Democracy Commission Small Grants Program | STI400 21 XX XXX TBD

Opportunity Information: Apply for STI400 21 XX XXX TBD

The Democracy Commission Small Grants Program is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the U.S. Mission to Tajikistan that funds projects aimed at strengthening democratic resilience and social cohesion through media, counter-extremism messaging, and inclusion-focused public engagement. The funding instrument is a grant (CFDA 19.900), with an award ceiling of $50,000. The opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number STI400 21 XX XXX TBD) was posted on April 28, 2021, with an original closing date of May 25, 2021. A range of applicant types can apply, including not-for-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and civil society/non-governmental organizations.

The program is organized around three main topic areas, each with a clear project goal, defined target audiences, and a menu of objectives that projects are expected to achieve. Applicants are meant to propose activities that align with one of these topics and meet a specified number of objectives, depending on the topic. Across all topics, the emphasis is on building practical capacity and generating compelling content that reaches specific demographic groups in Tajikistan (and, in one topic, Tajik audiences in Russia as well), particularly through social media and other widely consumed media channels.

Topic 1, Support for Independent Media, focuses on helping independent bloggers, amateur journalists, and social media influencers create higher-quality content that can stand up against misinformation, propaganda, and extremist narratives. The primary audience for training and support under this topic is men and women ages 15 to 35 living in Tajikistan who are interested in journalism, photography, videography, or social media and who can commit time to skills-building and content production. Projects under this topic are expected to achieve one to three objectives, such as improving the quality and quantity of visually engaging content to grow audiences, strengthening local journalists and bloggers through training on effective social media use while offering small grants to high-potential participants, and increasing the professionalism of influencers who cover issues of public interest so they post more consistently and credibly on those subjects.

Topic 2, Countering Violent Extremism, is designed to expand the presence of anti-extremist and pro-social messaging in both traditional media and social media spaces connected to Tajikistan. The strategy described is to recruit and develop a cadre of moderate voices who can produce and share positive content during the grant period and continue doing so after the project ends. The primary target audience for these efforts is young males living in Tajikistan and Russia who have limited education, work in manual labor or other unskilled jobs, and tend to hold more conservative religious and social views. Projects in this area should meet one to four objectives, which can include increasing the reach of tolerance and non-violence messages delivered by respected, popular public figures; building durable capacity so moderate voices can keep communicating effectively beyond the grant; producing more easily shareable visual content in the Tajiki language focused on countering violent extremism; and raising awareness of the consequences of violent extremism by amplifying real stories from victims and survivors.

Topic 3, Human Rights and Democratic Inclusion, aims to increase acceptance and inclusion of all members of society, especially people from underrepresented communities, while reducing discrimination directed at these groups. The intended audience here is young men and women in Tajikistan's major population centers who are university educated or currently studying at the university level and who are more likely to be open-minded. Projects are expected to accomplish one to two objectives, such as increasing public awareness of challenges faced by marginalized groups, creating or strengthening networks of support for individuals experiencing harassment, stigma, or violence, and highlighting examples of positive actions by members of these communities and their allies, using social media and, when possible, traditional media to broaden reach and legitimacy.

Overall, this grant opportunity supports relatively small, targeted interventions (up to $50,000) that combine capacity building with real-world output, especially the creation and dissemination of credible, engaging content. Whether focused on independent media development, countering extremist influence, or advancing inclusion and human rights, the core expectation is that projects will measurably strengthen local voices and improve the information environment by equipping participants to communicate more effectively with the specific audiences identified for each topic.

• The U.S. Mission to Tajikistan in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Democracy Commission Small Grants Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.900.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-04-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-25. (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 $50,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for STI400 21 XX XXX TBD

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