I am pleased to inform you of the FY2011 ECA Alumni Project Competition. This annual competition, now in its eighth year, is designed to assist posts with programming activities that involve alumni of exchange programs fully or partially funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Projects must fulfill, at a minimum, the ECA Alumni Program goal "to foster U.S. diplomatic mission engagement with alumni." Budget requests cannot exceed USD 25,000 per post.
Please review State 013307 for further details. This cable and our guide offering helpful hints, are attached.
<<State 13307 - FY11 Call For Alumni Project Proposals.pdf>>
<<A Post's Guide to Alumni Project Competition 2011.pdf>>
<<A Post's Guide to Alumni Project Competition 2011.pdf>>
In the effort to avoid clogging everyone’s inbox; the proposal forms, budget forms, and the reporting form can be found in the Department of State Personnel Community in the Alumni Project Competition Section
More information and other helpful materials to assist your outreach can also be found in the Department of State Personnel community on State Alumni at https://alumni.state.gov/dos.
Here are a couple items about this year’s competition that I would like to highlight:
· $25,000: Maximum that a post may request.
· AEECA posts: Posts that receive AEECA (formerly FSA/SEED funding) MAY submit a proposal!
· Regional projects: Though not specifically noted in the cable, a posts may choose to collaborate on a regional project and allocate a portion of their maximum request to support it. As an example, post X could submit one project for $20,000 and partially support a regional project supported by other post involving alumni from their country for $5,000. We particularly want to give posts who sent participants to the 2010 EUR Alumni Association Enrichment Workshop an opportunity to support the regional alumni association network, the European Network of American Alumni Associations (ENAM), that was created as a result of that workshop. (I will follow up with those posts separately)
· AEIF: The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) which launches February 16th, 2011, is a separate competition. Information about AEIF can be found at https://alumni.state.gov/aeif.
I am happy to review project proposals before final submission. Please email me your drafts or ideas by March 7 and I will aim to provide feedback by March 14 in time for your post to make your proposal the most competitive before the March 21 deadline.
Also, remember that 2011 project proposals may not be considered if the Office of Alumni Affairs has not received a report (interim or final) of any of your posts’ previously funded alumni projects, be it from 2009 or 2010. Reporting is essential as we evaluate the outcomes of past projects and the potential of future ones.
