Building Diaspora Resilience and Sustaining Traditional Identities through Promotion of Hokkien Language | SFOP0008888

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0008888

The U.S. Department of State, through the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, is offering a competitive grant opportunity called Building Diaspora Resilience and Sustaining Traditional Identities through Promotion of Hokkien Language (Opportunity Number SFOP0008888). The program is designed to strengthen Hokkien diaspora identity in Malaysia and Singapore, promote linguistic diversity, and help communities stay resilient against external influence by reinforcing local heritage and cultural confidence. The award mechanism is a Cooperative Agreement, meaning the U.S. government anticipates an active partnership role during implementation rather than a hands-off grant relationship.

Funding for this opportunity comes from U.S. Fiscal Year 2022 public diplomacy funds under authorities including the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as amended) and appropriations under subsection 7043(c)(2) of the FY22 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. The total funding available is USD 500,000. The program expects to issue between one and five awards, with individual awards ranging from a minimum of USD 25,000 up to a maximum (ceiling) of USD 500,000. The initial project period of performance is 12 months, so proposals are expected to be realistic, time-bound, and capable of producing clear outputs and outcomes within a year.

The core focus is practical language and culture promotion aimed at real community engagement. Proposed activities should support local content producers in creating Hokkien-language material and programming, and should also include events that connect with the global Hokkien diaspora. A key component is collaboration that brings in Taiwan-based influencers to highlight shared culinary, cultural, and religious traditions, using familiar and accessible cultural entry points to strengthen ties and identity. Another major deliverable is support for developing and promoting a smartphone keyboard API that enables users to write Hokkien-specific characters more easily, addressing a real barrier to everyday language use and digital content creation. In other words, the program is not only about heritage celebrations; it is also about building modern, usable tools and media that keep the language relevant in daily life.

The intended partners and beneficiaries reflect the community structure of the region. The project envisions working with diaspora organizations and civil society groups interested in linguistic preservation, as well as established community associations in Malaysia and Singapore that historically formed around dialect and clan affiliations such as Hokkien, Cantonese, and Hakka. By partnering with these institutions and networks, the program aims to broaden reach, increase credibility, and create sustainable community participation. The target audience is the Hokkien diaspora, and the priority regions are Malaysia and Singapore, where Hokkien is described as the largest non-Mandarin Chinese language by native speakers in Southeast Asia, making it a strategically significant platform for cultural engagement and preservation.

Eligibility is open but defined. Applicants may include U.S. nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, foreign nonprofit organizations, educational institutions (including public/state-controlled and private institutions of higher education), and commercial entities. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and falls under activity areas such as community development, education, and humanities (cultural affairs). The notice was created on August 2, 2023, with an original closing date of August 31, 2023.

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to Malaysia in the community development, education, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Building Diaspora Resilience and Sustaining Traditional Identities through Promotion of Hokkien Language" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 02, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 31, 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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for SFOP0008888

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