Bold Small Grants Mentoring Program

The United States Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), through the Public Diplomacy Section (PDS), is pleased to announce a Notice of Funding Opportunity to design and implement the BOLD (Balkanski Omladinski Lideri, Young Balkan Leaders) Small Grants Mentoring Program. The BOLD network is a project of PDS that seeks to empower young people, ages 18-35, through leadership opportunities and training, to implement projects for positive change in their communities. This mentoring program is complementary to the BOLD Small Grants Competitions, which will be announced in separate notices of funding opportunities. One Small Grants Competition will be open to all BOLD members, while the other will be open only to BOLD fellowship alumni to compete for funds of up to $15,000 to implement projects in the areas of economic development and civic engagement over the course of a year. Funding will be awarded to grantees of the small grant competition only after they work with the applicant in a mentoring workshop to fine-tune their projects (see no. 1 below). The goal of the mentoring program is to equip awardees of the grant competition with the skills and support needed, throughout the grant year, to effectively implement their projects in their communities, and to become skilled project managers and grant administrators. The applicant will be expected to guide the winning grantees through the administrative process of receiving their award, successfully implementing their program, handling problems as they arise, and regularly reporting on the projects progress to PDS. The most qualified applicants will have a thorough understanding of the U.S. governments grant process and how to be a steward of those funds for the most effective outcome. Applicants should also be willing and available to expertly impart that knowledge and experience to young grantees who are seeking to successfully make a difference in their communities.