Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund 2025 (AEIF 2025) | OFOP0001693

Opportunity Information: Apply for OFOP0001693

The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund 2025 (AEIF 2025) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Mission to Qatar (U.S. Embassy Doha) designed specifically for alumni of U.S. government-funded or sponsored exchange programs. The goal is to help former exchange participants turn the skills and connections they gained in the United States into practical, community-focused projects that respond to real challenges in Qatar and the region. Projects must be proposed and managed by a team, not an individual applicant acting alone, and the fund is positioned as a way to strengthen alumni networks while supporting innovative, impact-oriented programming.

Eligibility is tightly defined. Applicants must be either Qatari citizens or third-country nationals who are currently based in Qatar, and they must be verified alumni of a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program (the opportunity references the Exchange Visitor Program information at j1visa.state.gov). Each proposal must come from a team that includes at least two alumni, and teams can mix alumni from different exchange programs and even different countries. A notable detail is that U.S. citizen alumni are not allowed to submit proposals as applicants, but they may still participate as team members on a project. The rules also allow flexibility in team participation: one person can serve on multiple project teams, and a team member may be involved in more than one submitted proposal.

AEIF 2025 is not an open-ended grant; proposals have to align clearly with the Embassy Doha objectives or they will be considered ineligible. The program priorities include building stronger alumni networks by bringing together alumni from different exchange programs to encourage broader collaboration at the regional and global level. It also prioritizes climate-focused work that moves beyond awareness to action, including creative local solutions tied to environmental challenges, green energy, and climate adaptation. Another core emphasis is economic empowerment through entrepreneurship, innovation, and STEM, with a specific focus on supporting women, youth, and underserved populations. In addition, the fund supports projects that encourage youth civic participation through social entrepreneurship, volunteerism, and community engagement. Finally, it welcomes initiatives that motivate students to choose the United States for education and English-language learning, reinforcing educational ties and people-to-people exchange.

All funded activities must take place outside the United States and its territories, which means project design and implementation must be fully grounded in local or regional contexts rather than U.S.-based programming. Alumni teams are also allowed to partner with external organizations such as non-profits, NGOs, think tanks, and academic institutions to implement activities, and the grant award can be issued either directly to the alumni grantees or to the partner organization depending on the proposal structure and compliance needs. The announcement stresses that applicants must follow the full Notice of Funding Opportunity (titled "Notice of Funding Opportunity AEIF 2025 - OFOP0001693"), and that failure to meet stated requirements or instructions will make an application ineligible.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, the opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number OFOP0001693, with an activity category tied to community development (CFDA 19.022). The award ceiling is $35,000, and the Embassy anticipates making about two awards under this call. The original closing date is February 1, 2025, and the opportunity record shows a creation date of November 27, 2024. Applicants should treat the published objectives and eligibility criteria as non-negotiable, because the solicitation explicitly states that proposals not addressing the required objectives, or not complying with the announcement and the full NOFO, will not be considered.

• The U.S. Mission to Qatar in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund 2025 (AEIF 2025)" 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 2024-11-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-01. (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 $35,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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