Funding Wizard

Based on funding availability, this project will seek to train a total of 100 aspiring women entrepreneurs in TAO states, in cohorts of 25 women in four different locations of Warangal, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, and Bhubaneswar, in basic business principles using the established Academy of Women Entrepreneurs/ DreamBuilder curriculum. This program will last approximately eight months and will involve 13 bi-weekly sessions, delivered in a combination of virtual and in-person classes, as well as two in-person bootcamps to provide additional training. Participants must be from 18 to 50 years of age with intermediate or better English skills. Chosen participants should be women who have limited resources to develop a business plan to start or grow their small businesses. The participant cohorts of 25 women (plus three alternates in each location) will take place in Warangal, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, and Bhubaneswar. A select number of participants will be given the opportunity to make an express application to the American Center New Delhi-based NEXUS business incubator for advanced training. Ideally, the program will be announced with a call for applications on March 8, 2023 (International Women’s Day), and classes will begin in April of 2023. The final bootcamp should be completed by December 2023.

The Air Quality Hackathon will bring together (20) teams, (3) participants per group from across India to brainstorm for two days and find practical solutions to improve air quality. The solutions will be shared and implemented to the extent possible during a follow-on campaign with school communities and NGO partners. Results of the implementation phase will be shared with the government and civil society partners. A survey to measure the impact of the intervention program will be conducted during the project. Teams with the best results from pre- to post-intervention will be documented and recognized in a final culminating event. Project Objectives: 1. The Air Quality Hackathon will host together (20) teams, (3) participants per team to brainstorm for two days and find practical solutions for improving air quality in the Kolkata region. 2. NGO partners and students representing at least ten school communities will test the impact of the practical solutions within the larger community within six months after the hackathon concludes. 3. Participating high schools will be encouraged to offer credit to participating students (as they have done in the past) for the co-curricular activities taken on by the students. Results will be made public and presented to policy makers and government and civil society leaders within 12 months of the hackathon. Successful solutions might then be implemented on a larger scale

Based on funding availability, Regional Public Engagement Specialist (REPS) Office within the U.S. Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) announces an open competition for a cooperative agreement to plan, develop, design, and implement a touring exhibit with the environmental theme of renewable/green technologies, targeting youth audiences, including a supplemental programming plan (workshops, lectures, activities, etc.) and companion virtual museum. The proposed touring exhibition will promote the messaging of U.S. Embassies in the South Asian region on renewable/green technologies. The exhibition will also emphasize the United States' current and historical leadership in the environmental challenges of renewable energy and/or green technologies. The campaign will run under the American Spaces banner and is intended for emerging voices in middle and high school, as well as college students.(Please refer to the full announcement available under 'related documents' tab)

The U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to implement programs that foster stronger bilateral and regional ties through diverse public diplomacy programs on topics related to economic growth, climate change, and supporting and promoting democratic values and rights. Applications should include an American element. The U.S. content should include, for example, the substantial participation of U.S. experts or alumni of U.S. government exchange programs; partnership with U.S. organizations or educational institutions; the involvement of U.S. companies present in India; the application or adaptation of U.S. models and best practices; or learning materials related to American history, society, business, culture, politics, government, or institutions. While proposals may address multiple project objectives, each proposal should focus primarily on one of the following priority project areas: · Programs related to promoting capacity building and cooperation in the area of human health issues; · Programs that focus on tackling transnational crimes like human trafficking; · Creative programs that advance one or more of the priority areas to include but not limited to climate change; clean and renewable energy; space science and technology; and transformative technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality. · Programs related to promoting study in the United States, the internationalization of Indian universities, and/or building of linkages between American and Indian institutions of higher education · Programs related to U.S.-India bilateral trade, investment, economic integration, entrepreneurship, innovation, intellectual property rights. · Programs on understanding U.S.-India relations in the Indo-Pacific, including security cooperation and military/defense relations. · Programs that seek to promote a better understanding of diversity and inclusion; religious freedom; gender rights; LGBTQ rights; rights of persons with disabilities; rights of underrepresented or otherwise disadvantaged communities; and other aspects of human rights. · Activities that address the social, political, and economic barriers preventing the full participation of India’s female population in its growth. Proposed activities must take place in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, or Odisha. Proposals that include target audiences in more than one of these states will be viewed more favorably.

Public Diplomacy (PD), at the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai is pleased to announce a funding opportunity through its Public Diplomacy Small Grants Program. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) outlines strategic themes of interest and procedures for submitting requests for funding. This funding opportunity invites project proposals in five areas: U.S.-India economic ties, U.S.-India education ties, equity and inclusion, climate change, and media/journalism. While a proposal may address multiple objectives, each proposal should clearly articulate how the project advances at least one of the objectives. Topics and objectives 1. Increasing India’s Role in Regional and Global Supply Chains 2. Strengthen U.S.-India Education Ties 3. Promote Equity and Inclusion 4. Address Climate Change 5. Support a Free and Fair Media Environment (Please refer the full announcement available in related documents Tab)

In the medium term, a concrete objective will be to have the participating corporations make changes to current policies, demonstrate the activities they have executed to foster a more inclusive work environment, and develop active transgender employee recruitment plans. This should be done by organizing workshops and information sessions for employees (at all levels within the organization), human resources professionals, and leadership of 15 different business corporations in Hyderabad and Chennai over a period of one year, focused on creating awareness about and countering stigma and prejudice against transgender persons. In the immediate term, this exercise should lead to the setting up of Pride/Rainbow groups within corporations that actively create awareness about TG persons and their rights. The grantee will organize workshops for employees and leadership of corporations of a minimum of 15 different corporations in Hyderabad and Chennai to sensitize them towards the rights of the LGBTQI+ community broadly, and the transgender (TG) community specifically. These workshops will aim to help corporations and businesses to better understand the needs of the TG community and encourage them to adopt policies and carry out activities that foster a work environment that is safe, nurturing, accepting, and inclusive for members of the TG community. A longer-term outcome is that these corporations and businesses increase their hiring of members of the TG community and help their employees and the general public be more accepting.

