REQUEST FOR LETTERS OF INQUIRY

Annual Major Grant-Making Program: 2010-2011

Introduction

Significant progress has been made in recent years toward more responsible U.S. global engagement.
This includes a prohibition on U.S. government-sponsored torture, reengagement in international
climate negotiations and multilateral human rights institutions, the conclusion of a nuclear arms
reduction treaty between the U.S. and Russia, and the initiation of reforms aimed at correcting the
civil-military imbalance in U.S. foreign policy. However, there remain significant obstacles to
reestablishing U.S. leadership and credibility on the world stage. The continuing financial crisis, a
climate of deep partisanship in Washington, intense issue competition from domestic priorities, and
the tendency of policy-makers and the public to turn inward during difficult financial times have
demonstrated that the road ahead will continue to be challenging and require the active engagement
of the NGO community. In order to implement new policy directions, the President and Congress
will have to advance and put into practice a compelling foreign policy vision of responsible U.S.
global engagement in an increasingly interdependent world.

With this Request for Letters of Inquiry, the Connect U.S. Fund embarks on a program designed to
influence U.S. foreign policy in the third year of the Obama Administration. We seek to support
activities that promote cooperative U.S. leadership to address critical global issues, including nuclear
proliferation, climate change, human rights, and development. The focus will be on multi-
organizational collaborative advocacy efforts between November 2010 and November 2011 that
engage Congress, the Administration, opinion leaders, and the public in the promotion of
responsible U.S. global engagement. This letter explains the initial stage of our grant-making, the
Request for Letters of Inquiry (RFLOI). Formal requests for full grant proposals will be issued to a
select number of projects later in the summer (see timeline on page 7).

The Connect U.S. Fund and the Context for this Grant-Making Program

Who we are: The Connect U.S. Fund, a joint foundation/NGO initiative launched in 2004, is
supported by a donors’ collaborative that includes the Open Society Institute, the William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Ploughshares
Fund. With this Request for Letters of Inquiry, the Fund begins its sixth round of grant-making
activity.

Our Vision: Responsible U.S. Global Engagement: The foundation members of this funding
collaborative share an overarching conviction that the United States must address effectively critical
global issues such as nuclear proliferation, climate change, human rights, and development. The
United States will only be successful in achieving critical foreign policy objectives if it exercises
power and influence in a manner that is widely perceived as legitimate, demonstrates foresight and

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responsibility to future generations, and emphasizes international cooperation. This approach

embodies principles that have proven to make U.S. foreign policy most effective.

Our role: The distinguishing element of the Connect U.S. Fund is its effort to ensure that the
whole of advocacy for responsible U.S. global engagement is greater than the sum of its parts,
primarily by supporting more effective collaboration between organizations both within and across
issue areas. The goal is more integrated, and therefore more powerful, efforts to influence the policy
debate. Our major grantmaking program’s goal is to initiate, facilitate, maintain, and sustain
effective multi-organizational collaborative advocacy efforts which have a high likelihood of
influencing U.S. foreign policy. As a critical complement to grant-making, the Connect U.S. Fund
secretariat actively supports grantees and other NGOs in our network in their efforts to engage
policy makers. This effort builds on the work of our foundations by actively managing and
promoting new collaborative efforts.

The Connect U.S. Fund reflects the recognition by our foundation members that policy victories in
one foreign policy area can open the space for victories in other issue areas. Particularly as the
political climate is turning increasingly isolationist, progress in seemingly unrelated areas reinforce
how cooperative, constructive U.S. global engagement can benefit U.S. interests and demonstrate to
policymakers that the public is far more supportive of multilateral approaches than commonly
believed.

Moreover, we recognize that today’s complex, global problems are by their nature inter-related –
that solutions to seemingly unrelated issues are very much intertwined. Solving these complex
problems requires an approach that acknowledges not only growing global interdependence but also
the connections between traditional issue silos, e.g., between development and climate change,
human rights and security, or nuclear energy and nonproliferation. Getting the policy right on any
one of the areas of security, human rights, climate, or development will require that both policy
prescriptions and strategies for policy advocacy take these interconnections into account.

