Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF)

Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF)

The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) 2026 transitions U.S. government exchange participants from passive alumni to active partners in diplomacy. While exchange programs provide foundational skills and exposure to American values, the long-term impact of these investments depends on structured opportunities for alumni to apply their expertise to real-world challenges. This NOFO bridges that gap by funding alumni-led initiatives that advance U.S. foreign policy and celebrate the Freedom 250 milestone. By empowering alumni to lead, the program ensures that key U.S. interests, including regional security, economic prosperity, the defense of free speech, and digital resilience are championed by credible local voices. To maximize sustainability, this cycle prioritizes projects that: · Break Professional Silos: Encourage collaboration across different exchange cohorts to build broader, more resilient networks. · Leverage Freedom 250: Use the 250th anniversary of the United States as a strategic platform to promote shared democratic values. · Drive Collaborative Action: Mobilize alumni to work alongside the U.S. Mission to Belarus to solve community problems. Ultimately, AEIF 2026 reinforces the value of the original exchange investment by creating a self-sustaining network of leaders committed to American principles on the global stage. Project Audience(s) : The primary beneficiaries of this program are U.S. government-sponsored exchange alumni. Specific audience characteristics include: · Foreign National Alumni: Non-U.S. citizen exchange participants who serve as project leads, leveraging their U.S.-acquired expertise to implement community-driven solutions. · Target Communities (In-Country and in Exile): Belarusian citizens, both those remaining in the country and those in the diaspora, who will benefit from alumni-led initiatives focused on digital security, economic opportunity, and the protection of civil liberties. Project Goal: To mobilize a sustainabl

Details

• Agency: U.S. Mission to Belarus
• Department: Department of State
• Opportunity #: AEIF-FY26
• Expected Awards: 2
• Instrument: cooperative_agreement;grant

Eligibility

The following organizations or applicants are eligible to apply:• Applicants must be alumni of a U.S. government-funded or sponsored exchange program or a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program (https://j1visa.state.gov/).• Projects teams must include teams of at least two (2) alumni.• Alumni who are U.S. citizens may not submit proposals, but U.S. citizen alumni may participate as team members in a project with at least two (2) non-U.S. citizen alumni.• Alumni teams may be comprised of alumni from different exchange programs and different countries.• Applications must be submitted by exchange alumni or alumni associations of USG exchange alumni. No other organizations are eligible to apply. Exchange alumni can partner with not-for-profit or non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and academic institutions to implement project activities. The grant can be issued to the individual alumni or the partner organization.For-profit entities, even those that may fall into th