Preventing and Responding to Child, Early, and Forced Marriage | SFOP0009458

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0009458

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), offered a discretionary grant opportunity titled "Preventing and Responding to Child, Early, and Forced Marriage" (Funding Opportunity Number SFOP0009458; CFDA 19.108). The grant was designed to create and manage a dedicated fund that would channel support to community-based and grassroots civil society organizations working to prevent and respond to child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM) across one or more of four focus countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. In practical terms, the core idea was not simply to run a single direct-service program, but to stand up a mechanism that can identify, resource, and strengthen local organizations already engaged in CEFM prevention and response, while also building a learning network among those actors.

A central expectation of the project was that it would be grounded in context-specific analysis. The implementing organization would be responsible for identifying the key drivers of CEFM in each country or in specific sub-national regions where the fund would operate. That implies looking beyond a one-size-fits-all explanation and instead mapping the local mix of contributing factors, which often include poverty and economic insecurity, gender inequality and social norms, safety concerns, limited access to secondary education, weak birth and marriage registration systems, gaps in legal enforcement, displacement or crisis conditions, and household-level pressures such as debt or dowry-related dynamics. The opportunity also emphasized identifying "key interventions" that can prevent CEFM or respond to it, suggesting the fund should prioritize approaches with credible pathways to impact, adapted to local realities.

The fund was intended to provide direct support to selected grassroots and community CSOs whose programs address CEFM. While the notice does not prescribe specific program models, it clearly points toward a portfolio approach: selecting multiple local partners, providing them with resources (likely subawards and capacity support), and enabling them to implement prevention and response activities suited to their communities. Prevention efforts in this space commonly include keeping girls in school, community norm change initiatives, engaging parents and religious or traditional leaders, adolescent empowerment and life skills programs, economic supports that reduce incentives for early marriage, and strengthening systems like birth registration that help enforce minimum-age laws. Response work often involves services and referral pathways for those at risk of forced marriage or already married early, including protection services, legal aid, case management, psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health information and services, and reintegration options such as returning to school or vocational pathways.

Another major feature of the opportunity was structured shared learning. The project was expected to create opportunities for learning among the selected CSOs and with other stakeholders, which could include peer exchanges, communities of practice, joint reflection on what is working, documentation of lessons learned, and convenings that connect grassroots implementers with government counterparts, service providers, and advocacy groups. This emphasis signals that SCA wanted the fund to function as both a financing vehicle and a platform for improving practice, spreading effective approaches, and aligning efforts across organizations working in the same ecosystem.

Eligibility for applicants was limited to nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status, excluding institutions of higher education. The award instrument was a grant, with an award ceiling of $1,950,000 and an expectation of one award, meaning SCA anticipated selecting a single prime recipient to establish and run the fund and then support multiple local organizations through that structure. The opportunity was created on March 21, 2023, and originally closed on May 30, 2023, reflecting a defined application window for organizations positioned to manage subawards, oversee implementation quality, and facilitate learning across partners and geographies.

Overall, the opportunity can be read as an effort to strengthen locally led solutions to CEFM in South Asia by pairing targeted funding with analysis, coordination, and peer learning. Rather than treating CEFM as a standalone issue, it implicitly recognizes that effective prevention and response depend on understanding local drivers, supporting trusted community actors, and improving collaboration among organizations and stakeholders working to protect girls and young women from early and forced marriage and to support those already affected.

• The Department of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Preventing and Responding to Child, Early, and Forced Marriage" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.108.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 21, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 30, 2023. (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 $1,950,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for SFOP0009458

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