About the YES Alumni Grants Program

About the YES Alumni Grants Program

About the Program

American Councils for International Education ( is pleased to announce the 2015-2016Alumni Grants Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) ( to assist past participants of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program ( the program years 2003-04 to 2012-13who successfully completed the YES program from any of the past or current YES countries. These include:

•Afghanistan

•Albania

•Algeria

•Bahrain

•Bangladesh

•Bosnia and Herzegovina

•Bulgaria

•Cameroon

•Egypt

•Gaza Strip

•Ghana

•India

•Indonesia

•Iraq

•Israel

•Jordan

•Kenya

•Kosovo

•Kuwait

•Lebanon

•Liberia

•Libya

•Macedonia

•Malaysia

•Mali

•Morocco

•Mozambique

•Nigeria

•Oman

•Pakistan

•Philippines

•Qatar

•Saudi Arabia

•Senegal

•Sierra Leone

•South Africa

•Suriname

•Tanzania

•Thailand

•Tunisia

•Turkey

•West Bank

•Yemen

Alumni of educational programs abroad often have the broad perspective and initiative required to make positive contributions upon their return home. The YES Alumni Grants Program will give alumni the opportunity to initiate social, economic, and civic development projects of their own design in their home countries. Some possible projects include:

•Community service projects;

•Projects to promote civic participation;

•Professional development activities;

•Projects to support and promote knowledge of English language and understanding of American culture; and

•Any other projects judged to be in the spirit of the program by the selection committee.

Please note that these grants are not intended to fund purchases of computer equipment, alumni salaries, and political activities working for or against a specific candidate or party.

Grant Categories

Grants will fall into two categories:

Individual grants (up to $250):

To support community service projects, as well as personal or professional development projects. Individual grant applicants who demonstrate in their proposals readiness to share their experience with others in their community upon completion will be given preference. These may be single events or small-scale projects.

Group grants (up to $3000):

To support community service activities and activities to promote civic participation in areas such as education, entrepreneurship, interfaith and strategic dialogues, conflict resolution, public health, micro-economic development, climate change, environment, sustainable energy, promoting the inclusion of the disabled, or to support professional development or teaching programs, promotion of English language and American culture, or other areas. Not all people participating in the group must be YES alumni, but the grant recipient and the project leader or co-leader must be a YES Alumnus/a.

American Councils may request that applicants modify their budgets or the proposal in order to be awarded a grant or to accommodate partial funding.Proposals may be funded in part.

Deadline

The deadline for the Grant Application submission is Monday,20March 2015, 17h:00 U.S. Eastern/Washington, D.C., Time. Grant applicants will be notified in June 2015 if they will be selected to further develop their projects towards approval.

Eligibility

In order to participate in this program, alumni must:

1. Be successful participants of the YES program;
2. Conduct their project and currently reside in one of the countries in which theYES program is administered.

NOTE: Alumni who are working as employees of an organization administering theYES program, or of the U.S. government are not eligible to apply.

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact us at:

ATTN: YES Alumni Grants Program
American Councils for International Education
1828 L St NW Ste 1200
Washington DC 20036-5136
USA / tel: (+1) 202.833.7522
fax: (+1) 202.833.7523
email:

Selection Process and Grant Requirement

Selection Process

Competition for the program is merit-based and objective. Selection will be based upon the following criteria:

1. Objectives
2. How does the project contribute to the social, economic, and/or civic development of the applicant’s home country? -OR-
3. How does the project contribute to the professional or personal development of the alumnus/a?
4. Constituency
5. Does the applicant demonstrate the need for this project among the constituency it is intended to serve?
6. Does the project benefit people from differing ethnic, religious, social, professional, and age groups?
7. Feasibility
8. Is the proposal financially well thought-out?
9. Does the proposal include cost sharing? Are partner organizations involved in conducting the project?
10. Are potential problems addressed? (e.g. fluctuating costs of travel)
11. Can the project be accomplished within the time frame?
12. If the project involves activities that extend beyond the grant period, or the organization of a permanent structure, what are the plans for sustaining future activities?
13. Are there letters of support from participating organizations?
14. Results
15. How realistic are the proposal’s expectations?
16. What criteria will be used to evaluate the project? How will both qualitative and quantitative assessments be gathered?
17. How will results be shared with others?

Teams of specialists will review completed proposals submitted by alumni who meet the eligibility requirements. Special consideration will be given to those proposals that include cost sharing or in-kind contributions as well as those living in rural areas.

Applicants will be notified in June 2015 if they will be selected to further develop their proposal towards final approval. They will work with the YES Alumni office on refining the project and the budget.

Financial Terms of the Grants

Grant funds will be transferred to the grantee's personal U.S. dollar bank account. If the grantee does not have a U.S. dollar bank account, it is possible for other arrangements to be made to receive grant funding. Grant recipients must provide a budget and budget narrative as part of the application, which accurately reflects the proposed costs of the project. Requests for changes and additions to the budget after proposal submission must be submitted in writing to American Councils for approval.

