Grants / Department of State / Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor

DFOP0019749: Emergency Assistance for Fundamental Freedom Defenders

Closed Closed September 8, 2026 Opportunity DFOP0019749 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: FY26 DRL/IRF Global Request for Statements of Interest (DFOP0019929). Status: Closes December 7, 2026 (30 days left). It is in our archive of Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor notices from 2026.

• Award ceiling$4.9 million
• Total funding$4.9 million
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

The following organizations are eligible to apply: -U.S.-based non-profit organizations/NGOs with or without 501(c)(3) status -Private, public, or state institutions of higher education -For-profit organizations or businesses -Foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGO)

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past International Programs to Support Democracy, Human Rights and Labor awards averaged $31.2 million; this notice allows up to $4.9 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (99% over five years) went to nonprofits.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) seeks to make available on-demand, emergency support for individuals and organizations that face imminent threat due to their work to promote and defend fundamental freedoms, including the freedoms of speech, peaceful assembly, and association articulated in the United States’ founding documents. The program will provide assistance to defenders who are facing threat of attack, arbitrary arrest, detention, prosecution, or are otherwise at imminent risk of harm, through a program that provides short-term emergency funding to enable them to continue their work pressing for democratic government and reform and respect for human rights.

Category: Other.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, DFOP0019929, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.