The 2025 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF 2025) | AEIF25 EQUATORIALGUINEA FY25

Opportunity Information: Apply for AEIF25 EQUATORIALGUINEA FY25

The 2025 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF 2025) is a competitive small-grants opportunity run by the U.S. Embassy in Malabo through the Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Department of State. It is designed specifically for alumni of U.S. government-funded or U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs who want to turn what they learned during their exchange into practical, community-focused projects. The core idea is to support alumni-led teams as they design and carry out innovative responses to real local challenges, building on the skills, networks, and experience they gained through their U.S.-supported exchange. AEIF has been operating since 2011 and has supported nearly 500 alumni-led projects worldwide, which signals that it is an established program with a strong track record of funding alumni initiatives through global competition.

For this round, AEIF 2025 aligns with U.S. engagement priorities in Equatorial Guinea by focusing on economic prosperity and human development. The program emphasis is on inclusive economic growth and concrete economic strengthening, including economic diversification, capacity-building, entrepreneurship, and professional development. Projects are expected to contribute in a practical way to these outcomes by working with people and organizations on the ground such as individuals, nonprofits, social enterprises, and other eligible partners based in Equatorial Guinea and the United States. The topic scope is broad and can fit many applied ideas; the opportunity lists multiple activity areas including agriculture, arts, business and commerce, community development, education, energy, environment, and science and technology (including research and development), giving applicants flexibility to propose projects that match local needs while still supporting the economic and human development theme.

A key requirement is that proposals must be submitted by a team of at least two exchange alumni, and the application must clearly identify a team lead. Every alumni participant must be named in the proposal, and any non-alumni contributors also need to be identified so the Embassy can see who is responsible for the work and what roles they play. Alumni Associations can apply as well, but they still must name a team lead. The rules also allow U.S. citizen alumni to participate on a project team; however, the team must include at least two non-U.S. citizen exchange alumni, and a U.S. citizen alumni member cannot serve as the team lead. These eligibility details matter because they shape team composition and leadership in a way that keeps the program centered on non-U.S. citizen exchange alumni implementing projects in their communities.

The opportunity also places strong emphasis on the public diplomacy side of the project. All programming must highlight shared values and promote bilateral cooperation, and it must include a U.S. cultural element or a clear connection to the United States. That can be done through collaboration with U.S. experts, organizations, or institutions in a relevant field, and it should help increase understanding of U.S. policy and perspectives. In practice, this means applicants should build intentional U.S. linkages into the project design rather than treating them as an afterthought, for example by involving an American subject-matter expert as a trainer or mentor, partnering with a U.S.-based nonprofit or professional association, or integrating a cultural or educational component that connects participants to U.S. approaches and values related to the project theme.

Funding is offered as a grant under a discretionary opportunity administered by the U.S. Mission to Equatorial Guinea (CFDA 19.022). The award ceiling is $35,000 per project, and the Embassy expects to make about 8 awards. Eligible applicants include individuals, U.S. nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), and other eligible applicant types listed in the notice, which keeps the door open for both formally registered organizations and alumni-led teams applying as individuals, depending on how they structure their project. The application deadline is February 12, 2025, and proposals must be submitted by email to MalaboGrants@state.gov. The funding opportunity number is AEIF25 EQUATORIALGUINEA FY25, and the opportunity is titled "The 2025 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF 2025)."

• The U.S. Mission to Equatorial Guinea in the agriculture, arts, business and commerce, community development, education, energy, environment, other, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "The 2025 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (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 2024-11-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-12. (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 8 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Individuals, Others.

Apply for AEIF25 EQUATORIALGUINEA FY25

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