that have not received PRM funding prior to the U.S. Government fiscal year ending September 30, 2004 must be prepared to demonstrate that they meet the financial and accounting requirements of the U.S. Government by submitting copies of 1) the most recent external financial audit, 2) non-profit tax status under IRS 501 (c)(3), 3) a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, and 4) an Employer ID (EIN)/Federal Tax Identification number.

Proposal Content, Formatting and Template:

Please refer to the “Proposal Submission and Review Process” section in the FY 2010 General PRM NGO Guidelines. PRM strongly encourages organizations applying for PRM funding to use the PRM recommended proposal and budget templates. Templates can be requested by sending an email to PRM's NGO Coordinator. You must type “PRM NGO Templates” in the subject line to receive an automated reply containing the template.

PLEASE TAKE SPECIAL NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED IN THE PRM’s FY 2010 NGO GUIDELINES:

This announcement is designed to accompany the FY 2010 General PRM NGO Guidelines, which contain additional administrative information and explain in detail PRM’s NGO funding strategy and priorities. Please use both the FY 2010 General PRM NGO Guidelines and this announcement to ensure that the proposed activities are in line with PRM’s priorities and that your proposal submission is in full compliance with PRM requirements. Proposal submissions that do not meet all of the requirements outlined in these guidelines will not be considered. PRM recommends using the proposal and budget templates that are available upon email request from PRM's NGO Coordinator. Please send an email, with the phrase “PRM NGO templates” in the subject line, to PRM's NGO Coordinator.

• Proposals should outline how the NGO will acknowledge PRM funding.
• Focus on outcome or impact indicators as much as possible. At a minimum, each objective should have one outcome or impact indicator. Wherever possible, baselines should be established before the start of the project.
• To increase PRM’s ability to track the impact of PRM funding, include specific information on locations of projects and beneficiaries. Any project involving the building or maintenance of physical infrastructure must include coordinates of site locations (place name, P-Code, latitude and longitude coordinates).
• Budget must include a specific breakdown of funds being provided by UNHCR, other USG agencies, other donors, and your own organization. PRM strongly encourages multi-lateral support for humanitarian programs.
• Organizations that received PRM funding in FY 2010 for activities that are being proposed for funding under this announcement must include the most recent quarterly progress report against indicators outlined in the cooperative agreement. If an organization’s last quarterly report was submitted more than six weeks prior to the submission of a proposal in response to this funding announcement, the organization must include, with its most recent quarterly report, updates that show any significant progress made on objectives since the last report.

Reports and Reporting Requirements:

Program reporting: PRM requires quarterly and final program reports describing and analyzing the results of activities undertaken during the validity period of the agreement. It is highly suggested that NGOs receiving PRM funding use the PRM recommended program report template. To request this template, send an email with the phrase “PRM NGO templates” in the subject line to PRM's NGO Coordinator.

Financial Reports: Financial reports are required within thirty (30) days following the end of each calendar year quarter during the validity period of the agreement; a final financial report covering the entire period of the agreement is required within ninety (90) days after the expiration date of the agreement.

For more details regarding PRM’s reporting requirements please see FY 2010 General PRM NGO Guidelines.

Proposal Review Process:

PRM will conduct a formal competitive review of all proposals submitted in response to this funding announcement. A review panel will evaluate submissions based on the above-referenced proposal evaluation criteria and PRM priorities in the context of available funding.

PRM may request revised proposals and/or budgets based on feedback from the panel. PRM will provide formal notifications to NGOs of final decisions taken by Bureau management.

PRM Points of Contact:

Should NGOs have technical questions related to this announcement, they should contact the PRM staff listed below prior to proposal submission. (Note: Responses to technical questions from PRM do not indicate a commitment to fund the program discussed.):

PRM Program Officer Rebecca Kinsey (kinseyrt@state.gov; 202-453-9287), Washington, D.C.

Kathmandu Regional Refugee Coordinator Mark Weinberg (weinbergmt@state.gov; +977-1-400-7200), U.S. Embassy Kathmandu.

U.S. Consulate General Chennai Political and Economic Officer Anjana Chatterjee (AChatterjee@state.gov; +91 44 2857 4389), U.S. Consulate General Chennai

U.S. Consulate General Chennai Political and Economic Officer Matthew Beh (BehMK@state.gov; + 91 44 2857 4198), U.S. Consulate General Chennai