U.S. Embassy Port au Prince, in collaboration with the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), is accepting short-term proposals, via the Julia Taft Refugee Fund, from NGOs working with migrant-related communities.

This support meets low-cost gaps in refugee protection and assistance.  PRM first announced this initiative in October 2000, under the leadership of former PRM Assistant Secretary Julia Taft (named for her posthumously) with the intent of providing ambassadors with the means to respond to gaps that larger multilateral refugee programs have not addressed.

The objectives should correspond directly to the problem stated in your Problem Statement and should be concise. Goals should be specific, measurable, appropriate, realistic, and time-bound (SMART).

Funding Information

• Minimum Award Amount: $5,000
• Maximum Award Amount: $25,000

Examples of Prior Activities Funded Under the Julia Taft Project

Here examples of previous Taft projects throughout the world:

• Improve the mental health of the migrant community.
• Build a playground for refugee children.
• Start an income-generating cooperative for returnees.
• Support livelihoods training and sports programs.
• Support a transit center for unaccompanied minor refugees and asylum seekers.
• Provide a shelter for 150 women and girls from migrant communities who are survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).
• Support a vocational training program for refugees.
• Support returnees with manufacturing of liquid soap.
• Train refugees in gardening and running small businesses.
• Support an income-generating project and provide health care to disabled residents.

Eligibility Criteria

• PRM’s Taft Refugee Fund is intended to meet gaps in refugee assistance by issuing grants to local NGOs for quick impact projects of up to $25,000 that are not addressed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), International Organization for Migration (IOM), other international organizations (IOs), or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receiving U.S. government funding.
• The Taft Refugee Fund is for projects targeting a beneficiary base of at least 50 percent refugees or returnees.
• Priority populations include at least 50 percent of refugees or returned migrants. However, exceptions can be made in some regions with “populations of concern” to PRM, such as internally displaced persons (IDPs), vulnerable migrants, and stateless persons.
• The U.S. Embassy will consider support to projects that benefit both populations of concern and their host communities.
• The fund is not meant as an emergency fund.
• Applicants must be a registered organization (e.g., NGO, community-based organization, faith-based organization).
• Local NGOs will be given priority before international non-government organizations.
• Proposals with an implementation timeline of less than six months are preferred.

For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in Haiti.