Humanities Grants

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) is seeking applications for funding from qualified entities to implement programming and activities for Humanitarian Capacity and System Strengthening. BHA is soliciting applications to support programs that focus on improving policies, practice, and standards in humanitarian response through increased coordination among key stakeholders, technical and policy engagement with relevant global actors, innovative and effective approaches to delivering and financing humanitarian assistance, as well as for thematic and operational issues improving humanitarian response to affected populations. This also includes enhancing humanitarian actors ability to respond to humanitarian crises by developing tools and methodologies that contribute to greater understanding of key issues affecting people in crises and humanitarian actors responding to their needs. BHA expects successful applicants to work with BHA and other relevant stakeholders to make new policies, practices, tools, methodologies and innovations available to the wider humanitarian community, where appropriate. Activities are grouped by objective. For the first round of applications, BHA will consider applications focused on only one objective. Should an applicant wish to submit an application for more than one objective, the applicant must do so by submitting separate applications for each objective. Subject to the availability of funds, BHA intends to have more than one round of applications under this APS. BHA intends to award predominantly cooperative agreements, but reserves the right to award any other form of assistance agreement. For the first round of applications, BHA anticipates that the total amount of each award will not exceed $3 million over a two-year period of performance and interested applicants may submit applications for lesser amounts. BHA may amend this APS to increase the funding available for this APS, add or revise program objectives, and/or add additional rounds of applications. USAID will post amendments or addenda to the BHA website and Grants.gov (through which organizations may sign up to receive notifications of changes). The Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) has summarized and addressed the questions that BHA received on the subject Annual Program Statement (Funding Opportunity number 720BHA21APS00001) in a response document that is attached in the related documents tab. In addition, BHA has revised the APS to address the questions received. BHA did not respond to comments received on the APS individually.

This funding opportunity supports projects that promote U.S. policy priorities in multilateral settings, focusing on themes like human rights, global health, and climate action, and is open to non-profit organizations, think tanks, and educational institutions operating in Geneva or internationally.