The Connect U.S. Fund delivers a unique value-added dynamic to our member foundations’
programs and to the work of the NGO community. Effective collaborations require sustained
management of opportunities for overlapping interests, as well as expertise to help shape targeted
advocacy operations and a presence in Washington, DC. Our capacity to effectively support NGO
collaboration is enhanced by deep knowledge of the policy landscape, expertise in specific areas
grounded in the bigger picture of global interdependence, and intimate understanding of the
strengths of different NGOs in our broad network. Our cross-issue collaboration and direct work
with the advocacy community in DC gives us a unique capacity to help form effective coalitions,
identify exciting new policy opportunities, and advance common objectives

2010-2011 Annual Major Grantmaking Program

Summary: With this Request for Letters of Inquiry, the Connect U.S. Fund embarks on a program
designed to influence U.S. foreign policy during a time of financial hardship, deep partisanship in
Washington, and a strong and perhaps understandable tendency among U.S. policy-makers and the
public to turn inward in times of financial crisis. The goal of the program is to promote responsible
and cooperative U.S. global leadership in and across the four areas described below, and to do so

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through supporting strong, multi-organizational collaborative advocacy efforts. This program
complements other Connect U.S. Fund grant-making and operational activities, descriptions of
which can be found at http://www.connectusfund.org.

Issue Areas Priorities: Our grant-making priorities reflect critical challenges facing the United
States and the international community. We have focused on those issues in which significant
progress demands a far greater degree of international cooperation, including U.S. engagement with,
support for, and reform of international institutions. Most importantly, we have considered the
comparative advantages of the Connect U.S. community as we have developed the grant-making
program, which includes input from community members gathered during a series of consultations
in early 2010. In particular, the areas of program focus offer unique opportunities for NGO
collaborations and, as a result, exceptional potential for progress on key policy issues affecting the
role of the United States in the world.

Although we have no specific limits on the level of funding requests, we expect to fund individual
organizations at between $25,000 and $60,000. For example, a formal collaboration between four
organizations could be funded at between $100,000 and $240,000.

We will consider support to collaborative projects focusing on one or more of the following issue
areas:

1. Human Rights: Maintaining U.S. Leadership on Multilateral Human Rights Issues, and
Developing U.S. Capacity to Prevent Mass Atrocities: The United States has made recent
advances in establishing its credibility on human rights issues on the world stage. Following the
Administration’s decision to run for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council for the first time, it
engaged in a substantive outreach process to develop its report for the Universal Periodic Review.
The U.S. sent a delegation to the International Criminal Court’s Assembly of States Parties meeting
for the first time, and is meeting with the Prosecutor to discuss assistance for the current cases.
Despite some initial progress, however, outside attacks on this engagement have escalated, and there
has been little progress toward U.S. acceptance of key multilateral human rights treaties. Likewise,
most of the recommendations of the critical 2008 Genocide Prevention Task Force have yet to be
implemented. Therefore, as in the current round of Connect U.S. Fund grant-making in this area,
we are interested in supporting projects that encourage continued U.S. engagement with multilateral
human rights instruments and institutions, as well as projects that seek to improve U.S. capacity to
prevent and respond to mass atrocities. Congress and the Administration could demonstrate a
commitment to multilateral engagement on international human rights through, for example,
forward movement on several global human rights conventions and treaties, support for and reform
of international human rights institutions and instruments, continued engagement with the U.N.
Human Rights Council, actively cooperating with the International Criminal Court, and putting in
place policies and systems that improve the capacity to prevent and respond to mass atrocities.

2. Promoting Effective Regimes Relating to Non-Proliferation: In Prague on April 5, 2009,

President Obama stated “America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without
nuclear weapons.” Since then, the Administration has concluded a new nuclear arms reduction treaty
with Russia, has made some progress in its Nuclear Posture Review, has moved forward on plans to
secure fissile materials worldwide, and is busily planning to engage in the Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) Review Conference to be held in May 2010. However, partisan rancor over the President’s

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domestic agenda and strong disagreements within the Administration on the scope of the
President’s non-proliferation goals mean that progress could easily be stalled. For this reason, the
Connect U.S. Fund will consider proposals aimed at pressing for U.S. support for arms control
treaties, a fissile material cut-off, and efforts to secure vulnerable nuclear materials. We will continue
to support efforts to translate these commitments into concrete policy wins through engaging
Congress, the Administration, and the public. Given the large number of groups that are involved in
advocacy on these issues, our focus is close cooperation among advocates, and we will support
proposals designed to promote effective coordination or collaboration among various groups for the
purpose of more effective advocacy.

3. U.S. International Leadership on Climate Change: Addressing Developing Country

Concerns: While efforts to ensure that the U.S. takes steps domestically to reduce carbon
emissions sufficiently to prevent catastrophic climate change are critical, advocacy focused primarily
on this mitigation is now broadly supported by the philanthropic community. The Connect U.S.
Fund, therefore, has focused on promoting an international development perspective in the U.S.
policy debate on climate change – particularly as divisions between developed and developing
countries have proven to be the key obstacle to a global deal on climate change. Past grantees have
been engaged in efforts to promote this perspective in the United States and have enjoyed some
success in making sure any post-Kyoto international regime secures the support of developing
countries. However, despite recent progress in U.S. policy – including the passage of
comprehensive climate and energy legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that included
provisions for climate finance for the developing world, the conclusion of an international accord
that enshrines a developed country commitment to generate $100 billion in funding for climate
adaptation, North-South technology transfers and forest protection, and a commitment from the
Obama Administration to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels – the gulf between the United States
and the developing world on climate policy remains vast. This was demonstrated most visibly by
negative reactions from the developing world to the Copenhagen Accord concluded in December
2009. Furthermore, it appears that current legislation in the U.S. Senate is unlikely to include the
types of provisions that are prerequisites for securing developing country support for a global deal.

Therefore, the Connect U.S. Fund will continue to consider support of projects designed to
promote a development perspective on climate change in the U.S. policy debate and build bridges
between the development and environmental communities in support of an integrated approach.
We will consider projects that tackle the question of how, in the context of a global financial crisis,
the U.S. can help generate the resources necessary to address developing country concerns and
bridge the gap between North and South that will be necessary for reaching an international
agreement. This will include support for projects aimed at promoting robust U.S. engagement in the
various international fora dealing with climate change – such as the UNFCCC, the Major
Economies Forum (MEF), the G20 and the G8 – and efforts to build the political space necessary
for the conclusion of a U.S. climate and energy policy that includes provisions for international
climate finance and legitimate and effective mechanisms for the delivery of that finance.

4. U.S. Leadership on Reform of the International Financial and Trade Architecture for
Sustainable Development: The global economic crisis which began in 2008, coupled with recent
strong economic growth in key developing countries, has brought to the surface major deficiencies
in the global economic system. This has led to national and international efforts to institute reforms
in the national and international financial architecture, although progress has been halting. The

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financial crisis has significantly elevated these issues, and U.S. actions in this sphere could determine
whether or not the United States acts as a leader in global development in the years to come.

In this space, the emergence of new major economies, the subsequent creation of new associations
of nations and the rising role of the G20 may offer new opportunities for harnessing the architecture
of global finance and trade for the advancement of poverty alleviation and sustainable development
worldwide. This is an especially pertinent issue, as official development assistance (ODA) is
expected to drop significantly over the next few years. Proposals on the reform of international
financial institutions (IFIs), transparency in multi-lateral fora, and alternative solutions for generating
finance for development such as a global financial transaction tax have gained significant currency in
the wake of the economic crisis and the regular convening of the G20.

These may include efforts to encourage U.S. leadership in reshaping and forming the international
financial architecture; improving the transparency and accountability of associations like the G20;
constructive U.S. engagement in IFIs like the IMF, including support for alternative proposals on
trade such as export-oriented production in developing countries; U.S. advocacy for new solutions
on generating finance for development, such as a financial transaction tax and the use of Special
Drawing Rights at the IMF; and U.S. leadership on developing and implementing robust global
accounting standards.

Because this is a new issue area, we may consider funding some projects that are not specifically
collaborative in nature, though we will view collaborative proposals more favorably.

