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DEADLINE: October 15, 2008
I. Program Overview
The 2008 ECA Alumni Small Grants Program (ASGP) is designed to support the professional development of U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) alumni and promote community development in alumni’s countries. Alumni may apply for a grant of up to $3,000 to conduct a community development or professional development project. The project time period is ten months.
Eligible alumni – The ASGP is open to alumni of the following ECA-sponsored programs:
¨ Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program (Muskie)
¨ Eurasian Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD) (formerly known as the FREEDOM Support Act Undergraduate Program)
Possible project ideas include:
¨ Initiating a public or community service program;
¨ Launching a pilot program at an NGO or academic institution;
¨ Organizing training programs or conferences for professional colleagues and/or other alumni;
¨ Funding travel of US colleagues to eligible Eurasian countries for conferences, training programs and professional collaboration;
¨ Development and publication of curricula, textbooks, or related reference or educational materials;
¨ Publication of public information pamphlets or brochures; and
¨ Conducting any other projects judged by the selection committee and/or ECA to be in the interest of program goals.
The maximum grant amount awarded for any project is $3,000. Alumni are welcome to collaborate with other ECA alumni (including eligible alumni from other countries) to submit joint projects. The maximum grant award is $3,000, regardless of the number of alumni collaborators.
Please note that budgets are scrutinized carefully. Projects will be given preference that have low budgets, include cost-share and make good use of limited resources.
Please note that the purchase of computer hardware or office equipment (printers, photocopiers, fax machines, etc.) is prohibited. Additionally, funds from the grant cannot be used explicitly for the creation of organizational or personal web sites. ECA alumni are encouraged to work through the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) to accomplish these goals. Lastly, grant funds may not be used to provide honorarium to ECA alumni, including the grant recipient.
Eligible alumni must complete their small grant activities within Eurasia (Eurasia is defined as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine).
Only one application per deadline for any individual alumnus/alumna will be considered. Applicants must have successfully completed all previously awarded small grants.
II. About IREX
IREX is an international nonprofit organization specializing in education, independent media, Internet development, and civil society programs in the United States, Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia.
III. Technical Eligibility Requirements
¨ Must be a Muskie or UGRAD alumnus/a in good standing;
¨ Must be living in a Eurasian country (listed above) at the time of application;
¨ Must have successfully fulfilled all requirements of previously awarded alumni grants;
¨ Must submit a complete application, including a complete application form, project proposal, budget, budget narrative, timeline and personal CV.
Please note that current IREX employees and consultants and their immediate family members (spouses, parents, children and siblings) are not eligible to compete in any IREX-administered grant program, either as individuals or as the responsible party representing an institutional applicant.
IREX does not discriminate against grant applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability or any other protected characteristic as established by US law.
IREX reserves the right to verify all of the information included in the application. In the event that there is a discrepancy, or information is found to be false, the application will immediately be declared invalid, and the applicant ineligible. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Applications not meeting the above technical eligibility requirements will not be forwarded to the selection committee.
IV. State Alumni
All ECA alumni are encouraged to register and use the State Alumni Web site, at https://alumni.state.gov. State Alumni is a Web-based interactive directory for alumni of Department of State exchange programs. It extends the exchange experience for alumni after they return home from the U.S. This site also allows alumni to stay in contact with one another-and with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs-through networking and the sharing of useful information about professional opportunities. State Alumni may help small grant applicants when formulating a project idea or disseminating information about your project to other alumni. ECA Small Grant program applicants and all ECA alumni are strongly encouraged to register.
V. Selection Process and Criteria
Each eligible application will be read by a selection committee in Washington, DC. The committee consists of representatives of ECA, as well as regional American scholars and technical experts. IREX staff provides administrative support only and does not vote during the selection process.
The selection committee will judge the proposals based on the following criteria:
¨ Impact on and benefit to the applicant’s community;
¨ Impact on and benefit to other alumni;
¨ Impact on alumnus’ professional development;
¨ Budget reasonableness (projects will be given preference that have low budgets);
¨ Documented cost-share contributions;
¨ Timeline feasibility.
Special consideration will be given to those applicants who have not previously been awarded an ASGP grant.
The selection committee expects each application to contain cost-share, be it direct financial support from another organization or individual, or in-kind contributions.
VI. Timeline
¨ Application Deadline: March 10, 2008
¨ Grant Award Recipients Announced: May 1, 2008
¨ Grant Period: May 1, 2008 – March 1, 2009
¨ Project Completion Deadline: March 1, 2009
¨ Final Report & Expense Report Due: April 1, 2009
VII. Disbursement of Grant Monies
Some ASGP recipients will receive their grant money as a wire to their personal bank account. Consequently, many grant finalists will be asked to supply bank information in their Terms & Conditions document. Please note that for any non-US based account, applicants must provide corresponding bank information as well (the bank holding your account can provide you with this information.)
International Plane Tickets
According to US government regulations, all US colleagues who travel to Eurasia for professional collaboration as part of an ECA Alumni Small Grant must use a US air carrier for their international travel. This regulation is known as the Fly American Act. Therefore, all international tickets purchased with ECA/IREX funds must be purchased directly through IREX. Please contact asgp@irex.org in order to obtain airfare estimates before submitting your application and budget. An international plane ticket on a US carrier generally ranges from $700-$2,000, although during busy travel seasons it can be more expensive.
