Description
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 themes that strengthen the U.S.-Latvia partnership through the role of civil society, NGOs or other democratic entities/mechanisms; enhancing media literacy or countering disinformation; anticorruption; promoting entrepreneurship or transatlantic-oriented economic policies; or affirming the role of NATO, as well the U.S. and Latvia’s 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. Projects that include activities happening in Latvia will be prioritized. Funding type: Grant or Fixed Amount Award Decision date: no later than June 30, 2025. Project start date: no earlier than September 1, 2025. Expected size of individual awards: Between $5,000 to $35,000. Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed by May 31, 2026. 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 (individually or from non-governmental organizations they represent) or alumni associations. For-profit and academic institutions are not eligible to apply in the name of the organization but can serve as partners for implementing project activities. Cost Sharing Inclusion of cost share is not a requirement of this opportunity, but it is encouraged. Examples include in-kind support (services, labor, supplies/equipment, or volunteers), a business contributing food, an organization offering a venue at a discount or free of charge, an NGO sponsoring an activity, an expert donating time to facilitate a seminar, etc. 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. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 1.Address to Request Application Package Application and budget templates are available here: https://lv.usembassy.gov/education-culture/alumni/ 2.Content and Form of Application Submission Applications and budgets must be submitted using the official AEIF 2025 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 2025 application form; · All documents are in English; · The budget is in U.S. dollars and is submitted using the designated AEIF 2025 budget form; · All pages are numbered. Mandatory application forms: 1) 2025 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund Proposal Form: § Summary Page: Cover sheet stating the applicant name and organization, proposal date, program title, program period proposed start and end date, and brief purpose of the program. § Proposal: The proposal should contain sufficient information that anyone not familiar with it would understand exactly what the applicant wants to do. You may use your own proposal format, but it must include all the items below. · Proposal Summary: Short narrative that outlines the proposed program, including program objectives and anticipated impact. · Introduction to the Organization or Individual applying: A description of past and present operations, showing ability to carry out the program, including information on all previous grants from the U.S. Embassy and/or U.S. government agencies. · Problem Statement: Clear, concise and well-supported statement of the problem to be addressed and why the proposed program is needed. · Program Goals and Objectives: The “goals” describe what the program is intended to achieve. The “objectives” refer to the intermediate accomplishments on the way to the goals. These should be achievable and measurable. · Program Activities: Describe the program activities and how they will help achieve the objectives. · Program Methods and Design: A description of how the program is expected to work to solve the stated problem and achieve the goal. Include a logic model as appropriate. · Proposed Program Schedule and Timeline: The proposed timeline for the program activities. Include the dates, times, and locations of planned activities and events. · Key Personnel: Names, titles, roles and experience/qualifications of key personnel involved in the program. What proportion of their time will be used in support of this program? · Program Partners: List the names and type of involvement of key partner organizations and sub-awardees. · Program Monitoring and Evaluation Plan: This is an important part of successful grants. Throughout the time-frame of the grant, how will the activities be monitored to ensure they are happening in a timely manner, and how will the program be evaluated to make sure it is meeting the goals of the grant? · Future Funding or Sustainability Applicant’s plan for continuing the program beyond the grant period, or the availability of other resources, if applicable. 2) Budget Justification Narrative: Applicants must submit a detailed budget and budget narrative justification utilizing the template provided.Budget narrative is mandatory. Budget without narratives will not be reviewed. 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. § Project management costs should not be more than 30% of the total requested budget amount. Project management costs include fees for speakers, trainers, and consultants; § Lodging costs should be for program activities during the project and not for long term rent for project team members; § Travel costs need to take into account the most economic means of travel; § AEIF 2025 can support the following budget items: ·Intra-regional or in-country transportation; ·Rental of venues for project activities; ·PPE and sanitizing equipment; ·Meals/refreshments integral to the project (i.e., working lunch for a meeting); ·Reasonable costs to support virtual programming (i.e., subscription to Zoom, WebEx, camera/microphones for virtual meetings, mailing services, etc.); ·Trainer or speaker honoraria expenses (i.e., maximum $250/day fee, travel, lodging, per diem); ·Reasonable equipment and materials; ·Communications and publicity materials, such as manuals or project advertisements. § 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 (optional) § 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. 4) Example Proposal Form: AEIF25_Latvia_Inclusive_STEAM_Curricula.docx 5) Example Budget Form: AEIF25_Latvia_Inclusive_STEAM_Curricula_Budget.xlxs 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 to be eligible for applying for this funding opportunity. 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.