South Africa: Transparency & Accountability | PRETORIASSH2019

Opportunity Information: Apply for PRETORIASSH2019

The grant opportunity titled "South Africa: Transparency & Accountability" (Funding Opportunity Number: PRETORIASSH2019) is part of the Ambassador's Special Self-Help (SSH) program run by the U.S. Mission to South Africa. This is a discretionary grant program designed to provide small, community-focused awards that address locally identified needs. The central idea behind SSH is to fund practical, grassroots projects that deliver clear, positive benefits to communities, with an emphasis on solutions that are achievable with modest funding and can show tangible outcomes.

This specific call targets projects that strengthen good governance in South Africa, particularly those that improve transparency and accountability in government. In practical terms, competitive proposals would likely focus on actions that help communities understand government processes, track public resources, reduce opportunities for corruption, improve access to information, or create systems that encourage ethical public service and responsive decision-making. The program is not positioned as a large-scale infrastructure or long-term service delivery fund; instead, it supports smaller interventions that can catalyze improvement, build civic capacity, and create community-level mechanisms that outlast the grant period.

A key selection factor is sustainability. The program explicitly expects that once U.S. funding is spent, the project should be able to keep operating either independently or with continued support from the community. Applicants are expected to show how the work will continue beyond the life of the grant, such as through local ownership, volunteer or in-kind contributions, cost recovery, handoff to a community structure, or partnerships that maintain activities. Another major preference is scalability, meaning applicants should outline a realistic pathway for expanding the model or replicating it in other communities if it proves effective, even if the initial grant is only funding a pilot.

The U.S. Mission also signals a strong preference for applicants that already have relationships with the private sector, non-governmental organizations, or government bodies. This reflects an expectation that projects will be collaborative rather than isolated, and that partnerships will help with implementation, legitimacy, and continuity. Proposals that align with broader U.S. Mission objectives will receive added consideration, so applicants generally benefit from framing their project outcomes in ways that clearly support governance, accountability, civic engagement, and community empowerment priorities.

Funding is provided as a grant, with an award ceiling of $20,000. The opportunity was posted on June 5, 2019, with an original closing date of July 5, 2019. The listing indicates the program is intended for non-profit organizations that have a DUNS number, which is typically required for entities seeking U.S. government funding and serves as a basic eligibility and tracking requirement. The funding activity category is listed as "Other" under CFDA number 19.700, reflecting that the work may span multiple types of community development and governance activities as long as the core governance and accountability focus is clear.

In short, this opportunity supports small, community-based projects in South Africa that measurably promote good governance, transparency, and accountability, prioritizing applicants with strong partnerships, a credible plan to sustain results after funding ends, and a clear approach for scaling or replicating successful activities.

• The U.S. Mission to South Africa in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "South Africa: Transparency & Accountability" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.700.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-06-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-07-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $20,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for PRETORIASSH2019

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: