Federal grant programs / Department of State

International Exchange Alumni Programs (19.452)

Also known as International Exchange Alumni Programs include Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars (TIES) and the U.S. Exchange Alumni Network and Capacity Building Program.

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$5.9 million
• Grant awards29
• Typical award$11,600
• Awarded in FY 2025$1.3 million
• Size rank1,594 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceCooperative agreements, project grants

Key findings

• Annual funding fell from $2.3 million in fiscal 2021 to $1.3 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 1594th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 11 largest recipients received 98% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 3 states and territories.

What the program funds

As authorized by the Fulbright-Hays Act, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) designs and implements educational, professional, and cultural exchange and other programs that create and sustain the mutual understanding with other countries necessary to advancing United States foreign policy goals. ECA programs cultivate people-to-people ties among current and future global leaders that build enduring networks and personal relationships and promote U.S. national security and values. ECA programs foster engagement and encourage open dialogue with citizens around the world. Educational and cultural engagement is premised on the knowledge that mutual understanding, the development of future leaders, and the benefits of education programs influence societies and affect official decision-making almost everywhere in the world today. ECA programs inform, engage, and influence participants across strategic sectors of society, increasing the number of foreign individuals who have first-hand experience with Americans and with the values of freedom, representative government, rule of law, and economic choice, while building international knowledge and capacity among Americans. The purpose of International Exchange Alumni Programs is to advance U.S. foreign policy by building and maintaining relationships with current and future leaders, including Americans, who have participated in international exchanges. Alumni engagement is an integral component of the U.S. Department of State’s public diplomacy that generates maximum return on the U.S. government’s investment in exchange programs. Alumni programs aim to unite alumni communities around the globe and foster post-exchange opportunities through follow-on activities, virtual engagement, funding opportunities and resources, and regional programs.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Pursuant to the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended (Fulbright-Hays Act) the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State awards grants and cooperative agreements to educational and cultural public or private nonprofit foundations or institutions. Applications may be submitted by public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3). Organizations must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of application. Please refer to the Grants.gov or the U.S. Department of State's MyGrants (formerly SAMS Domestic) announcement for further eligibility criteria.

What the money can and cannot pay for

There are close to 2,000,000 alumni of U.S. Government-funded or sponsored exchange programs worldwide, nearly one-quarter of whom are Americans, and approximately 300,000 alumni annually of the U.S. Government-facilitated Exchange Visitor Program. ECA is committed to providing resources to sustain engagement with and harness the energy, enthusiasm, and expertise of these current and emerging leaders. Working closely with Department of State regional bureaus and U.S. embassies worldwide, ECA supports exchange alumni programs that are strategic, responsive to U.S. embassy priorities, and designed to reinforce U.S. foreign policy objectives. To best address those objectives, ECA focuses exchange alumni programs on policy priority topics including increasing America's global competitiveness, countering disinformation , support for STEM education, protecting the environment, empowering women and girls, advancing economic prosperity, promoting inclusion and access to education and encouraging strong civil society institutions and good governance. ECA does this through professional development for U.S. citizen alumni and by providing expertise, training, and support for on-the-ground foreign alumni activities led by U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. ECA also maintains a robust, targeted virtual engagement system including the Exchange Alumni website (alumni.state.gov), an exclusive, password-protected on-line global community , which serves as the U.S.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

$1,000,000.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Nonprofits received 94% of the money, individuals 1.9% and businesses 1.2%.

By state

1 state has a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards. It is District of Columbia.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.