Community services delivery: US to give $50 million through two new programmes

The US embassy on Monday announced that it would provide Rs 4.28 billion ($50 million) through two new programmes to fund as many as 350 qualified organisations to improve community services delivery in Pakistan. Among other activities, these grants will be used to help improve municipal services, advocate gender equality, and increase transparency in local governance, said the US embassy spokesman here.
The Ambassador's Fund will support upto 250 community-developed self-help projects, each lasting one year. Recipients are encouraged to contribute at least 25 percent of total project resource requirements and grants generally will not exceed Rs 8.5 million ($100,000).
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) Small Grants Programme will provide longer term awards to organisations, which submit unique and innovative ideas to promote development efforts. Grants of under Rs 21.4 million ($250,000) will be provided for projects lasting for upto three years. "These two funds give our embassy flexible mechanisms to support community and grass-roots projects," said US Ambassador Anne W Patterson.