Public Diplomacy Grants in Kuwait | KUWAIT PAS 2023 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for KUWAIT PAS 2023 01

The U.S. Mission to Kuwait (U.S. Embassy Kuwait) is offering a small-grants public diplomacy funding opportunity called "Supporting Civic Engagement, Marginalized Communities, and Education Through Exchanges and Training" (Funding Opportunity Number KUWAIT-PAS-2023-01; CFDA 19.040). The embassy is seeking program ideas that advance key civic, educational, and capacity-building goals in Kuwait, with a total funding pool of $95,000. Individual awards are intended to be relatively small, with each proposed project capped at $25,000, and the embassy anticipates making around 10 awards depending on final award sizes and available funds. Projects must be implemented in Kuwait and are expected to run for a short timeframe, anywhere from 1 to 12 months, with activities planned to start during the October 2023 to September 2024 period (subject to funding availability).

A central feature of this opportunity is its two-step application process. Applicants do not submit a full proposal at the outset. Instead, they first submit a short Statement of Interest (SOI) that is only 1 to 2 pages long and is designed to quickly and clearly communicate the program concept, why it matters, and what it aims to accomplish. After the embassy completes an initial merit review of eligible SOIs, selected applicants are invited to develop and submit a full proposal for a second-round review. This approach is meant to reduce the burden on applicants by allowing the embassy to screen for strong, feasible ideas before requiring full application packages and detailed planning.

Program ideas must align with at least one of six objectives the embassy has laid out. These include: helping students in Kuwait become better prepared and more motivated to attend U.S. universities (for example through English training, college readiness programming, or advising); building local capacity to counter discrimination, harassment, and abuse against women; strengthening awareness and action to combat trafficking in persons; improving how institutions in Kuwait prepare for and respond to cybersecurity incidents; promoting people-to-people ties between the United States and Kuwait through educational, cultural, or civic activities that engage youth and young professionals; and strengthening the ability of marginalized communities, youth, and women to participate more fully in political and economic life. In practice, this frames the grant as a tool to support exchanges, training, and community-centered initiatives that produce tangible skills, knowledge, networks, and institutional improvements.

The primary audiences the embassy wants to reach are youth and young professionals, educators, women, stateless residents, and other underserved populations in Kuwait. The funding restriction is straightforward: grant funds must be used to benefit target audiences within Kuwait. This is a Kuwait-focused program even when the themes involve U.S. study, U.S.-Kuwait ties, or exchange-style programming.

Eligibility is limited to Kuwait-based applicants. That includes not-for-profit organizations such as NGOs, civil society groups, and think tanks; not-for-profit educational institutions; individuals; and foreign public entities such as governmental institutions or public international organizations, as long as they are based in Kuwait. Cost sharing is encouraged but not required, meaning applicants can strengthen competitiveness by contributing resources or securing partner support, but they can still apply without matching funds.

To apply at the SOI stage, applicants must email their materials to PASKuwaitM@state.gov by April 1, 2023. The SOI must be written in English and include a brief project description covering goals, objectives, outcomes, performance indicators, beneficiaries, and a proposed timeline. It must also explain the applicant's capacity to carry out the activity and manage U.S. government funds, and it must include the anticipated total budget amount in U.S. dollars. The embassy emphasizes that submissions not following these requirements can be deemed ineligible, and reviewers will only consider content within the page limit, with panelists focusing on the first page up to the limit for consistency.

SOIs are scored using three main criteria: the quality of the program idea (50 points), the applicant's organizational capacity and record managing grants (35 points), and the clarity and realism of program planning and the likelihood of achieving the stated objectives (15 points). Creativity is explicitly encouraged, as long as the approach is feasible and responsive to the program framework, and the timeline is practical. A Grants Review Committee conducts the review, and the panel may attach conditions or recommendations to strengthen a concept before it moves to the full proposal phase.

Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will need to provide standard federal assistance forms. Organizations generally submit SF-424 along with related budget and assurances forms (SF-424A and SF-424B), while individuals use SF-424-I. The notice also highlights federal compliance requirements tied to U.S. Department of State awards, including applicable federal regulations and standard terms and conditions.

Finally, the opportunity includes important administrative notes about federal registrations. At the SOI stage, organizations are not required to already have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) or active SAM.gov registration, but they will need both before submitting a full proposal if invited. Because SAM registration can take weeks, the embassy advises applicants to start early. Entities listed as excluded or debarred in SAM (formerly referenced as the Excluded Parties List System) are not eligible to receive awards or participate in award-funded activities. Questions about the SOI process are directed to the same email address used for submissions: PASKuwaitM@state.gov.

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to Kuwait in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda), business and commerce, community development, disaster prevention and relief, education, employment, labor and training, environment, health, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), law, justice and legal services, regional development, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Public Diplomacy Grants in Kuwait" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 08, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 01, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for KUWAIT PAS 2023 01

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: