Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF)
Grant Opportunity Analysis
The U.S. Mission to Belarus is offering the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) 2026, a discretionary grant program to support alumni-led initiatives that advance U.S. foreign policy priorities and commemorate Freedom 250. The program funds projects that mobilize U.S. government exchange alumni to work on community challenges, with emphasis on cross-cohort collaboration, digital resilience, freedom of expression, and related civic and economic themes. Eligible applicants are exchange alumni or alumni associations, with project teams of at least two alumni, and the opportunity is open to projects that can include partnerships with nonprofit, NGO, think tank, or academic collaborators. Awards range from $5,000 to $35,000, two awards are expected, and applications are due May 4, 2026; the shared contact inbox is BelarusProgram@state.gov.
Eligible Applicants
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 the categories listed above, are not eligible to apply for this NOFO. Organizations may sub-contract with other entities, but only one, non-profit, non-governmental entity can be the prime recipient of the award. When sub-contracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal. For more information on the difference between sub-contract and sub-recipient, please refer to 2 CFR 200.331.