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DEADLINE: Tuesday, February 1, 2005

I. Program Overview

The ECA Alumni Small Grants Program (ASGP) is a professional and community
development program open to alumni of the following ECA-sponsored exchange
programs: the Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program (CI), the FREEDOM
Support Act Undergraduate Program (FSAU), the Regional Scholars Exchange
Program (RSEP) and the Russian-US Young Leadership Fellows for Public
Service Program (YLF.) Eligible Eurasian alumni must complete their small
grant activities within Eurasia (Eurasia is defined as Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.) Eligible US alumni may carry out
their projects in the US or in Eurasia.

Eligible project ideas include:
o Initiating a public or community service program;
o Launching a pilot program at an NGO or academic institution;
o Organizing training programs or conferences for professional
colleagues and/or other alumni;
o Funding travel of US colleagues to eligible Eurasian countries for
conferences, training programs and professional collaboration;
o Development and publication of curricula, textbooks, or related
reference or educational materials;
o Publication of public information pamphlets or brochures; and
o Conducting any other projects judged by the selection committee
and/or ECA to be in the interest of program goals.

Please note that the purchase of computer hardware or office equipment
(printers, photocopiers, fax machines, etc.) is prohibited. Additionally,
funds from the grant cannot be used explicitly for the creation of
organizational or personal web sites. ECA alumni are encouraged to work
through the Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) to accomplish these
goals. Lastly, grant funds may not be used to provide honorarium to ECA
alumni, including the grant recipient.

The maximum grant amount awarded to any individual alumnus/a is $5,000.
Alumni are highly encouraged to collaborate and work with other ECA alumni
to submit joint projects. An alumnus/a may team up with any number of
alumni from different eligible programs and countries. For example, a YLF
alumna from Russia may work with a CI alumnus from Ukraine and an RSEP
alumnus from Uzbekistan to implement a joint project. If you are submitting
a joint project, you need only submit one application for the entire group.
Please be sure, however, that you complete the supplemental information
section -- the last 4 pages of the program application. If you are not
applying for a joint grant, you do NOT need to complete these additional
pages. The maximum grant award for a joint project will be $15,000,
regardless of the number of alumni collaborators.

Only one application per deadline for any individual alumnus/alumna will be
considered. Applicants must have successfully completed all previously
awarded small grants.

II. About IREX


IREX (the International Research & Exchanges Board) is the premier US
nonprofit organization specializing in higher education, independent media,
Internet development, and civil society programs in the United States,
Europe, Eurasia, the Near East, and Asia.


Since its founding in 1968, IREX has supported over 15,000 students,
scholars, policymakers, business leaders, journalists, and other
professionals. IREX serves as a major resource for universities,
governments, and the corporate sector in understanding international
political, social, economic, and business developments.

III. State Alumni

All ECA alumni are encouraged to register and use the State Alumni Web
site, at https://state.alumni.gov. State Alumni is a Web-based interactive
directory for alumni of Department of State exchange programs. It extends
the exchange experience for alumni after they return home from the U.S.
This site also allows alumni to stay in contact with one another-and with
the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs-through networking and the
sharing of useful information about professional opportunities. The site is
intended to be for alumni-and by alumni. State Alumni may help small grant
applicants when formulating a project idea or disseminating information
about your project to other alumni. ECA Small Grant program applicants and
all ECA alumni are strongly encouraged to register.

IV. Technical Eligibility Requirements

o Must be an alumnus/a in good standing of one of the following ECA
sponsored programs: CI, FSAU, RSEP, or YLF;
o Must be living in country of citizenship at the time of
application;
o Must have successfully fulfilled all requirements of previously
awarded alumni grants;
o Must submit a complete application, including a complete
application form, project proposal, budget, budget narrative,
timeline and personal CV.

Please note that current IREX employees and consultants and their immediate
family members (spouses, parents, children and siblings) are not eligible
to compete in any IREX-administered grant program, either as individuals or
as the responsible party representing an institutional applicant.

IREX does not discriminate against grant applicants because of race, color,
religion, sex, age, national origin, disability or any other protected
characteristic as established by US law.

IREX reserves the right to verify all of the information included in the
application. In the event that there is a discrepancy, or information is
found to be false, the application will immediately be declared invalid,
and the applicant ineligible. Incomplete applications will not be
considered

Applications not meeting the above technical eligibility requirements will
not be forwarded to the selection committee.

V. Selection Process and Criteria

Each eligible application will be read by a selection committee in
Washington, DC. The committee consists of representatives of ECA, as well
as regional American scholars and technical experts. IREX staff provides
administrative support only and does not vote during the selection process.


The selection committee will judge the proposals based on the following
criteria:
o Impact on and benefit to the applicant's community;
o Impact on and benefit to other alumni;
o Impact on alumnus' professional development;
o Budget reasonableness;
o Documented cost-share contributions;
o Time-line feasibility.

Special consideration will be given to those applicants who have not
previously been awarded an ASGP grant.

The selection committee expects each application to contain cost-share, be
it direct financial support from another organization or individual or in-
kind contributions.