All grant activities must be completed and funds expended by September 30, 2016. Grant funds will be made available in two installments (80% upon award; remaining 20% upon completion) unless the applicant can show convincingly why all the funds should be provided immediately. The remainder of the funds will be paid upon receipt of accounting for expenditures of the 80% on the grant activities.

Recipient Responsibilities

Grant recipients must submit interim and final reports consisting of a financial report, activity description, and pictures by email AND receipts AND scans for expenses to American Councils. As due dates for submission of interim and final reports will be dependent on the date of project completion, grant winners will be notified individually of reporting schedules.

All final reports must be submitted no later than one month after the project is completed.

Any materials published through projects funded by the YES Alumni Grants Program must be included in the final report and should carry an acknowledgment as follows:

Support for this publication/conference/workshop was provided in part by the YES Alumni Grants Program, which is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State (ECA) and administered by the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS. The opinions expressed herein are the author's own and do not necessarily express the views of either ECA or the American Councils for International Education.

Failure to follow these regulations may result in a request to the grantee to return grant funds or disqualification from receiving U.S. Government- sponsored grants in the future.

Application Instructions

Application Instructions

Applicants should read all information carefully before filling out this application form. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with YES program staff in their respective countries. American Councils will answer questions regarding projects and proposals upon request through emailing .

All information must be completed in English. All sections of the application must be filled in; incomplete applications will not be accepted. Applicants must submit a grant application using this online form.

Webinar on Application Process:

Please join the webinar to assist applicants with the grant application process on:

Wednesday, January 21, 2015, at 09h:00 U.S. Eastern/Washington, D.C., Time

Please go to to logon.

Recording of Grants Writing Webinar

A link to the recording of the webinar will be provided on once it is available on

Application Deadline and Submission of Required Documents

The deadline for submitting a completed online application for program year 2015 isFriday, 20March 2015, 17h:00 U.S. Eastern/Washington, D.C., Time.

About Your Project

Grant Project Leader

1)Enter your full legal name as written in Latin letters on your passport. Do not translate your name into English (for example, do not translate “Dawoud” to “David.”) If you do not have a second or middle name, leave that box blank. If you have more than one, write them all.

First nameMiddle nameLast (Family) name

2)What year did you complete the YES program?IMPORTANT! You must be an alumus/a of the YES program () to be eligible for this grant funding).

Circle 1:200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013 2014

3)What was the name of your U.S. Placement Organization while you were on program?

Circle one:

Academic Year in America (AYA/AIFS)

AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc. (USA)

American Councils for International Education

American Cultural Exchange Services (ACES)

Aspect Foundation

ASSE

AYUSA Global Youth Exchange (AYUSA)

Center for Cultural Interchange (CCI)

Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE)

Foreign Links Around the Globe (FLAG)

International Student Exchange (ISE)

Iowa Resource for International Service (IRIS)

Nacel Open Door, Inc. (Nacel OD)

NW Services PEACE Program, Inc. (NWS)

Pacific Intercultural Exchange-USA, Inc. (PIE)

Program of Academic Exchange (PAX)

STS Foundation

World Learning

World Link, Inc.

Youth For Understanding USA, Inc. (YFU USA)

I do not know

4)Where was your U.S. host community while you were on program?

U.S. host cityU.S. host state

5)Current Residence Location

CityCountry

6)Best telephone number to reach you. Include Country and City Codes.

7)Best email address to reach you

8)What YES-wide, regional, and country opportunities have you been selected to participate in?Maximum of 200 words allowed

9) Which of the following YES Alumni Workshop or Opportunities were you selected for?

X if “YES” / YES Alumni Workshop or Opportunity
1. 10th Anniversary Istanbul Workshop, Istanbul – September 2013
2. YES Alumni Social Entrepreneur Workshop Ashoka, Washington, DC – March 2014
3. YES Alumni Association Leaders Training, Amman – April 2014
4. Transformational Leadership Training Workshop, Rabat/Amman – May (thru November) 2014
5. Project Design and Management Training, Zanzibar – May 2014
6. Balkans Regional Digital Storytelling Workshop, Sarajevo – August 2014
7. YES Alumni Social Entrepreneur Workshop Ashoka, Washington, DC – September 2014
8. India Social Entrepreneur and Digital Storytelling Workshop, New Delhi – September 2014
9. Mid-East Region YES Alumni Social Entrepreneur Workshop, Istanbul – September 2014
10. Pakistan Tech Innovation Camp, Karachi – September 2014
11. Africa Region Innovation Camp, Cameroon – November 2014
12. YES Alumni Assistant Trainer for Washington DC Orientations, Washington, DC – August 2014
13. Civic Education Alumni Leader, Washington, DC, - February/March 2014

10) Did you develop the idea or gain inspiration for this project proposal from your participation at this workshop? Please explain

Maximum of 200 words allowed

11) Have you received a YES alumni grant from the YES Program from American Councils for International Education in the prior years (2012, 2013, 2014)?

