Deadline: February 21, 2021.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is pleased to announce the 2021 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF).  AEIF 2021 supports teams of alumni of U.S. government-sponsored international exchange programs with funding from US $10,000 up to US $30,000 to implement social impact projects that addresses global issues in their local communities.

The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) offers alumni of U.S. Government-sponsored exchange programs the opportunity to carry out public service projects using the skills and knowledge they gained during their exchange.  AEIF projects extend and increase the impact of the U.S. government’s investment in exchange participants and programs by enhancing the leadership capacity, convening power, and community engagement of alumni and alumni networks.

THEME

The themes for AEIF 2021 which are designed this year to catalyze action among alumni are:

• Inclusive India – topics including but not limited to diversity, tolerance, and equality in gender, religion, ethnicity, (dis)ability, etc.
• Transformative Technology – Technology for Social Good
• A Free and Open Indo Pacific – Advancing a Shared Vision
• Combating Gender-based Violence
• Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change

ELIGIBILITY

• Applicants must be alumni of U.S. Government-funded or sponsored exchange programs listed here, and form teams of at least two (2) alumni.
• Foreign alumni may participate as team members in a project, however, at least one team leader should be an Indian national from Chennai’s Consular district as described in the ‘Priority Regions’ statement.
• At least two alumni from the team must be members of the International Exchange Alumni (IEA) global online community.
• If you do not have a registered account on the IEA web site, please follow registration instructions available here.
• Proposals must address the themes outlined. Proposals that do not address the theme as outlined in the program objectives will be deemed ineligible.
• All alumni teams will need to partner with legally-recognized, non-profit, non-governmental organizations that meet U.S. and Indian technical and legal requirements (i.e., FCRA of Government of India; DUNS and SAM registration for requirements for guidelines from United States)

APPLICATION

• Submit the proposal budged using only the attached AEIF 2021 Budget Form
• Submit the proposal in the word document using only the attached AEIF 2021 Proposal Form
• Submit the proposals with the budget before due date by email to JaishankarC@state.gov

Resources available:  

• AEIF 2021 Proposal Form (MS Word: 252 KB)
• AEIF 2021 Budget Form (MS Excel: 31 KB)
• Monitoring and Evaluation Resource Guide (PDF: 139 KB)
• Allowable Activities & Costs (PDF: 86 KB)

OFFICIAL LINK: https://in.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/chennai/grants/