International Exchange Alumni Programs

 

As authorized by the Fulbright-Hays Act, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) seeks to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange programs, including the exchange of scholars, researchers, professionals, students, and educators. ECA programs foster engagement and encourage dialogue with citizens around the world. Educational and cultural engagement is premised on the knowledge that mutual understanding, the development of future leaders, and the benefits of education programs influence societies and affect official decision-making almost everywhere in the world today. ECA programs inform, engage, and influence participants across strategic sectors of society including young people, women, teachers, scholars, journalists, and other professionals increasing the number of foreign individuals who have first-hand experience with Americans and with the values of freedom, representative government, rule of law, economic choice, and individual dignity, while building international knowledge and capacity among Americans. The purpose of International Exchange Alumni Programs is to advance U.S. foreign policy by building and maintaining relationships with current and future leaders, including Americans, who have participated in international exchanges. Alumni engagement is an integral component of the U.S. Department of States public diplomacy that generates maximum return on the U.S. governments investment in exchange programs. Alumni programs aim to unite alumni communities around the globe and foster post-exchange opportunities through follow-on activities, virtual engagement, funding opportunities and resources, and regional programs.

Active 19.452 Bureau of Educational and Cultural, Department of State B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2016 The Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminar (Alumni TIES) Program supports regional or sub-regional enrichment seminars for alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs focusing on thematic topics that support U.S. foreign policy priorities and foster a shared sense of identity, networking, and dialogue among participating alumni. To support efforts of alumni to apply their international exchange and seminar experience with their communities, participants are eligible to compete for a small grants opportunity of up to $10,000 per project following the seminar. Approximately 130 U.S. alumni of various ECA exchange programs participated in four seminars in FY 2016.
Fiscal Year 2017 In FY 2017, the Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars program involved approximately 200 alumni.
Fiscal Year 2018 In 2018, 168 alumni from 64 countries, including the United States, participated in four Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars.
Fiscal Year 2019 The Career Connections Seminars for U.S. Alumni series was launched and hosted three seminars in three different regions of the United States during FY 2019. The seminars enhanced the professional development of a total of 220 U.S. alumni. The Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars (TIES) hosted seminars in Accra, Ghana, Almaty, Kazakhstan, and Kansas City for an approximate total of 150 participants. Twenty-four alumni received small grants for projects related to strengthening cities through entrepreneurship, business and trade for women entrepreneurs, and media literacy skills
Fiscal Year 2020 In FY 2020, the Office of Alumni Affairs deployed the Alumni Rapid Response Fund (ARRF) to provide quick turnaround funding that supported 37 U.S. alumni projects addressing pressing local COVID-19 needs. Additionally, 39 U.S. alumni participated at the annual Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminar (TIES).
Fiscal Year 2021 To date, approximately 39 small grants were issued to U.S. citizen exchange alumni using FY2021 funding through the U.S. Exchange Alumni Network and Capacity Building Program, reaching 65 U.S. citizen exchange alumni and 33 international alumni teammates. FY2021 funding will fund additional small grants in calendar year 2022 and 2023.
Fiscal Year 2022 In May 2023, 39 exchange alumni from Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United States participated in an Alumni TIES on environmental justice, food and water insecurity, and strategies for bringing minority voices into climate adaptation practices. Throughout the week, participants shared success and challenges of diversity and building consensus among indigenous communities with competing interests, highlighted the power of youth engagement, shared best practices for climate action in the digital age, promoted environmental and health benefits of parks and open spaces, and they told personal stories of helping communities in Barbados fight food insecurity through sustainable land use and surviving on the frontlines of climate change during hurricane Katrina. The annual grant opportunity for teams of U.S. citizen exchange program alumni to utilize the skills, knowledge and networks gained through their U.S. government exchange programs to address issues faced by communities around the world funded 47 out of 187 very competitive submissions. The teams reflected a diverse range of exchange programs and communities across 24 U.S. states. Their projects will help strengthen democratic institutions; fight disinformation; protect the environment; support human rights, refugees, and migrants; foster alumni network development; and build community through arts, sports, language, and technology.
Fiscal Year 2023 No Current Data Available.
Fiscal Year 2024 No Current Data Available. The Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, as amended., Title 87, Part 256 Pursuant to the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended (Fulbright-Hays Act) the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State awards grants and cooperative agreements to educational and cultural public or private nonprofit foundations or institutions. Applications may be submitted by public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3). Organizations must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of application. Please refer to the Grants.gov or the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic announcement for further eligibility criteria. Beneficiaries include recipient organizations, educational institutions, other non-government organizations (NGOs) that meet the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3), as well as sponsored participants, and the American people and the people of participating countries who interact with the international participants. Pursuant to the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended (Fulbright-Hays Act) the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State awards project grants and cooperative agreements to educational and cultural public or private nonprofit foundations or institutions. Applications may be submitted by public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3). Organizations must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of application. Please refer to the Grants.gov or the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic announcement for further eligibility criteria. OMB Guidance 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E Cost Principles under Special Considerations for States, Local Governments, and Indian Tribes applies to this program. Preapplication coordination is not applicable. