Deadline: 17 August 2019

The United States of America and the Republic of Kazakhstan cooperate on a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including the support of Kazakhstan’s intentions to increase journalistic professionalism and strengthen the competitiveness of Kazakhstani media.

To this end, the Embassy of the United States has announced this call for applications for grants to implement ideas to strengthen Kazakhstan’s media market.

Themes

Project proposals must address one of the following themes:

• Theme 1: Media and digital literacy.
• Theme 2: Innovative approaches to gathering or sharing news, particularly with younger audiences.
• Theme 3: The development and adoption of digital media technologies in media sphere.
• Theme 4: Promoting professional journalism standards, particularly in fact checking, verification, and fact-based reporting.
• Theme 5: The financial sustainability of media outlets in Kazakhstan, including alternative sources of revenue.
• Theme 6: Media legal defense initiatives, including consultation, training, legal defense in courts.

For all themes, priority will be given to projects that yield concrete, measurable results. Projects consisting solely of conferences or roundtable discussions are unlikely to be funded.

Funding Information

• Floor of Individual Award Amounts: $10,000
• Ceiling of Individual Award Amounts: $40,000
• Anticipated period of performance: 6-12 months

Grant Funding Can Be Used To Support:

• Project-related salaries and honoraria including applicable taxes;
• In-country travel expenses directly related to the project;
• Supplies or equipment necessary for project implementation;
• Contracted services directly related to the project (For example: translation, design, web-design, printing, publishing of promotional materials etc.).

Eligibility Criteria

• Non-governmental, non-profit and for-profit organizations registered in Kazakhstan or individuals are eligible for this program. Applications from organizations registered outside of Kazakhstan, political groups carrying out partisan activities, and charity organizations will not be considered. Only one concept paper may be submitted per eligible organization or individual. Kazakhstan-based organizations should submit a copy of their certificate of registration from the appropriate government organization.
• Qualified applicants should have demonstrated experience implementing programs supporting journalism, media and digital newsrooms. The Embassy reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering similar programs and/or federal grant awards. Applicants must have existing facilities or the capacity to implement projects related to the media.
• Organizations may form a consortium and submit a combined proposal. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant.

How to Apply

• Concept Papers will be accepted in any of following three languages: English, Russian, or Kazakh.
• Concept Papers must be submitted by email at the address given on the website.
• Only organizations whose Concept Paper is approved will proceed to the second stage of the application process, and be invited to submit a complete, detailed Project Application.

For more information, please visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=318499