Multi-Organizational Collaborations: Grants made through this program are for project support
within and across the specified issue areas – and specifically for the multi-organizational
collaborative aspects of those projects. In seeking to ensure that the whole of advocacy is greater
than the sum of its parts, the Connect U.S. Fund will fund those projects that are collaborative in
nature in the three previously-established issue areas of nuclear proliferation, human rights, and
climate change. We may consider funding some projects that are not specifically collaborative in
nature in the fourth issue area, reform of the international financial architecture for sustainable
development, but will view collaborative proposals more favorably.

The intent of the program is to initiate, facilitate, maintain, and sustain effective multi-organizational
collaborative advocacy efforts which have a high likelihood of influencing U.S. national policy
during the grant period. Grants will be made to multi-organizational collaborations or projects
utilizing explicitly collaborative advocacy strategies that demonstrate the capacity and a clear strategy
to influence national policy. In developing proposals, organizations should keep in mind the
following:

• For proposals seeking joint project funding for multiple organizations in a formal
collaboration, we encourage applicants to outline a clear and compelling division of
labor between participating organizations, wherein each organization provides
added value. Considerations may include the different constituencies engaged by each
organization (e.g., faith, women, youth, former military, state governors, conservatives,
business, and labor); the various strengths of each organization (e.g., communications,
Congressional advocacy, grassroots action, research, and analysis); the size and reach of the
organizations (e.g., large organization based in Washington, DC collaborating with a number

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of smaller organizations in key states and districts); the different levels of access to targets of
advocacy (e.g., an institution with high-level access to Administration officials may partner
with an organization with a grassroots network which has greater access to the public or
local media); and the added value of the collaboration in the context of broader advocacy
efforts (i.e., projects that include collaborations between organizations that inhabit the same
sub-community of NGOs may be less compelling than projects which include collaborations
that cut across traditional divides).

• For proposals seeking support for the collaborative activities of one organization, we
encourage applicants to demonstrate how their activities help build common
strategies or approaches in a way that is likely to make the whole stronger than the
sum of its parts. These activities could include, for example, the development of common
tools or messages, the coordination of a coalition or working group, or field organizing
conducted in cooperation with DC-based policy initiatives.

• All proposals should outline policy goals, strategies and tactics that are likely to
influence U.S. policy between November 2010 and November 2011. The intent of this
program is not to support collaborations for the sake of collaboration, but rather to support
those collaborative projects which take advantage of the various strengths of their
organizational partners in effectively influencing U.S. national policy during the course of the
grant period.

Although not a requirement, we also encourage proposals for projects that engage unusual
constituencies that could serve as important “validators” for advocacy (e.g., former military officials
supporting human rights objectives or business executives supporting robust action on climate
change). We are also interested in projects that seek to foster connections between regional and
local advocacy efforts, and work being done in the traditional foreign policy center of Washington,
DC – in particular, through promoting the capacity of regional and local advocates (and advocacy
organizations) to engage and influence the debate.

Eligibility: The Connect U.S. Fund will support collaborative projects that seek to influence the
U.S. foreign policy debate on one or more of the identified issue areas above through policy
advocacy, policy-driven research and analysis, coalition-building, and organizing. We will consider
proposals from advocacy groups, community groups, scholarly or research institutions, and
nonprofit business associations or initiatives that are U.S.-based, 501(c)(3) organizations or affiliates.

Ineligibility: The Connect U.S. Fund cannot provide funding for groups based outside the United
States, lobbying activities, annual fundraising drives, projects undertaken by individuals, or any
political campaign activities on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
While organizations may submit more than one grant application, we are unlikely to provide more
than one grant to any one organization. This presumption against multiple grants to one
organization may be relaxed where an NGO includes functionally independent entities that are each
submitting separate grant proposals. It also does not prohibit an organization that is applying for
funding from joining a separate grant proposal as an unfunded partner.