In the immediate term, this exercise should lead to the setting up of Pride/Rainbow groups within corporations that actively create awareness about TG persons and their rights. In the medium term, a concrete objective will be to have the participating corporations make changes to current policies, demonstrate the activities they have executed to foster a more inclusive work environment, and develop active transgender employee recruitment plans. This should be done by organizing workshops and information sessions for employees (at all levels within the organization), human resources professionals, and leadership of 15-25 different business corporations (with 500 employees or more) in Hyderabad and Chennai over a period of one year, focused on creating awareness about and countering stigma and prejudice against transgender persons. The grantee will organize workshops for employees and leadership of corporations of a minimum of 15-25 different corporations (with 500 employees or more) in Hyderabad and Chennai to sensitize them towards the rights of the LGBTQI+ community broadly, and the transgender (TG) community specifically. These workshops will aim to help corporations and businesses to better understand the needs of the TG community and encourage them to adopt policies and carry out activities that foster a work environment that is safe, nurturing, accepting, and inclusive for members of the TG community. A longer-term outcome is that these corporations and businesses increase their hiring of members of the TG community and help their employees and the general public be more accepting.

The Public Diplomacy Section at the U.S. Consulate General of Mumbai seeks a partner that will organize film-making workshops / masterclasses and a crowd-sourced film contest; amplify the films and generate buzz around the winning entries; and execute follow-on activities to involve youth and civil society in environment conservation. Project Goal: Promote climate action by encouraging climate-conscious citizens to create films that spur wider awareness and inspire community action. (For more details, please refer to the full announcement available in related documents Tab)

Based on funding availability, this year-long youth-centric project seeks to establish a chain of well-managed Esports Clubs across the American Spaces in India to engage with Emerging Voices (EVs), primarily in the age group of 13-24 years, on key U.S. government priorities such as STEM education, gender equality, and English language learning, and to promote studying gaming related college majors in the United States, and help develop an esports culture in India. The proposed chain of American Spaces Esports Clubs India will provide a common platform for gaming, creative learning in the areas of STEM, and building leadership skills. These clubs will offer Indian youth an opportunity to game for good and shoulder club responsibilities as content developers, creative directors, tournament organizers, shout casters, marketing directors, stream producers, game designers and many more, offering opportunities to practice their crafts, expand their creative skills and improve their communication and leadership abilities. This immersive hands-on engagement would act as the precursor to help Indian youth identify their future aspirations and interests that would connect them with gamers in the United States and expose them to the esports culture of the U.S. (Please refer to the full announcement available under 'related documents' tab)

PD Chennai is pleased to announce an open competition for non-profit organizations to submit applications to implement programs that foster stronger bilateral and regional ties through diverse public diplomacy programs on topics related to global threats, economic prosperity, regional security in the Indo-Pacific, and shared democratic values. Applications should include and promote increased understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives in the project proposals. Program Priority Areas: Applications should focus primarily on any one or more of the themes: Theme One: Global Threats · Trafficking in Persons (TIP): Programs which raise awareness among vulnerable populations as well as key stakeholders on TIP and share best practices to combat human trafficking. · Climate Change: Foster dialogue among key stakeholders, including civil society, about preparedness for climate change-related challenges. Theme Two: Economic Prosperity Entrepreneurship: · Promote and support start-up hubs, incubators, business associations and other initiatives which lead to innovation, business, science, and technology cooperation to increase economic opportunities especially for emerging business leaders. · Promote projects that enhance women’s participation, promotion, and longevity in the labor force and ability to assume leadership positions. Education: · Projects that increase access to education and economic opportunity to underserved communities. · Projects that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic (STEM) education, including institutional partnerships with a particular focus on women and girls and underserved communities. Theme Three: Regional Security · Programs to promote the U.S.-India partnership and shared goals for the development of the Indo-Pacific region. · Programs that address issues of regional security, including cybersecurity, critical and engineering technologies, and countering violent extremism, as well as exchanges that promote multilateral cooperation and enhance stability in the Indo-Pacific region. · Programs to develop social and intellectual connections, creating bridges of understanding and connection among Indo-Pacific countries by providing opportunities for participants to identify and appreciate common values. Theme Four: Shared Democratic Values · Programs which increase the effectiveness of individuals, organizations, and coalitions working to advance and/or advocate for respect and promotion of human rights. · Programs which promote sensitization on Gender Based Violence (GBV) issues. · Programs which strengthen and build capacity of local organizations who work on social and economic inclusion of marginalized communities (including the LGBTQ+), to build long-term, self-sustaining relationships within communities and organizations. · Programs related to freedom of the press that improve quality of investigative journalism, transparency, and reinforce journalistic standards to counter disinformation. · Programs that promote pluralism, religious freedom, and social inclusion.