Embassy of the United States

Embassy Programs

2008 ECA Alumni Project Competition 

The State Department’s Office of Alumni Affairs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has invited Alumni and Embassies to submit proposals for the 2008 ECA Alumni Project Competition.

This annual competition, now in its fifth year, is designed to assist alumni of exchange programs and Embassies with programming activities. 

The annual competition assists over one million alumni of exchange programs to build on concepts and ideas they explored during their exchange period and enhances efforts  to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other nations. The average project grant is USD $10,500.

Budget requests cannot exceed USD $15,000.
Competition results will be made available in June, 2008.

Projects should support one or more of the following Alumni Program goals:

• To foster alumni implementation and teaching of the concepts they explored during their exchange programs;
• To provide training that will improve alumni implementation skills;
• To involve alumni in encouraging the participation of colleagues in exchange programs. 
• To enable alumni to work collectively to share the benefits of their exchange experience with home country audiences 

Projects must also include an Embassy component.  For example, Embassy staff holding discussion groups with alumni,  volunteering in an alumni-run Project, participating in an alumni-run event or program, etc. 

Projects should also include use of the Alumni website.
Projects should aim to  develop clear program goals and action plans within a local community, country, or region.

Project proposal should be detailed, demonstrating:
      1)  Clear Goals.
      2)  Appropriate Partner institutions.
      3)  Transparent Evaluation process.
      4)  Realistic Timeline and project steps.

Project proposals must be accompanied with a detailed budget, demonstrating:
      1)  Reasonable costs
      2)  Cost sharing.
      3)  Sustainability.

Alumni funds cannot be used:
a) To cover the costs of meals, or food and beverage.
b) To fund alumni websites separate from https://alumni.state.gov/ 
c) To support individual research projects.
e) To pay salaries or administrative overhead.
f) To pay for international travel outside of the region.

Proposals must be submitted using the “ECA Alumni Project Competition" proposal and budget form.

All budgets must be submitted using the budget form provided. (pdf 70 kb)
Cost sharing is mandatory.  
 
Grants may only be made to individuals who are alumni or organizations with which alumni are working.

Alumni best practices and additional alumni program ideas can be found in the alumni news section of https://alumni.state.gov/.

Deadline for submission of project proposals is April 1, 2008.
Please mail one (1) copy of the completed Application Form with an original signature on the last page to:

Public Affairs Section
U.S. Embassy Ljubljana
Attn: Tanja Šuštaršič, Program Assistant for Small Grants Program
31 Prešernova
1000 Ljubljana
Tel:  (1) 200-5685
Fax: (1) 426-4284
Please also send one copy in electronic form to the following address: sustarsict@state.gov

The Embassy Evaluation Committee will review the projects and select one to send for the final competition implemented by the State Department’s Office of Alumni Affairs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

Questions should be addressed to Tanja Šuštaršič via e-mail: SustarsicT@state.gov
or by telephone: +386 1 200 5685.