CAR ROL Project, Chemonics International, Inc., 2000 M Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20036, Fax: 202-955-3400

B -- ALC GRANTS PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT Grants proposals are now being solicited under the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID's) Central Asian Republics Rule of Law (CAR ROL) Project (Contract No. CCN-0004-C-00-4004-01), as administered by the American Legal Consortium (ALC) on behalf of Chemonics International, Inc. The ALC is endeavoring to assist the Central Asian Republics in establishing a political, legal and regulatory environment that supports democratic governance and respect for human rights. The Central Asian republics include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistn, and Turkmenistan. An essential component of ALC's project is the ROL Small Grants Program, which is designed to support local nonprofit organizations (operating alone, or in partnership with a U.S. organization) working on programs supportive of the project's goals and contributing to the sustainability of the Rule of Law in the region. Priority will be given to programs and activities that: strengthen core legal institutions and processes, as well as civil society as it relates to legal development; promote democratic legal reforms; support an orderly transition to a market-based economy; protect human rights; and promote democratic governance and limitations on the arbitrary exercise of Governmental power. Grants should support educational and action-oriented programs with the potential to mobilize other organizations and resources in the development of ROL activities. Qualified nonprofit organizations may include: private voluntary organizations (PVOs); non-governmenal organizations (NGOs), and; official public institutions involved in research and educational activities supportive of the Rule of Law. In the case of U.S. - local partnerships, either party may submit the Grant Application forms, but for administrative purposes, ALC will designate the U.S. partner as responsible for discharging the grantee's obligations under the Grant Agreement. Documentation of the partnership will be required. A grantee organization must be legally registered and recognized as a nonprofit or charitable entity under the laws of the country in which its operates, or must have taken steps toward registration. Applications from U.S. organizations must include documentary evidence of 501(c)(3) status. The following are not eligible to receive ROL grants awards: for-profit entities; political parties, groupings or institutions, or their affiliates or subsidiaries; organizations that advocate, promote or espouse anti-democratic policies or illegal activities. The proposed activities to be funded under the Grants Program may be the sole or primary work of a organization, or a special dimension or function of an organization largely dedicated to other types of work. Although support is not limited to any fixed categories of activities, the following are illustrative: Helping citizens understand and gain access to laws and legal information; Helping NGOs and civic organizations strengthen their rights and operate more effectively; Helping citizens organize to advocate changes in the legal system and promote public accountability of governmental agencies; Helping citizens protect their individual and property rights; Helping citizens utilize the legal system for the resolution or adjudication of conflict; Helping citizens monitor legal developments affecting human rights; Developing systems of private and quasi-public alternative dispute resolution; Helping the public remove legal and regulatory constraints on private sector commercial activities and property ownership. Approximately $1.2 million is available under the Grants Program over the course of the Contract Period (through December, 1996). Applications should be submitted for grants of more than $5,000 and less than $25,000; grants in excess of $25,000 will be considered as an exception by the ALC Grants Committee. It is not anticipated that the ALC will award any multi-year grants (i.e., grants spanning more than one calendar year). The grantee must contribute at least 25% of the total project budget from its own or other non-grant resources. This contribution may be met through cost-sharing (internal) or co-funding (external), or some combination of the two. The nature and amount of this contribution must be clearly defined in the Grant Application and the Grant Instrument, and the applicant must identify the means to verify this contribution. The applicant must also distinguish between co-funding that is already committed, and co-funding that is only anticipated. Grant applications may be submitted at any time. Applications will be solicited and grants awarded in accordance with a schedule that will be advertised and shared with all potential grantees that have inquired regarding the Grants Program. For more information about application requirements and an official application package, please contact: In Almaty: Grants Manager, American Legal Consortium, 187 Furmanova Street, 3rd Floor, 480013 Almaty, Kazakhstan, Fax: 7-3272-507-662. In Washington, D.C.: CAR ROL Project, Chemonics International, Inc., 2000 M Street, N.W., Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20036, Fax: 202-955-3400. (184)

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