About Your Project

12) Title of project

13) Type of project. Circle one:IndividualGroup

14) Where will your project take place?

Project country, Circle one:

AFGHANISTAN

ALBANIA

ALGERIA

BAHRAIN

BANGLADESH

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

BULGARIA

CAMEROON

EGYPT

GAZA STRIP

GHANA

INDIA

INDONESIA

IRAQ

ISRAEL

JORDAN

KENYA

KOSOVO

KUWAIT

LEBANON

LIBERIA

LIBYA

MACEDONIA

MALAYSIA

MALI

MOROCCO

MOZAMBIQUE

NIGERIA

OMAN

PAKISTAN

PHILIPPINES

QATAR

SAUDI ARABIA

SENEGAL

SIERRA LEONE

SOUTH AFRICA

SURINAME

TANZANIA

THAILAND

TUNISIA

TURKEY

WEST BANK

YEMEN

UNITED STATES

Project city

Project province/region, if applicable

Project Headquarters/Leader Contact Information

Please provide the following contact information even if it is the same as provided above.

1)Street

Postal code, if applicableCity

Country

2)Telephone number. Include Country and City Codes.

3)FAX number. Include Country and City Codes.

4)Email address

Other Team Members Involved with Your Grant Project

5)U.S. Government Alumni: Will any other U.S. government alumni be involved in the organization of the grant project? If yes, please provide the information requested below for each U.S. government alumnus/a.

Last/Family name / First name / Middle name / U.S. government program / Year

6)Non-U.S. Government Alumni: Please provide the information requested below for any team members that are not U.S. government alumni.

Last/Family name / First name / Middle name / Organizational affiliation
(Enter "None" if no affiliation)

Project Proposal

Project Summary

1)Please provide a summary of your project proposal that is no more than 200 words. The summary must be in English.Please write this summary as an “elevator speech.” An elevator speech is a concise, carefully planned, and well-practiced description of your program or project that you should be able to convey in the time it would take to ride up an elevator. Essentially it is a sales pitch for your project. Your summary/elevator speech should community: who you are, what you are concerned about, what you propose to do, how you propose to do it, when you will start and finish, where you will conduct activities, how much the program costs and how much you're requesting, how much you've invested and/or intend to invest.

Here is an example:

“I will lead a group of YES alumni to design and develop a 3 day Kids' Summer Camp for 120 children ages 6 to 12. I have experience working with kids as I volunteer in my old elementary school as a tutor. The targeted participants are children from underprivileged neighborhoods around the capitol city of my country, some of whom are homeless and some have had to dropout of school. They have few opportunities to learn while having fun and they generally do not have interactions with kids who are from different religions or ethnic backgrounds. The camp would be an opportunity to play while learning; using games and activities that develop confidence, communication skills and learning about others who are different from them through cooperation. I will develop a detailed curriculum based on my experience and with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who will partner with us on this project by providing materials and offer experienced resources for the camp. The budget requested is $1980 and the ICRC will provide $200 in in-kind donations.”

2)Need statement: Why are you interested in undertaking this project? What encouraged your interest in this project? Is there a need for this project in your community? Support your opinion with evidence (statistics, publications, surveys, etc.)Maximum of 400 words allowed

Maximum of 200 words allowed

3)Describe the project:

1. What you plan to do;
2. How you plan to do it; and
3. When and where will your activity take place?

Maximum of 400 words allowed

4)Provide a brief description of the organization initiating the project (if applicable). Please also indicate if other organizations or people will collaborate or participate in the activity. Describe the organization or attach printed materials (in English) describing the organization. Any letters from other organizations should be on official stationery withthe organization’s contact information and a stamp (if possible). The letters need to be provided both in English and your native language; we honor alumni's translations. Please attach also resumes or CVs of key project participants to this application. NOTE: Attach any documents at the end of this application. Maximum of 400 words allowed

5)How does this project specifically further the social, economic, and/or civic development of your country OR contribute to your professional or personal development? What is the benefit to your country, society? What are the anticipated immediate and long-term results of the project? How will you measure the project’s impact? Maximum of 400 words allowed

6)Evaluation Plan: What quantitative and qualitative data can be used to measure how well you are reaching your objectives and goal and how to improve? How will you collect this data?Maximum of 400 words allowed

7)Sustainability/Visibility: How do you envision your project or its outcomes being known publicly and/or continuing after the grant period? If you do envision the project continuing after the grant period, how will activities be funded?Maximum of 400 words allowed

Resumes and Letters of Support

Attach resumes/CVs, letters of support, and supplemental documents that are required as part of your project proposal to the end of this application form.

Original letters of support should be included with an English language translation, and should specify what kind of support is being offered. Applicants should not submit letters of support for their own projects. If you state in your project description that you are cooperating with some organization (NGO, business, etc.), please provide the letter of support from them – it will make your application stronger and more competitive. It is also advised to provide letters on the official paper of the organization supporting your project (with letterheads, stamps, etc.) Ideally, the candidate is to provide a letter of support from EVERY organization and expert with whom he/she plans on cooperating.