Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund 2024

The Embassy of the United States in Riga announces an open competition for past participants (“alumni”) of U.S. government-funded and U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs to submit applications to the 2024 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF 2024).  We seek proposals from teams of at least two alumni that meet all program eligibility requirements below. Exchange alumni interested in participating in AEIF 2024 should submit proposals to embassyriga@state.gov by February 1, 2024. 

In 2022, the United States and Latvia celebrated 100 years of diplomatic relations. Today, the United States and Latvia are strategic partners, committed to defending our achievements and ensuring that future generations will have the same personal liberties, human rights, and economic freedoms that we enjoy.  

Looking to the future, our alliance faces new challenges: disinformation and malign influence; hybrid attacks; transnational corruption and crime and social divisions that threaten our stability and security. The Embassy seeks alumni projects that will help our alliance adapt and be resilient to the challenges posed by these complex issues and result in an even stronger U.S.-Latvia partnership. We invite our alumni to submit a project that will advance this vision.

Proposals must address strengthening the resilience of the U.S.-Latvia partnership through strengthening the role of civil society, NGO’s and other democratic entities/mechanisms, emphasizing media literacy and countering disinformation, shining the light on the fight against corruption, promoting entrepreneurship and Transatlantic-oriented Economic policies, affirming the role of NATO, as well U.S. and Latvia commitment to it.

B. FEDERAL AWARD INFORMATION 

Announcement posted: November 2, 2023

Closing date for applications: February 1, 2024

Funding type: Small grant awards 

Decision date: no later than June 30, 2024.

Project start date: no earlier than August 1, 2024.

Expected size of individual awards: Between $5,000 to $35,000.

Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed by May 31, 2025.

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 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 (not in a lead position). 

·        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. Not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and academic institutions are not eligible to apply in the name of the 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 must address strengthening the resilience of the U.S.-Latvia partnership through strengthening the role of civil society, NGO’s and other democratic entities/mechanisms, emphasizing media literacy and countering disinformation, shining the light on the fight against corruption, promoting entrepreneurship and Transatlantic-oriented Economic policies, affirming the role of NATO, as well U.S. and Latvia commitment to it.

Proposals that do not address the theme as outlined in the program objectives will be deemed ineligible. All project activities must take place outside of the United States and its territories. 

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 beneficiaries, without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or political affiliation.

Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal.

Grants may not be used for partisan political activity. However, public education, get-out-the-vote, election monitoring and other non-partisan election activities may be supported.

Grants may be used to promote non-discrimination and tolerance for disadvantaged minorities, but should not be used to promote the particular agenda of a specific group, practice, or lifestyle over any other. Close attention should be given to applications addressing tolerance and human rights (focusing on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation), volunteerism, and trafficking in persons. Before awarding any grant related to these issues, Embassy staff must brief grantees on the distinction between support for human rights and our inability to advocate for a specific lifestyle or the views of any specific organization.

Grants cannot support any goals of religious nature.

Grants cannot support the creation of any media content or support journalist salaries.

Proposed projects should target primarily Latvian audiences.

D.APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 

1.Address to Request Application Package  

Application and budget templates are available here: https://lv.usembassy.gov/2023-alumni-engagement-innovation-funding-available-2/

2. Content and Form of Application Submission 

Applications and budgets must be submitted using the official AEIF 2024 application and budget forms.  

Please follow all instructions below carefully. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this announcement or fail to comply with the stated requirements will be ineligible. 

Please ensure: 

·        The proposal clearly addresses the goals and objectives of this funding opportunity; 

·        The proposal addresses all questions in the official AEIF 2024 application form; 

·        All documents are in English; 

·        The budget is in U.S. dollars and is submitted using the designated AEIF 2024 budget form; 

·        All pages are numbered. 

• Mandatory application forms:

1)2024 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund Proposal Form:

2)Budget Justification Narrative: Applicants must submit a detailed budget and budget narrative justification utilizing the template provided. Line-item expenditures should be listed in the greatest possible detail. Budgets shall be submitted in U.S. dollars and final grant agreements will be conducted in U.S. dollars. 

§  Budget Restrictions: AEIF 2024 does not support the following activities or costs, and the selection committee will deem applications involving any of these activities or costs ineligible: 

·        Any airfare to/from the United States and its territories  

·        Activities that take place in the United States and its territories  

·        Staff salaries, office space, and overhead/operational expenses  

·        Large items of durable equipment or construction programs   

·        Alcohol, excessive meals, refreshments, or entertainment  

·        Academic or scientific research  

·        Charitable or development activities   

·        Provision of direct social services to a population   

·        Individual scholarships  

·        Social travel/visits  

·        Gifts or prizes  

·        Duplication of existing programs  

·        Institutional development of an organization  

·        Venture capital, for-profit endeavors, or charging a fee for participation in project  

·        Support for specific religious activities  

·        Fund-raising campaigns  

·        Support or opposition of partisan political activity or lobbying for specific legislation 

3)     Attachments:

§ 1-page CV or resume of key personnel who are proposed for the program

§ Letters of support from program partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner

§ If your organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) and includes NICRA charges in the budget, your latest NICRA should be included as a PDF file.

§ Official permission letters, if required for program activities

§ Additional support materials like workshop agendas, curricula, or previous pilot projects connected to your submission – Optional, but strongly recommended.

Please note: When submitting the proposal form and budget form, please use the following naming convention for the titles of the documents: AEIF24_Country_Project Title.

Example Proposal Form: AEIF24_Latvia_Inclusive STEAM Curricula.docx

Example Budget Form: AEIF24_Latvia_Inclusive STEAM Curricula_Budget.xlxs

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM.gov)

Required Registrations:

All organizations, whether based in the United States or in another country, must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and an active registration with the SAM.gov. A UEI is one of the data elements mandated by Public Law 109-282, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), for all Federal awards.

Note: As of April 2022, a DUNS number is no longer required for federal assistance applications.

The 2 CFR 200 requires that sub-grantees obtain a UEI number. Please note the UEI for sub-grantees is not required at the time of application but will be required before an award is processed and/or directed to a sub-grantee.

Note: The process of obtaining or renewing a SAM.gov registration may take anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Please begin your registration as early as possible.

·        Organizations based in the United States or that pay employees within the United States will need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a UEI number prior to registering in SAM.gov.

·        Organizations based outside of the United States and that do not pay employees within the United States do not need an EIN from the IRS but do need a UEI number prior to registering in SAM.gov.

·        Please note that as of November 2022 and February 2022 respectively, organizations based outside of the United States that do not intend to apply for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awards are no longer required to have a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) code or CAGE code to apply for non-DoD foreign assistance funding opportunities. If an applicant organization is mid-registration and wishes to remove a CAGE or NCAGE code from their SAM.gov registration, the applicant should submit a help desk ticket (“incident”) with the Federal Service Desk (FSD) online at www.fsd.gov using the following language: “I do not intend to seek financial assistance from the Department of Defense. I do not wish to obtain a CAGE or NCAGE code. I understand that I will need to submit my registration after this incident is resolved in order to have my registration activated.”

Organizations based outside of the United States and that DO NOT plan to do business with the DoD should follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Proceed to SAM.gov to obtain a UEI and complete the SAM.gov registration process. SAM.gov registration must be renewed annually.

Organizations based outside of the United States and that DO plan to do business with the DoD in addition to Department of State should follow the below instructions:

Step 1: Apply for an NCAGE code by following the instructions on the NSPA NATO website linked below:

NCAGE Homepage: https://eportal.nspa.nato.int/AC135Public/sc/CageList.aspx