The Eurasia Foundation is a privately managed nonprofit grantmaking organization established in 1993 with financing from the US Agency for International Development. The Eurasia Foundation supports technical assistance, training, educational, and policy programs in the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union (excluding the Baltic States) covering a wide range of activities in economic and democratic reform.
A file describing the first 100 grants is available here.
Programmatic Focus
The Eurasia Foundation's programmatic focus includes:
Private Sector Development: Includes management training,
business education, economics education, small business
development, industrial restructuring assistance, policy
advice, and information systems.
Public Sector Reform: Includes public administration, public
policy advice, and development of non-governmental
organizations.
Media and Communications: Includes projects in print,
broadcast, and electronic media that further the
Foundation's goals of economic reform and democratic
institution building.
The Eurasia Foundation makes grants for technical assistance,
training, educational and implementation activities, and policy
research. On occasion, it may make modest sums available for
items such as computer or communications equipment required to
support a technical assistance, educational, training, or
research program.
The Foundation does not ordinarily make large grants for free-
standing international conferences. It may consider limited
support for conferences, including travel, primarily for NIS
citizens, if a meeting clearly is essential in the long-term
development of specific activities relevant to the Foundation's
program objectives. The Foundation likewise does not generally
fund long-term scholarly exchange programs.
The Eurasia Foundation plans to make grants totaling
approximately $16 million per year. To date, most grants to
American organizations have been for less than $100,000. The
Foundation will occasionally make grants in the $100,000 -
$150,000 range and, in relatively rare circumstances, may
consider larger commitments. Grantmaking to NIS organizations in
the initial period of field office operations will generally
range from $1,000 to $25,000. As the Foundation gains experience
on the ground in the NIS it expects to consider larger
commitments to NIS organizations as well.
Organizational Structure
The Eurasia Foundation has established field offices in Kiev and
Moscow. It plans to open additional offices in Central Russia,
the Russian Far East, and Central Asia by the beginning of 1994.
Field office personnel, who are language and area qualified, are
responsible for carrying out small grant programs on the ground.
They also assist the Washington, DC office in evaluating grant
proposals and monitoring projects.
The Washington, DC office, staffed by language and area qualified
specialists, is responsible for overall planning and management
of the Foundation's programs. It works directly with US-based
institutions seeking funding to carry out field programs in the
NIS. The Foundation responds rapidly to on the ground, small
grant needs through both its field office network and its
Washington, DC headquarters.
The Eurasia Foundation will actively seek collaborative relations
with other institutions and individuals interested in reform in
the NIS. It will welcome private funds in collaboration with or
in support of its work.
Grantmaking Criteria
The Eurasia Foundation's general grantmaking criteria are
consistent with its charitable and educational purposes as
follows:
to support private sector development and/or democratic
institution building;
to produce a significant and sustained effect on the ground
in the NIS; and
to represent a genuine transfer, adaptation, or creation of
skills in the NIS.
In reviewing proposals, the Foundation is particularly interested
in what the proposed grants will produce on the ground in the NIS
and the degree of participation of NIS citizens or institutions
in preparing and supporting the grant requests. The Foundation
also looks for experience of the applicants in the NIS as an
indication of NIS input into the requests. The Foundation's
grant selection process is competitive, as limited resources
allow the Foundation to support only a small percentage of funds
requested by applicants.
The Eurasia Foundation's charter allows it to support US
501(c)(3) nonprofit institutions or comparable institutions in
the NIS, and government entities in the NIS. It may also on
occasion make grants to private for-profit institutions if the
grant serves a charitable or educational purpose related to
economic reform or democratic institution building and private
shareholders or individuals do not benefit from the grant.
Since the source of all grants currently made by the Foundation
is US Government funds, organizations which receive $25,000 or
more are subject to audits in conformance with applicable US
Government regulations.
Application Procedure
To achieve its goals of rapid and flexible funding of qualified
programs, the Eurasia Foundation encourages grant seekers to
submit proposals at any time. There are no application forms.
Before proposals are submitted, a brief letter of inquiry
describing program objectives is recommended for the Foundation
to determine whether the project falls within its present areas
of activity.
Proposals need not be elaborate but should include the following
information where applicable:
Program objectives;
Program design and implementation, including time frame,
participant selection processes, follow-on strategy, and
evaluation procedure;
Information about partners in the NIS or US, including letters
of support, where appropriate;
Qualifications and role of organizations and persons engaged
in work;
Detailed budget, including in-kind contributions and
contributions from other sources;
Standing of applications with other funding sources; and
Tax and legal status.
The proposal will be considered promptly by the program staff. It
is the Eurasia Foundation's policy to complete preliminary review
within one month. At that time it will either notify the
applicant of a decision or request further information about the
program. A request for further information does not imply that
the Foundation will or will not support the program. It simply
indicates that the information is necessary in order to complete
the evaluation.
Proposals should be submitted to:
Program Office
The Eurasia Foundation
1527 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Internet: eurasia@eurasia.org
Correspondence by electronic mail is encouraged
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