The Grant Program

The Grant Program increases the breadth and depth of the Institute's work by supporting peacebuilding projects managed by non-profit organizations including educational institutions, research institutions, civil society organizations, and NGOs.

In over twenty years of grantmaking, the Grant Program has received nearly 10,000 applications and awarded almost 2,000 grants. The Institute has awarded funding to grantees in 46 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and in 81 foreign countries.

Kathleen Kuehnast is the associate vice president of the Grant Program.

Annual Grant Competition*

The Annual Grant Competition:

• Supports peacebuilding projects involving research, the identification of promising models and effective practices, the development of practitioner resources and tools, the development and delivery of education and training programs, and the production of films, radio programs and other media.

Annual Grant Competition facts:

• USIP normally receives between 200 and 300 proposals annually and gives awards on average to 15 percent of the applicant pool.
• The awards generally range from $40,000 to $120,000.
• The deadline is October 1, 2008.

 How to Apply

*Formerly the Unsolicited Grant Initiative

Priority Grantmaking**

Through Priority Grantmaking, USIP:

• Supports nonprofit organizations working in or on Afghanistan, Colombia, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sudan.
• Supports innovative peacebuilding projects involving research, the identification of promising models and effective practices, the development of practitioner resources and tools, the development and delivery of education and training programs, and the production of films, radio programs and other media.

Priority Grantmaking facts:

• USIP has awarded 27 priority grants since 2007.
• The awards generally range from $45,000 to $170,000.
• No deadline - rolling process.

 How to Apply

**Formerly the Solicited Grant Initiative

Frequently Asked Questions

USIP-funded grantee, Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela recently received several awards for her book titled A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Story of Forgiveness (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003). Awards included the 2007 Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal; the Alan Paton Award for Non-Fiction Writing (called the Pulitzer Prize of South Africa); and the Christopher Award for Adult Non-Fiction in the United States.

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The USIP grant-funded film State of Fear, about the civil war in Peru, won the 2007 Overseas Press Club Award for "Best Reporting in Any Medium about Latin America."

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The USIP grant-funded film about inter-religious tension and dialogue in Nigeria titled The Imam and the Pastor won first prize in the Short Documentary section of the Africa World Documentary Film Festival, which was held in St. Louis, Missouri and Lagos, Nigeria in October and November 2007, respectively.

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• Steven Heydemann
  Vice President
• Kathleen Kuehnast
  Associate Vice President
• Barmak Pazhwak
  Program Officer
• Steven Riskin
  Senior Program Officer
• Taylor Seybolt
  Senior Program Officer

 Specialists by topic

 Specialists by region