Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As we look back on an unprecedentedly challenging year, CFOI is grateful and honored to have worked alongside faith and community organizations addressing not only COVID-19, but the myriad of pressing global challenges — from youth education to human trafficking — that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
In 2020, our office had the privilege of collaborating with USAID colleagues to strengthen the Agency's partnerships with local faith and community organizations. We hosted several meetings to provide these organizations with guidance on working with the Agency, developed resources for USAID staff on how to better engage religious communities, and organized many virtual roundtables convening faith and community groups with USAID leadership. We hosted the Agency's first ever Evidence Summit on Strategic Religious Engagement, welcoming nearly 300 individuals from the NGO community, the U.S. Government, universities, and other institutions from around the world to discuss research on collaborating with religious communities and partnering with faith-based organizations in development. To finish up the busy year, our office joined five other USAID teams to launch the Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships (LFT) Hub, which aims to strengthen the Agency's partnerships with diverse and nontraditional partners, including faith and community organizations. Stay tuned for more information on the LFT Hub's services and opportunities for partners in the months ahead.
As we step into 2021, we look forward to continuing to foster collaboration between faith and community organizations and USAID for the health and safety of communities around the world. For those celebrating religious or family holidays this season, we send you warm wishes, health, and strength. Happy New Year to all.
Best regards,
Kirsten Evans
Director
USAID Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives (CFOI)
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Video: Faith and Community Organizations:
Key Partners in the Journey to Self-Reliance
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Faith-based and community organizations have long served some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities in the world. Their perspectives, networks, and resources give them an unparalleled, and yet often underutilized, capacity to address development challenges.
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This month, USAID hosted a roundtable convening NGOs working in the Sahel, including faith and community-based groups, to discuss the region's ongoing crises. Speakers included leaders from USAID, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision Niger, and Lutheran World Relief. They discussed the region's development challenges, including increased conflict and a decline in security and governance. |
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USAID and the broader development and humanitarian aid sector have seen significant recent updates to safeguarding policies that protect the dignity of the people we serve. On November 18, USAID hosted an event for the Agency's faith-based and community partners to provide information on these changes and the expectations for our partners’ policies regarding sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding, and counter-trafficking in persons (C-TIP). |
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USAID and the U.S. Department of State (State) are committed to preventing and protecting vulnerable populations from sexual misconduct, including sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment. This month, USAID and State jointly submitted a report to Congress on allegations of, and steps to prevent and respond to, sexual exploitation and abuse committed by implementing partners of foreign assistance programs supported by funds appropriated for State and USAID in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. Read the report here.
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On November 19, USAID held their first Business Forecast Call for fiscal year 2021. The Business Forecast provides information about potential USAID funding and partnership opportunities.
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From November 16 to 17, the Government of Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the third Ministerial Conference to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief. States and multilateral organizations representatives convened with civil society and religious leaders to discuss how to support religious minorities and promote freedom of religion or belief. Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued eight Official Statements of Concern resulting from the Ministerial.
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The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor announced a Request for Statements of Interest from organizations for applied research and evaluation projects that support the following goal: build a portfolio of evidence to further identify democracy and human rights program strategies that are effective in order to improve program relevance and impact. Deadline to submit is 11:59 p.m. ET on December 21, 2020.
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USAID's New Partnerships Initiative (NPI) helps partners prepare for working with USAID. An essential ingredient for partnership success is branding and marking your USAID-funded programs and assets.
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NPI Funding Opportunities |
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Youth Excel Addendum
As described in the YouthPower 2 Annual Program Statement (YP2 APS), USAID has a longstanding history of investing in youth development in multiple sectors, including education, agriculture, the environment, economic growth, democracy, human rights and governance. Yet there is still a need for increased effort to incorporate youth as partners in development activities.
Previous USAID youth programming has supported small scale youth-led learning and implementation grants in low- and middle-income countries that have provided on-the-ground insights into Positive Youth Development programming. However, the local youth organizations involved had limited capacity in conducting research, analyzing data, and applying findings to programs.
Deadline: March 29, 2021
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Higher Education for Leadership, Innovation, and Exchange (HELIX) Annual Program Statement
Today’s youth are largely inspired by the chance to drive meaningful change, peace and prosperity, and eager to use their skills to better their communities. To harness the potential of the more than 1.5 billion young people worldwide, USAID has released the Higher Education for Leadership, Innovation, and Exchange (HELIX) Annual Program Statement.
This will support the Agency’s higher education programming across sectors by promoting solutions, including:
- Scholarships, exchanges, and fellowships for individuals, and
- Institutional capacity building and partnerships (i.e., policy reform)
Deadline: April 2, 2021
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Women's Global Development and Prosperity
Deadline: April 15, 2021
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