U.S. Embassy in Syria

All U.S. government exchange program alumni are invited to submit proposals and compete for an award of up to U.S. $35,000 to make their community public service project idea a reality!  The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs supports this opportunity under the auspices of the 2024 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) initiative.  Submitted proposals must align with the Syria Regional Platform’s (SRP – U.S. Embassy Syria) foreign policy goals. Read on for more details.

A. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

AEIF provides alumni of U.S. government-sponsored and facilitated exchange programs with funding to expand on skills gained during their exchange experience to design and implement innovative solutions to global challenges facing their community.  Since its inception in 2011, AEIF has funded nearly 500 alumni-led projects around the world through a competitive global competition.  For AEIF 2024, SRP will accept public service projects proposed and managed by teams of at least two (2) non-U.S. citizen exchange program alumni that support SRP’s priority program areas such as:

• Strengthening youth community engagement
• Peacebuilding and reconciliation
• Education
• Strengthening the media sector and/or enhancing journalistic skills to develop the professional capacity of practitioners in this field
• Promoting inclusive economic growth and socio-economic development

B. GENERAL PROJECT PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DETAILS

Funding for successful proposals ranges from U.S. $5,000 to U.S. $35,000

To submit proposals, all alumni applicants must use the official AEIF proposal (in MS Word) and budget (in MS Excel) forms and submit these documents by Thursday, February 1, 2024 to: SRPPDS@state.gov

When submitting, please follow the following naming conventions for the required documents:

• Proposal Document (download here):  AEIF2024_SRP_Your Project Title.docx
• Budget Spreadsheet (download here): AEIF 2024_SRP_Your Project Title.xlxs

Include a short project summary (four to five sentences: 200 words max.) describing the scope of the project and the estimated budget request.

C. ELIGILIBITY INFORMATION

1. Eligible Applicants:

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

• Applicants must be alumni of a U.S. government-funded or sponsored exchange program (https://alumni.state.gov/list-exchange-programs) or a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program (https://j1visa.state.gov/)
• Projects teams must include at least two (2) alumni
• Alumni who are U.S. citizens are not eligible to submit proposals, but U.S. citizen alumni may participate as team members in a project
• Alumni teams may be comprised of alumni from different exchange programs and different countries; all projects must be implemented outside the United States and U.S. territories
• Not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and academic institutions are not eligible to apply on behalf of individual alumni and/or an alumni organization but can serve as partners for implementing project activities

2. Cost Sharing

Inclusion of cost share is not a requirement of this opportunity.

3. Grant Program Area:

Proposals that do not address one or more priority areas as outlined in the program description will be deemed ineligible.

4. Other Eligibility Requirements

If the grant will be processed with an individual, that individual is not required to have a UEI (Unique Entity ID) number or be registered in SAM.gov.  However, should the grant be processed with an organization that is a partner in the project, that organization must have a UEI, as well as a valid registration on www.SAM.gov.  Organizations must have a commitment to equal opportunity employment practices and to non-discrimination practices with regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and political affiliation.

Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal.

Some examples of successful AEIF 2023 projects are available here:

https://alumni.state.gov/aeif/congrats-2023-alumni-engagement-innovation-fund-winners-0

D. TIMELINE:

• Application period:  Now until February 1, 2024

For more details on AEIF 2024, visit: https://alumni.state.gov/aeif