VI. Timeline

There are three application deadlines for ASGP in 2005. Please note the
following timeline when planning your project:
o Applications received by February 1 - winners will be notified by
mid-April and will have till December to complete their projects.
o Applications received by June 1 - winners will be notified by mid-
August and will have till May to complete their projects.
o Applications received by October 1 - winners will be notified by
mid-December and will have till September to complete their
projects.

VII. Disbursement of Grant Monies

Please note grant monies will be disbursed to finalists in two
installments: grantees will be given 90% of their grant money upon
submission of their signed Terms & Conditions and the final 10% of the
grant will be distributed after successful completion of the project and
submission of a satisfactory final report. Grantees who do not submit a
final report will not receive the final 10% of the grant and will not be
considered for future alumni grants.

The majority of ASGP recipients will receive their grant money as a wire to
their personal bank account. Consequently, all applicants MUST supply bank
information in the program application (see question #23.) Please note that
for any non-US based account, applicants must provide corresponding bank
information as well (the bank holding your account can provide you with
this information.) US grantees will receive their grant money in the form
of a check.

International Plane Tickets
According to US government regulations, all US grantees as well as all US
colleagues who travel to Eurasia for professional collaboration as part of
an ECA Alumni Small Grant must use a US air carrier for their international
travel. This regulation is known as the Fly American Act. Therefore, all
international tickets purchased with ECA/IREX funds must be purchased
directly through the IREX travel office. Please contact the IREX travel
agent at travel@IREX.org in order to obtain airfare estimates before
submitting your application and budget. An international place ticket on a
US carrier generally ranges from $700-$1,500, although during busy travel
seasons it can be more expensive.

Taxes
Grant recipients are responsible for all taxes or bank processing/wiring
fees incurred by receiving an ECA Alumni Small Grant. However, taxes (for
Eurasian alumni) and wire fees may be included in the project budget.

Eurasian alumni - Some Eurasian countries consider a grant from a non-
commercial organization to be taxable income. Grantees are responsible for
knowing the tax laws of their home country and/or the country of research.
IREX cannot and will not comment on or give tax advice.

US alumni - US grantees are responsible for paying personal income taxes,
if any, that may be due on an ECA Alumni Small Grant. IREX will not
withhold taxes from the grant. IREX staff members are neither qualified,
nor allowed by law, to answer questions regarding an individual's taxation.
US grantees are encouraged to check with their personal tax accountants
prior to beginning their grant, and should refer to the IRS website
(http://www.irs.gov) for more information.

VIII. General Application Instructions

o Please answer all questions in English;
o Please provide English translations for all documents in local
language (reference letters, cost-share letters, etc.);
o Please complete your project budget in US dollars and your local
currency;
o Include your full, legal name as it is spelled in your
international passport. Do not translate name spellings (for
example, write Mariya and not Mary.)
o Provide complete contact information, including postal index codes
for all address and country and city codes for telephone and fax
numbers. Do not translate street or city names into English (for
example, write Prospekt Mira not Peace Avenue.)
o Do not leave any space blank. If a question does not apply to you,
write N/A (not applicable.)
o All forms and supporting materials should be typewritten (if
possible) and submitted with the complete application.
o Write your full name and country of citizenship in the top right
corner of each page of your application.

Project Proposal
Each proposal should be no more than 4 pages in length. More information on
the components of the proposal can be found in the ASGP application.

Budget
All applicants must include a complete budget and budget narrative with
their application that detail any and all expected expenses. Total funding
requested per individual cannot exceed $5,000. Please complete the attached
budget worksheet with figures in both US dollars and your local currency.
You should indicate what, if any, additional funding you have requested
from other sources as well as any and all cost-share you have received. All
cost-share must be verified through a letter of support issued by the
organization or individual providing the cost-share and must be estimated
at current accurate market rates.

Examples of cost-share include, but are not limited to:

. Donated meeting space
. Free room and board
. Waived conference fees
. Direct financial support

The budget narrative should contain, in words, the basics of your overall
budget. For example, if you are planning on publishing a book, you should
indicate in the budget narrative how many copies are being printed, how
many pages the book is, how many people/organizations it is being
distributed to, etc. This level of detail is very helpful to the selection
committee when trying to determine if a budget is financially sound.

Based on the recommendation of the selection committee and ECA, IREX
reserves the right to alter an applicant's budget or fund some, but not
all, components of an application.

Submission Guidelines
Please submit your application via email to asgp@IREX.org, making sure that
ALL attachments are sent in one, and only one, email message. Please be
sure to include your last name in the title of the email. Please also
submit one hard copy of the application to the IREX representative office
in your home country. US applicants should mail a copy of their application
to the Washington, DC office. If you are able, please include an electronic
signature on the final page of your electronic application. If you are
unable to provide an electronic signature, your signature on the hard copy
of the application submitted to your local field office will be sufficient.
Please be sure to keep a copy of your completed application.

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2005 ECA Alumni Small Grants Program


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