Mi Tierra, Mi Triunfo: Colombians Thriving After Their Return

The U.S. Department of State, through Embassy Bogota's Public Diplomacy Section, is offering Mi Tierra, Mi Triunfo: Colombians Thriving After Their Return under funding opportunity OFOP0003636 and Assistance Listing Number 19.040. The program is an open competition for a media production initiative documenting Colombians who voluntarily returned to Colombia after living in the United States or who chose to remain in Colombia and build successful lives despite economic, security, or social pressures to migrate. The initiative is intended to contribute to reduced illegal migration from Colombia to the United States by using authentic, non-political, community-sourced personal storytelling to demonstrate that purpose, upward mobility, belonging, and a successful and comfortable life can be achieved in Colombia. The project is expected to produce and distribute at least 15 short-form digital video profiles and written testimonials featuring Colombians who returned from the United States or chose not to migrate. Stories should address resilience, purpose, personal growth, and success across areas such as entrepreneurship, education, healthcare, sports, and the arts. Filming is expected in Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Risaralda, Quindio, Caldas, Antioquia, and Bogota. Content should use an empathetic, first-person narrative approach rather than direct persuasion or political messaging and may also support development of a longer-form documentary for submission to local and regional documentary competitions. Target audiences include Colombians considering irregular migration, family and community members of current or potential migrants, and the broader Colombian media-consuming public. The Department anticipates one grant with an award between USD 40,000 and USD 50,000 and total available funding of USD 50,000. The performance period is six months or less. Cost sharing or matching is encouraged but is not required. Funds are subject to availability. The opportunity does not support partisan political activity, charitable or development activities including direct social services, construction, specific religious activities, fundraising campaigns, lobbying, scientific research or surveys, commercial projects, projects primarily intended for organizational growth or institutional development, duplicate projects, or illegal activities. Award funds also cannot be used for alcoholic beverages or entertainment expenses. Pre-award costs are generally unallowable unless approved in advance by the Grants Officer and justified in the proposal. The NOFO identifies not-for-profit organizations, public and private educational institutions, individuals, public international organizations and governmental institutions, and qualified media-related applicants among potentially eligible applicants. Colombia-based and U.S.-based applicants are identified as eligible. Applicants must demonstrate relevant experience in investigative reporting, documentary production, or photojournalism and the capability to operate in or report on Colombian border, transit, and ecologically sensitive corridor regions. The NOFO expressly states that for-profit entities are not eligible despite language elsewhere in the eligibility list mentioning them. It also states that only one non-profit, non-governmental entity can be the prime recipient when subcontracting, creating an eligibility inconsistency with the separate inclusion of individuals and governmental institutions. Organizations generally must possess a Unique Entity Identifier and maintain active SAM.gov registration, while individuals are exempt from those registration requirements. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. Required materials include SF-424 for organizations or SF-424-I for individuals, SF-424A, a narrative proposal of no more than three pages, a detailed line-item budget, a budget justification narrative, and applicable attachments. The narrative proposal must address the proposal summary, applicant background and relevant experience, problem statement, program methods and activities, deliverables, project schedule and timeline, key personnel, project partners, sustainability or future funding, and a Monitoring and Evaluation Performance Monitoring Plan containing If-Then statements and a short datasheet of activities and indicators. Attachments include one-page resumes or qualifying position descriptions for key personnel, applicable partner support letters, the latest NICRA when indirect costs are claimed under an existing agreement, proof of nonprofit status, and proof of registration. All documents must be in English, budgets must be in U.S. dollars, and required authorized signatures must be supplied. Applications are evaluated on Quality and Feasibility of the Program Idea for 30 points, Organizational Capacity and Record on Previous Grants for 25 points, Project Planning and Ability to Achieve Objectives for 20 points, Budget for 10 points, Monitoring and Evaluation for 10 points, and Sustainability for 5 points. Reviewers consider alignment with current U.S. foreign policy priorities, achievable objectives, implementation planning, organizational expertise and financial management capacity, appropriate personnel and partners, reasonable and allocable costs, measurable indicators and milestones, and sustainability after project activities conclude. If two or more applications receive equivalent scores, the lower indirect cost rate is used as a tie-breaking preference. Eligible submissions undergo technical review, and the Department also conducts a pre-award risk review covering financial stability, management systems, performance history, audits, and implementation capability. Questions concerning the solicitation must be received at FerroM@state.gov by August 26, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time. The detailed submission section states that applications must be received through Grants.gov by August 31, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time and that this is a firm, non-rolling deadline. This August 31 deadline is used because it appears on the cover and in the detailed submission requirements, despite a conflicting September 21, 2026 date in the basic information table. Applicants will generally be notified within 120 days after the NOFO deadline. The basic information table anticipates a September 20, 2026 project start date and a performance period of six months or less. The Department may entertain non-competitive continuation grants beyond the initial budget period subject to funding availability, satisfactory progress, and a determination that continuation is in the Department's best interest, but the NOFO does not establish a recurring application cycle.

Prioritize an innovative and feasible media concept with clear and achievable objectives directly aligned with the NOFO. Demonstrate relevant documentary, reporting, or photojournalism experience and sufficient organizational and financial-management capacity. Clearly define target audiences, geographic implementation, activities, deliverables, and a realistic six-month timeline. Build a detailed budget from supportable expenses rather than rough estimates and connect every cost to project activities and results. Include measurable output and outcome indicators, milestones, and the required If-Then logic in the M&E plan. Address sustainability beyond the funded activities. Verify that every required form and attachment is included because technically incomplete applications will be deemed ineligible before merit review.