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. OMB Guidance 2 CFR Parts 200 and 600, entitled the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program, . Announcements are posted on the Grants.gov and the U.S. Department of State's website: http://eca.state.gov/organizational-funding or the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic website for organizations meeting eligibility requirements. Announcements are made as necessary during the fiscal year. The application procedures are described in the Grants.gov or the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic announcement. Final awards cannot be made until funds have been appropriated by Congress, allocated and committed through internal Bureau procedures. Successful applicants will receive a Federal Assistance Award (FAA) from the Bureau's Grants Office. The FAA and the original proposal with subsequent modifications (if applicable) shall be the only binding authorizing document between the recipient and the U.S. Government. The FAA will be signed/validated by an authorized Grants Officer, and sent via the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic to the recipient's responsible officer identified in the application. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines From 90 to 120 days. Not applicable. As stated in Grants.gov or the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic announcements. As stated in Grants.gov or the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic announcements. There are close to 2,000,000 alumni of U.S. Government-funded or sponsored exchange programs worldwide, nearly one-quarter of whom are Americans, and approximately 300,000 alumni annually of the U.S. Government-facilitated Exchange Visitor Program. ECA is committed to providing resources to sustain engagement with and harness the energy, enthusiasm, and expertise of these current and emerging leaders. Working closely with Department of State regional bureaus and U.S. embassies worldwide, ECA supports exchange alumni programs that are strategic, responsive to U.S. embassy priorities, and designed to reinforce U.S. foreign policy objectives. To best address those objectives, ECA focuses exchange alumni programs on policy priority topics including increasing America's global competitiveness, countering disinformation , support for STEM education, protecting the environment, empowering women and girls, advancing economic prosperity, promoting inclusion and access to education and encouraging strong civil society institutions and good governance. ECA does this through professional development for U.S. citizen alumni and by providing expertise, training, and support for on-the-ground foreign alumni activities led by U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. ECA also maintains a robust, targeted virtual engagement system including the Exchange Alumni website (alumni.state.gov), an exclusive, password-protected on-line global community , which serves as the U.S. Department of State’s official website for U.S. government-sponsored exchange alumni. The site offers alumni a place to network and connect with other alumni, share news, and access resources such as grants and research databases. ECA also virtually connects U.S. leaders with the global alumni community through online mentoring sessions hosted on social media. The funding provided to non-profit organizations supports U.S. citizen alumni and foreign alumni. These cooperative agreements support professional development programs for U.S. citizen alumni and regional enrichment seminars and small grants on thematic topics that support U.S. foreign policy priorities and foster a sense of shared identity, networking and dialogue among participating alumni. Performance Reports: As stated in Grants.gov announcement. In accordance with the provisions of OMB Guidance 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart F Audit Requirements, a nonfederal entity that expends $750,000 or more during the non-Federal entity's fiscal year in Federal awards must have a single or program-specific-audit conducted for that year in accordance with the provisions of this part. The Recipient must comply with the OMB audit requirements. For all DOS awards, regardless of business type, the Recipients are subject to the audit requirements found in OMB audit requirements. Please refer to the U.S. Department of State's Standard Terms and Conditions for awards (https://www.state.gov/m/a/ope/index.htm) for additional guidance. The Recipients must maintain financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to an award for a period of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report. Please refer to the U.S. Department of State's Standard Terms and Conditions for awards (https://www.state.gov/m/a/ope/index.htm) for additional guidance. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. As stated in Grants.gov or the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic announcements. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/released: Assistance is awarded/released through the Department's central financial management database. None/Not specified. Christopher Schwab
Deputy Director, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Alumni Affairs, 2200 C Street, NW, SA-05, First Floor, Room 01-U05, Washington, DC 20037
Washington, DC 20037 USA
SchwabCJ@state.gov
Phone: (202) 632-6179 https://alumni.state.gov/ 19-0201-0-1-154 (Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements)) FY 22$1,200,000.00; FY 23 est $1,200,000.00; FY 24 est $1,200,000.00; FY 21$2,250,000.00; FY 20$2,650,000.00; FY 19$280,000.00; FY 18$2,560,000.00; FY 17$2,600,000.00; FY 16$750,000.00; - $550,000 to $650,000. As stated in the Grants.gov or the U.S. Department of State's SAMS Domestic announcements. In addition, organizations should be familiar with OMB Guidance 2 CFR Parts 200 and 600 entitled the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards. For a copy of the OMB circulars cited, please contact the U.S. Government Publishing Office or download from www.ecfr.gov website. Not applicable.