Women International Grants develop knowledge and skills

International Project Grants Application Instructions

Program Purpose

International Fellowships are intended to provide fellows with the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills that will directly benefit their home countries.

To support the continuation of fellows’ work after they return home, AAUW awards a limited number of International Project Grants to International Fellows who have successfully completed the course of study for which they received an AAUW International Fellowship.

The grants support community-based projects that benefit women and girls in the fellow’s home country.

Award Amount

$5,000–7,000

Women International Grants develop knowledge and skills

Eligibility

To be eligible for an International Project Grant, the applicant must meet the following requirements:

• The applicant must have successfully completed an AAUW International Fellowship, all reporting requirements for the fellowship, and the academic program for which they received the fellowship by June 30, 2017.
• The applicant must have citizenship in a country other than the United States. Women holding dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country or who are permanent residents of the U.S., or who pursue either of those during the grant year are not eligible.
• The project must be implemented in the applicant’s home country and have a direct, positive impact on women and girls.
• The applicant must be the primary director of the project and be responsible for the project, with control over programmatic, administrative, fiscal, and editorial decisions.
• International Project Grants are not available for the development of written work for academic credit or for research that will be used for a degree thesis or dissertation.
• Members and officers of the AAUW Board of Directors are not eligible to apply for fellowships and grant awards. AAUW staff or volunteers with decision-making authority who wish to apply for an award must recuse themselves from the decision-making process.

Criteria for Selection and Application Review

The International Project Grants Panel meets once a year to review applications for funding. Awards are based on the selection criteria outlined here. The panel’s recommendations are subject to final approval by the AAUW Board of Directors. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis according to funds available in a given fiscal year. To ensure a fair and objective review process, AAUW does not comment on the deliberations of the awards panels. Thus, AAUW is unable to provide written or oral evaluations of applications. No provisions exist for reconsideration of grant proposals after the board has acted on the panel’s recommendations. Applications and supporting documents become the sole property of AAUW and will neither be returned nor held for another year.

The following criteria apply to the selection of International Project Grants:

• Relevance of the proposed project to the mission of AAUW.
• Applicant shows commitment to the social advancement and economic empowerment of women and girls in her home country as demonstrated by her previous work and her proposed project.
• Strength of project rationale — the project meets a demonstrable, documented local need.
• Clarity and creativity of the project design — the project (1) has clear and specific outcomes, (2) is original and/or innovative in its approach to achieving those outcomes, (3) reflects community/target group participation in the development and design of the project, and (4) is ready for implementation
• Sustainability/impact of the project—the project has potential for long-term sustainability beyond the grant period
• Proposed project organization is well represented by women in leadership positions and project management.
• Feasibility of the project — (1) proposed activities will logically lead to desired outcomes and achievement of goals and (2) the project time frame is realistic
• There is adequate support from collaborative organizations and community partners
• The project director is qualified to direct the project and the organization has the capacity to carry out the project
• There is collaborative support from organizations/community partners
• Strength of the evaluation plan — (1) specific evaluation methods are proposed to measure short-term, medium-term, and long-term results; (2) proposed evaluation methods are logical measures of projected outcomes; and (3) resources are adequate to support the proposed evaluation methods
• The fiscal resources are adequate to support the achievement of goals—the project director/alumna and, if applicable, project organization have a track record of sound fiscal management of outside resources, the budget is adequate, and the expenses are authorized.

Website Link

Deadline: November 1, 2019.