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Decision-making on Grants: We will consider sympathetically applications from current Connect
U.S. Fund grantees that are meeting program objectives and offer compelling grant proposals that
are sensitive to Connect U.S. Fund program changes. Nonetheless, we will carefully consider – and
anticipate funding – projects from organizations that have yet to receive Connect U.S. Fund
support. Under any circumstances, however, we expect there will be considerable competition for
grants and we will have to decline the large majority of applicants. To avoid unnecessary effort in
the preparation of grant applications by organizations that may not qualify for funding, we have
instituted this Request for Letters of Inquiry (RFLOI) process, which involves a two-page
application. The letters will be reviewed by the Connect U.S. Fund and a select number of
applicants will be invited to submit full proposals. Questions about the administrative or technical
aspects of the grant review process should be directed to Tides Foundation, at connectus@tides.org.
Questions on the substance of proposals should be directed to the Connect U.S. Fund’s program
officer, Francesco Femia, at ffemia@connectusfund.org.

Grant-making process and Tides Foundation: Tides Foundation manages and administers the
grant-making program for the Connect U.S. Fund.

Grantee Requirements: Grantees will be expected to participate in activities designed to bring

together Connect U.S. Fund-supported organizations for the purpose of sharing information on best
practices, and articulating and promoting common policy themes to the media, policy makers, and
the general public.

Successful grantees should be willing to share lessons, products, and resources with other Connect
U.S. Fund participants as appropriate, and participate in Connect U.S. Fund meetings on the
relevant policy areas.

Grantees are also very strongly encouraged to participate in ongoing project monitoring and
evaluation with our outside evaluator.

How to Apply: To be considered for funding, applicants who meet the above criteria should submit
a letter of inquiry through the online form at http://www.connectusfund.org/grants/major by no
later than 11:59 PST on May 24, 2010.

Please direct all administrative inquiries to Tides Foundation staff at connectus@tides.org, and all
inquiries about the substance of proposals to the Connect U.S. Fund Program Officer at
ffemia@connectusfund.org. All email inquiries will receive a timely response.

2010 Timeline

April 22: Release of Funding Guidelines and RFLOI;

LOIs accepted via online application form at
http://www.connectusfund.org/grants/major
May 24: Letters of Inquiry due at 11:59 p.m. Pacific
Late June: Requests for Proposal and declination letters distributed
Late July: Proposals due
Mid-Late October: Final decisions made and grantees notified

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GRANT APPLICATION DIRECTIONS

To apply for a Connect U.S. Fund grant, you will need to write a two-page letter of inquiry that
addresses the questions outlined below. For proposals seeking funding for more than one
organization – formal collaborations – a four-page letter is permissible. Once you have completed
the letter, proceed to the online form at http://www.connectusfund.org/grants/major. You will be
asked to provide the following organizational information, which you may wish to prepare in
advance (please note that all items listed must be submitted through the online form in order for the
LOI application to be considered complete; we will not be contacting applicants if applications are
incomplete). In the case of collaborative requests, the information requested in items a-v below,
barring the organization name, is required only for the lead organization:
a. Organization Name
b. Organization Description (60 words or less)
c. Organization Budget
d. Executive Director
e. Year Founded
f. IRS Employer Identification Number
g. Fiscal Sponsor (if applicable)
h. Project Name or Title (if applicable)
i. Issue area focus
j. Project Description (60 words or less)
k. Requested Amount
l. Current project funders and amount
m. Project Budget
n. Project Partners (if applicable)
o. Contact Name
p. Contact Title
q. Address
r. City
s. State
t. Phone
u. Email
v. Web Site

Letter of Inquiry –Maximum 2 pages for collaborative projects in which only one organization is seeking funds;
Maximum 4 pages for formal collaborations in which more than one organization is seeking funds.

The letter should provide an overview of the proposed project, its goals, and the organizations’
capacity to implement them. In your letter, please address the following areas of inquiry:

Policy Goals: What are your specific policy goals? Please be sure that your discussion is
informed by the goals described in the issue areas above.

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 Project Implementation: Briefly describe key elements of project implementation,
including:
Key planned activities and outcomes, and how these would advance your
policy goals.
Project partners and their roles. If you are not submitting a formal
collaborative proposal, please indicate how your activities include, as their
main element, working collaboratively with other organizations to
accomplish your objectives, and with which organizations you will be
collaborating.
Budget Narrative – a basic description of the expenses and revenue
associated with the proposed project
Timeline

Organizational Capacity: Explain how your organization and partners are positioned to
accomplish these goals, including recent accomplishments and current capacity.