Summary

Friends of Nepal (FoN) is pleased to announce that it is opening its grant application period and will be supporting the Let Girls Learn initiative a second year. Proposals for projects that support girls’ education or opportunities are eligible for funding. Applications can be found here.

Introduction

The Let Girls Learn Initiative was spearheaded by Michelle Obama in 2016 to increase public awareness on the issue of girls’ equality and address barriers to their education and economic opportunity. In Nepal, girls are educationally disadvantaged, often having to return home to aid their mothers with childcare, housework, and fieldwork. As a result, girls’ attendance and performance at school is significantly below that of their male peers. Consequently, women lack economic opportunity and advancement—they enter the workforce with limited qualifications and hold little prospect for rising above low-skill, low-wage jobs. Friends of Nepal (FoN) adopted the Let Girls Learn theme for its grant solicitation in 2017 and will continue with this theme for 2018. We hope that through continued support of girls’ education and opportunities, we can have a positive impact on women’s equality and remove some of the barriers to their success. We seek proposals that will address educational and other barriers, with the goal of opening economic opportunities for girls to fulfill their dreams as leaders, athletes, scholars, artists, business owners, teachers, doctors, and more!

Details

FoN expects to award up to $20,000 in grant funding. Grants are generally in the $4000-$7000 range, but larger or smaller grants will be considered. Applications must be submitted by email no later than 9pm EST on July 1, 2018. Applicants must use the application form found below.

All applications must be sponsored by a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), a former Peace Corps staff member, or a FoN member with ties to Nepal. The RPCV may be from any country, but must show a connection to Nepal (e.g. works in Nepal) or to the applicant organization. The RPCV must be/become a member of FoN. The sponsor must submit a letter of recommendation for the organization and the project. The sponsor will be required to provide FoN with updates on the project, and facilitate communications between the awardee and Friends of Nepal.

A FoN Project Committee member is likely to get in touch with the applicant and/or the sponsor to review the application prior to the award determination.

Please visit our website to see examples of previously funded projects.

Application Requirements

The following must be submitted for an application to be considered:

A completed application (found here)
A cover letter with a project summary and contact information;
Commitment letter from and contact information of the sponsor;
Proof of non-profit status;
Support letters from any agency, institution, or organization affected by your project. For example, if you propose to build a community toilet facility, please include support letters from the community and/or landowner, if applicable;
Proposals must be received by July 1, 2018.

Friends of Nepal does not provide scholarships for individuals. FoN does not award grants to individuals

Selected Proposals

Selected applicants will be notified by August 15, 2018. Projects must be completed within one year of award receipt.

Deliverables

FoN requires a comprehensive final written report about the project within 15 months of the grant award. Photos and a budget report must accompany the final report. Photos may be used in future FoN newsletters or on the website. In addition, a briefer interim report is due within six months of the award. Any further reporting requirements will be provided with the notification of the funding award.

Recognition

FoN requires that any promotional material for the project, including newsletters, fundraising letters, presentations, or press releases, be accompanied with recognition of Friend of Nepal’s support. FoN can provide a high resolution image of its logo. FoN encourages grantees to publicize information about the FoN grant award and the outcome of the project with their donors, members, and the general public.

Questions

Please direct any questions to Project Committee Chair, Ms. Val Stori at valstori@yahoo.com. Please put “FoN project proposal” in the subject line.

2018 Applications