Grants / Department of State / Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs

DFOP0017934: FY 2026 Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellows Program

Closed Closed May 29, 2026 Opportunity DFOP0017934 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Bureau Of Educational and Cultural Affairs notices from 2026.

• Award ceiling$6.5 million
• Award floor$6.5 million
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to nonprofits and colleges and universities.

• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Private institutions of higher education
• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Please see full announcement.

More grants for nonprofits, colleges and universities.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Academic Exchange Programs - Undergraduate Programs awards averaged $3.5 million; this notice allows up to $6.5 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (79% over five years) went to nonprofits.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

This NOFO has been amended. Please see the full Notice of Funding Opportunity for all changes, which are highlighted in yellow. The Office of Academic Exchange Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), invites proposal submissions for one cooperative agreement to design, administer, and implement the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program (YSEALI AFP). YSEALI AFP will include approximately 16 institutes—eight in spring 2027 and eight in fall 2027—for approximately 285 undergraduate and recent graduates from Southeast Asia. Each institute will be on one of four themes: Economic Prosperity, Liberty and Freedom, Natural Resources, and Peace and Security. The award recipient will plan, implement, and oversee the 16 institutes under the YSEALI themes. Each institute will host approximately 17-18 Fellows from Southeast Asia. Each institute will be approximately five weeks long and will include an approximately four-week academic residency at a U.S. college or university campus. Institutes will also include an approximately one-week integrated academic field experience (that includes time in Washington, DC) at the conclusion of the institute. The award recipient will coordinate with ECA to organize up to two YSEALI Fellows Forums, one in the spring and one in the fall, in Washington, DC, for all Fellows. Applicants can administer YSEALI AFP fully through subawards or may propose to directly implement up to two institutes (one in spring, one in fall) and administer subawards for the remaining 14 institutes. No academic institution will be allowed to implement more than two institutes in one calendar year. ECA welcomes applications from U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, including community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and public and private universities, and other not-for-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) (see section B. Eligibility). Applicants may submit only one proposal under this competition. If multiple proposals are received from the same applicant, all submissions will be declared ineligible and receive no further consideration in the review process. It is ECA’s intent to award a cooperative agreement for one base year.

Category: Other.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

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