Taxes
Grant recipients are responsible for all taxes or bank processing/wiring fees incurred by receiving an ECA Alumni Small Grant. However, taxes (for Eurasian alumni) and wire fees may be included in the project budget.
Eurasian alumni – Some Eurasian countries consider a grant from a non-commercial organization to be taxable income. Grantees are responsible for knowing the tax laws of their home country and/or the country of research. IREX cannot and will not comment on or give tax advice.
VIII. Application Instructions
¨ Please answer all questions in English.
¨ Please provide English translations for all documents in local language (reference letters, cost-share letters, etc.)
¨ Please complete your project budget in US dollars AND your local currency.
¨ Include your full, legal name as it is spelled in your international passport. Do not translate name spellings (for example, write Mariya and not Mary.)
¨ Provide complete contact information, including postal index codes for all address and country and city codes for telephone and fax numbers. Do not translate street or city names into English (for example, write Prospekt Mira not Peace Avenue.)
¨ Do not leave any space blank. If a question does not apply to you, write N/A (not applicable.)
¨ All forms and supporting materials should be typewritten (if possible) and submitted with the complete application.
¨ Write your full name and country of citizenship in the top right corner of each page of your application.
Each Application must include the following components:
¨ Completed Application Form
¨ Project Proposal
¨ Project Timeline
¨ Project Budget
¨ Project Budget Narrative
¨ CV for all participating alumni and anyone who will receive a fee for their services as part of the grant.
¨ Supporting materials, such as letters of support. Please note that supporting materials must not exceed more than 10 pages.
Project Proposal
Your proposal must be no more than four (4) pages in length. Using separate paper, describe your project in detail. Please be sure to include the following points:
§ Project goals and objectives
o Highlight the overall purpose of your project
o Indicate why you need ECA funding to complete your project
§ Community/Institutional Impact
o How will your project benefit your larger community/institution? Will there be a lasting impact?
o What other members of the community or organizations will be involved?
o How many people will benefit from your project?
o How will fellow ECA alumni benefit from your work?
§ Professional Justification
o How will the project contribute to your career and professional goals in your home country?
§ Implementation
o Detail how the project will be implemented – what are the steps you will take?
o What background work have you already done?
o How long will your project take to implement?
o Who else will be involved?
Be sure to describe in as much detail as possible the project’s goals and objectives and explain why this project is needed. Be sure to describe what reports, projects, articles, services, etc. you will complete as a result of this activity. It is also helpful for the selection committee if you detail how your project will be different from previous work that has been done in the same field. Feel free to attach appropriate supplemental materials, such as letters of support, brochures, agendas, or printed materials about the organization or meeting. Please limit project proposals to no more than 4 pages in length and limit supplemental materials to 10 pages. Applications that do not contain a proposal will not be considered.
PROJECT TIMELINE: On a separate piece of paper, please indicate the project timeline, detailing in particular how long it will take you to complete the proposed project. Please be sure to include dates for specific activities, such as conferences, workshops, community service activities, etc. Please bear in mind that all projects must be completed within ten (10) months of grant notification. Applications that do not contain a timeline will not be considered.
PROJECT BUDGET & BUDGET NARRATIVE: Please complete the attached budget and budget narrative thoroughly. Be sure to include financial information in both your local currency and in US dollars. Be sure to include all project expenses, including taxes and wire fees, if applicable. Please fill in the name of the applicant and project title in the space provided. If you are providing anyone with honorarium, please explicitly state their name, their role in your proposed project and include a current CV. Note: The budget and budget summary are in the same Excel spreadsheet; be sure you complete and submit both tabs. Projects that do not contain both a budget and budget narrative will not be considered.
Total funding requested cannot exceed $3,000. You should indicate what, if any, additional funding you have requested from other sources as well as any and all cost-share you have received. All cost-share must be verified through a letter of support issued by the organization or individual providing the cost-share and must be estimated at current accurate market rates.
Please note that the purchase of computer hardware or office equipment (printers, photocopiers, fax machines, etc.) is prohibited. Additionally, funds from the grant cannot be used explicitly for the creation of organizational or personal web sites. ECA alumni are encouraged to work through the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) to accomplish these goals. Lastly, grant funds may not be used to provide honorarium to ECA alumni, including the grant recipient.
Examples of cost-share include, but are not limited to:
§ Donated meeting space
§ Free room and board
§ Waived conference fees
§ Direct financial support
The budget narrative should contain, in words, the basics of your overall budget. For example, if you are planning on publishing a book, you should indicate in the budget narrative how many copies are being printed, how many pages the book is, how many people/organizations it is being distributed to, etc. This level of detail is very helpful to the selection committee when trying to determine if a budget is financially sound.
Based on the recommendation of the selection committee and ECA, IREX reserves the right to alter an applicant’s budget or fund some, but not all, components of an application. Please note that budgets are scrutinized carefully. Projects will be given preference that have low budgets, include cost-share and make good use of limited resources.
CVs: Please include an updated copy of your CV and the CV for all participating alumni and anyone who will receive a fee for their services as part of the grant. Please keep the CVs as brief as possible, highlighting educational and professional experience and only the additional work that directly relates to your campaign proposal.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit your application via email to asgp@irex.org, making sure that ALL attachments are sent in one, and only one, email message. Please be sure to include your last name in the subject line of the email. Please also submit one hard copy of the application to the IREX representative office in your home country. Please be sure to keep a copy of your completed application.
ASG Application Form
ASG Application instructions
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