#aeif2015

Are you a member of the exchange alumni community? Are you interested in empowering women and girls and expanding their access to opportunities? “Empowering Women and Girls” is one of eight themes for the 2015 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) competition.

The State Department created AEIF in 2011 to support exchange alumni initiatives that promote shared values and innovative solutions to global challenges. The competition provides small grants to teams of past and current participants of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs to carry out public service projects that utilize skills and knowledge they have gained through their exchange experiences.

To participate, alumni must be members of the International Exchange Alumni (IEA) global online community and form teams of at least five IEA community members. Proposed projects must embody one of the AEIF themes. In 2014, 66 grants of up $25,000 were awarded to alumni teams to support their public service projects.

Nelson Mandela

You went on a U.S. government-sponsored exchange, and it changed your life! You met new mentors and friends, shared your culture and learned about our global community.

Somewhere between your exchange program, school, or career you had an idea for a public service project that could help a community. We believe that your crazy, brilliant, genius idea is going to change our world. But first, you need a team to help you, and you need funding.

That's where we come in. Through the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF), we help our exchange alumni fund their dream service projects. The 2015 competition launches on February 3! 

The guidelines are simple:

1) You must be a member of the International Exchange Alumni (IEA) community.

2) To submit a proposal, you'll need to gather a team of at least 5 IEA members. Remember, while Americans can be team members, only non-U.S. citizens can be team leaders. All AEIF projects must be implemented outside of the United States. 

3) AEIF deadlines are important, so please review them here.