Deadline: 6 August 2023
The Public Diplomacy Section (PD) of the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA) invites Palestinian or American not-for-profit non-governmental organizations (NGOs), associations, non-profit higher education institutions, or non-profit social enterprises based in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Gaza to submit proposals to design and implement a community engagement and leadership program focused on social entrepreneurship, community service, action planning, and corporate social responsibility for youth (ages 20 to 40) from the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
This program must be designed to implement activities that advance the applicant’s goals and the U.S. OPA-PD mission, including but not limited to:
- Building Palestinian institutions, both governmental and non-governmental, that effectively address the needs and aspirations of the Palestinian people;
- Building a prosperous Palestinian economy, led by a thriving private sector, that provides equitable and inclusive economic opportunities and improves daily life for Palestinians.
The purpose of this program is to promote social entrepreneurship as a powerful tool for economic empowerment with an emphasis on youth entrepreneurship and community engagement. Economic growth and prosperity that occurs in tandem with societal transformation or community development can act as a catalyst to engender even more growth. By focusing on social entrepreneurship in the local context, this program seeks to empower a new generation of leaders equipped not only to succeed in starting and sustaining their own businesses but to do so in a way that brings new ideas and thinking on how to tackle some of the most pressing social issues of their local communities, including but not limited to: education, employment, environment, diversity and inclusion, and community development.
Program Objectives
- Working primarily at the local level and using an evidence-based approach, all proposed projects must aim to advance the OPA-PD mission goals stated, contain a substantive American element, and achieve at least one of the following specific objectives:
- Participants acquire leadership, social entrepreneurial, and community engagement skills to initiate, lead and implement innovative and sustainable solutions to community identified problems.
- Participants demonstrate their acquired skills through the design and execution of socially minded entrepreneurial projects in their home communities fostered by participating community organizations.
- Participant organizations provided with access to the technological and business tools and skills necessary for them to undertake the projects and programs that benefit their communities and grow local economies.
- Participants form and sustain an alumni cohort poised to substantively engage on issues related to community cohesion, social values, and social entrepreneurship.
Funding Information
- Award amounts: Awards may range from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $100,000.
- Length of performance period: 12 to 18 months.
Activities
- The following illustrative focus areas are provided to assist Applicants in understanding the types of activities OPA seeks to address:
- Build the capacity of Palestinian NGOs to provide them with the knowledge and tools to incorporate private sector practices into their structure to support sustainable levels of revenue.
- Improve the capacity of Palestinian private firms to undertake worthwhile activities that provide solutions to social problems and promote community resilience and economic growth by providing Palestinian businesses with the tools to establish an element to support community development and or a socially responsible business trends.
- Develop and implement seminars and leadership courses/workshops that provide participants with training in areas of social entrepreneurship, strategic innovation, enterprising non-profits, social values, business planning, and disruptive innovation.
- Design and implement an internship component with selected not-for-profit organizations, private businesses and/or social entrepreneurs, during which participants would be expected to design and implement community projects with sustainable business models or business-led social change initiatives.
Program Outcomes
- Specific results should include the following:
- Deployment of future leaders that foster social change and work towards community building.
- Participants learn techniques for building social enterprises and maintaining post-program networks with participants and peers aiming towards coherent and coordinated social change.
- Palestinian NGOs and private sector entities are better positioned to support their communities.
Priority Region: West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
Participants and Audiences
- Youth, including university students and recent graduates, between the ages of 20 and 40, equitably maintaining gender balance and diversity, selected through a merit-based competition.
- Community and non-profit organizations.
- Social enterprises.
- For-profit firms.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible primary applicants for grant funding must be Palestinian or American not-for-profit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), associations, non-profit higher education institutions, or non-profit social enterprises based in West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
For more information, visit SEP.
