More details on $18 million in Cuba grants

Cuba Money Project

A Miami human rights organization and Lawyers without Borders are among the winners of the latest U.S. government grants for Cuba-related democracy and civil society work.
The U.S. Agency for International Development awarded $3.4 million to the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, and the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor awarded $1 million to Lawyers without Borders.
Lawyers without Borders is based in Hartford, Conn., and isn’t connected to Doctors without Borders. The group does not mention Cuba on its website, which states:

Because LWOB and its lawyers frequently operate in “challenging” political environments, we ask for your indulgence for our not revealing the entirety of available details about our work . We are sure that you appreciate that the safety of our lawyers is paramount and while our pro bono public relations team at Walek & Associates cringes when they hear this, there are important accomplishments and work ongoing at all times that we simply cannot discuss in a public forum.

Also new is that the State Department evidently awarded the University of Texas at El Paso a grant for Cuba-related work, but I do not have the dollar amount.

On Oct. 13, the Cuba Money Project reported that nine organizations had won more than $8.6 million in Cuba grants from Sept. 1 to Sept. 27, according to federal records.

At the time, I couldn’t account for the full $20 million in fiscal 2010 funds that were set aside for Cuba programs. I now have new numbers showing that 11 organizations received more than $18 million.

In the Oct. 13 breakdown, I included Creative Associates International, the National Endowment for Democracy and Evangelical Christian Humanitarian Outreach, which have been awarded a total of more than $5 million for ongoing Cuba programs as part of multi-year grants. I’m not certain they are getting fiscal 2010 funds and so I’m not including them in the list below.

Organizations that received fiscal year 2010 funds (see Excel file and chart data):

• Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) – Two grants: USAID, Facilitating the Free Flow of Information, $3.9 million. State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Cuba: Greater Freedom of Expression on the Island, $733,000. Total: $4,633,000.
• International Relief and Development (IRD) – Two grants: U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Democratic Engagement at the Community Level, $3.6 million. State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, $693,069. Civic participation in Cuba. Total: $4,293,069.
• Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) – USAID, Democratic Engagement at the Community Level, $3.4 million. The FHRC is part of the Cuban American National Foundation, or CANF, which has called for greater transparency in the use of Cuba funds.
• National Democratic Institute (NDI) – USAID, Democratic Engagement at the Community Level, $2.3 million.
• Lawyers without Borders, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, $1 million.
• International Republican Institute (IRI) – State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, $700,000. Cuba: Strengthening Social Inclusion through Survey Research
• Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) - State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, $600,000. Empowering Civil Society Engagement by Supporting Freedom of Expression.
• Freedom House (FH) - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, $437,000. Enhancing Human Rights Documentation in Cuba (EHRD).
• Development Research Center (DRC) – State Department, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, $376,237. Information Technology Training and Material Development.
• Florida International University (FIU) – State Department, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. $376,000.
• University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, $ amount unknown.

Total: $18,165,237.

Note: I get my numbers from different sources. These figures differ from some of the numbers on the USASpending.gov website. Some of the figures here may not be exact. As I get more precise numbers, I’ll post them. If anyone has better numbers, feel free to share them.