Lebanon's 2020 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) Call | LBN PAS 20 003

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The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon (Public Affairs Section) announced the 2020 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) Call as a small-grants opportunity designed specifically for alumni of U.S. government-supported exchange programs. The core idea behind AEIF is to help exchange alumni take the skills, networks, and experience they gained during their U.S.-supported exchanges and turn them into practical, community-based projects that address real-world challenges. Globally, AEIF has been operating since 2011 and has supported nearly 500 alumni-led projects through a competitive selection process, and the Lebanon call fits into that larger worldwide competition and alumni engagement effort.

For this 2020 round, the Embassy made women in peace, security, and governance the central priority. Proposed projects needed to clearly align with that theme to be considered eligible. The notice highlights several example directions that fit the priority: strengthening the role of women in peace, security, and governance; engaging women as partners in preventing terrorism and countering radicalization and recruitment; promoting protection of women and girls from violence, abuse, and exploitation; and supporting womens political and civic participation. A key practical constraint is that all project activities must take place outside the United States and its territories, meaning the work must be implemented in-country or elsewhere abroad rather than in the U.S.

The funding was offered as small grant awards, with individual award sizes expected to range from $5,000 to $25,000, and a maximum award ceiling of $25,000. The opportunity was posted in late December 2019 (with the announcement date listed as December 30, 2019, and a creation date of December 26, 2019), and applications were due February 3, 2020. Funding decisions were expected in summer 2020. Selected projects were to be scheduled to begin after October 1, 2020, and to run for no more than one year, which signals the Embassy was looking for projects that are well-scoped, feasible, and capable of delivering tangible results within a relatively short performance period.

Eligibility was tightly focused on exchange alumni. Applicants had to be alumni of a U.S. government-funded exchange program (as listed on the State Department alumni site) or a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program (including J-1 related programs). Proposals had to be submitted and led by exchange alumni, and each project team had to include at least two alumni. Teams could be mixed across different exchange programs and could include alumni from different countries, which encourages cross-program and cross-border collaboration. U.S. citizen alumni were not allowed to submit proposals as applicants, but they could participate as team members on a project. Applicants were limited to one proposal per alumni team; submitting more than one would make all submissions from that team ineligible.

Organizations such as nonprofits, NGOs, think tanks, and academic institutions could not apply in the name of the organization, but they were allowed to participate as implementation partners supporting project delivery. Cost sharing was not required, but it was strongly encouraged, meaning teams could strengthen their proposals by contributing cash or in-kind resources or securing partner support, even though it was not mandatory. Administrative requirements depended on how the award would be processed: if the grant was issued to an individual, a DUNS number and SAM.gov registration were not required; if processed through a partner organization, that organization needed the standard federal identifiers and registrations (a DUNS number and active SAM.gov registration). Partner organizations were also expected to adhere to equal opportunity employment and nondiscrimination practices for beneficiaries, without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or political affiliation.

Overall, this grant call targeted practical, alumni-led public service projects in Lebanon (and more broadly outside the U.S.) that advance womens roles and protection in the areas of peace, security, and governance. It combined modest but meaningful funding with clear thematic priorities, a requirement for collaborative alumni teams, and a short implementation timeline intended to produce focused, measurable community impact.

• The U.S. Mission to Lebanon in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Lebanon's 2020 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) Call" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.022.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-12-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-02-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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