2026 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF 2026)
Grant Opportunity Analysis
The U.S. Mission to Uzbekistan, through the Embassy in Tashkent, is funding the 2026 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund to support alumni-led projects that strengthen economic ties between the United States and Uzbekistan and advance U.S. innovation and business connections. The program seeks projects that incorporate Freedom 250 themes and can include activities such as STEM workshops, innovation hackathons, cultural festivals, and promotion of major U.S.-hosted events, with priority given to business, energy and trade, STEM, AI and innovation, and education, culture, sports, and tourism. Applicants must be teams of at least two exchange alumni, and proposals are expected to include a performance monitoring plan, a two-page monitoring and evaluation narrative, and a theory of change for quarterly reporting and measurable results. The grant has a funding range of $5,000 to $35,000, expects two awards, is due May 6, 2026, and inquiries may be sent to Tashkent-Alumni@state.gov.
Eligible Applicants
The following organizations are eligible to apply: ● Applicants must be alumni of a U.S. government-funded 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. ● Alumni teams may be comprised of alumni from different exchange programs and different countries. ● Applications must be submitted by exchange alumni or 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.