AEIF Latvia 2025 | 2025 1

Opportunity Information: Apply for 2025 1

AEIF Latvia 2025 (Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund) is a competitive U.S. Embassy Riga grant program that funds projects designed and led by alumni of U.S. government-funded or U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs. The basic idea is to use the alumni network to deepen and modernize the U.S.-Latvia partnership in response to current security and societal pressures. The Embassy frames the opportunity around shared democratic values and the need to build resilience against issues like disinformation and malign influence, hybrid threats, transnational corruption and crime, and social polarization. Projects must be clearly tied to these objectives; proposals that do not directly fit the required themes are considered ineligible.

The program is looking for practical, impact-oriented projects that strengthen the U.S.-Latvia relationship through democratic institutions and civic life. Priority themes include strengthening civil society and the role of NGOs and other democratic mechanisms; improving media literacy and countering disinformation; anti-corruption efforts; entrepreneurship and policies that reinforce transatlantic economic links; and activities that affirm NATO and the shared U.S. and Latvian commitment to it. While all activities must take place outside the United States and its territories, projects with activities in Latvia are specifically prioritized, and proposed projects should primarily target Latvian audiences. This means an application should be Latvia-facing in both content and audience, even if it involves partners or alumni from other countries.

Awards are expected to range from USD 5,000 to USD 35,000, issued as either a grant or a fixed amount award. The application deadline is February 1, 2025. Funding decisions are expected no later than June 30, 2025, with project start dates no earlier than September 1, 2025. The performance period is structured so that proposed programs should be completed by May 31, 2026, so applicants need to present a plan that fits comfortably within that window and includes a realistic schedule, milestones, and measurable outcomes.

Eligibility is centered on exchange alumni, but with some important rules. The project team must include at least two alumni, and teams can mix alumni from different U.S. exchange programs and even different countries. U.S. citizen alumni cannot serve as the lead applicant or submit a proposal, although they can participate as team members. Applications can be submitted by alumni as individuals, by NGOs represented by alumni, or by alumni associations. For-profit businesses and academic institutions cannot apply as the primary applicant organization, but they may participate as partners to help deliver activities.

Cost sharing is not required, but it is encouraged and can strengthen a proposal. The Embassy gives common-sense examples of cost share, mostly in-kind contributions, such as donated expert time, discounted or free venues, volunteer support, contributed supplies, or local sponsorship of items like refreshments. Applicants should treat cost share as a credibility and sustainability signal rather than a formal requirement, and document it clearly if they include it.

There are also compliance and administrative requirements that applicants need to plan around early. If the grant is awarded to an individual, the individual does not need a Unique Entity ID (UEI) or SAM.gov registration. If the award is processed through an organization (for example, a partner organization that will receive and manage the funds), that organization must have a UEI and an active SAM.gov registration. Because SAM.gov registration can take 4 to 8 weeks, the program strongly implies that any organization planning to be the award recipient should start registration well before the deadline. Organizations must also commit to equal opportunity employment and non-discrimination for beneficiaries, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. Applicants may submit only one proposal.

AEIF Latvia 2025 draws hard lines on what it will and will not fund. Funds cannot be used for partisan political activity, lobbying for specific legislation, or to support or oppose political parties; however, certain non-partisan civic activities may be allowed, such as public education, get-out-the-vote efforts, and election monitoring, as long as they are genuinely non-partisan. Grants can support tolerance and non-discrimination initiatives and work with disadvantaged minorities, but the Embassy cautions that projects must not promote the agenda of a particular group, practice, or lifestyle over others, and notes that grantees may receive additional briefing when projects touch on human rights, tolerance, volunteerism, or trafficking in persons. The opportunity also prohibits religious goals and cannot support specific religious activities. Notably for communications-focused ideas, the program explicitly states that grants cannot support the creation of media content or pay journalist salaries, which means applicants should focus on training, toolkits, workshops, civic education, media literacy programming, community engagement, or other non-content-creation approaches rather than funding reporting or producing publishable media.

Budget rules are detailed and fairly strict. Applicants must use the official AEIF 2025 application and budget templates (available through the U.S. Embassy Latvia alumni page) and submit everything in English, with budgets in U.S. dollars and pages numbered. A detailed budget justification narrative is mandatory; a budget submitted without the narrative will not be reviewed. Project management costs are capped: they should not exceed 30 percent of the total requested amount, and the program defines these costs broadly to include speaker, trainer, and consultant fees. Trainer/speaker honoraria are allowed but capped at USD 250 per day, with associated travel, lodging, and per diem permissible when reasonable. The program allows costs that are directly tied to carrying out activities, such as in-country or intra-regional transportation, venue rental, PPE/sanitation items, modest working meals integral to the activity, virtual programming costs (platform subscriptions and limited equipment like microphones/cameras for online meetings), reasonable equipment and materials, and communications/publicity materials such as manuals and advertisements.

At the same time, the restrictions list is extensive and should guide project design from the beginning. The fund will not support any travel to or from the United States, and it will not fund activities occurring in the United States or its territories. It also will not pay staff salaries, office rent, or overhead/operational expenses, and it will not fund large durable equipment purchases or construction. Other prohibited items include alcohol, excessive hospitality or entertainment, academic or scientific research, charitable or development aid, direct social services, individual scholarships, social travel, gifts or prizes, duplicating existing programs, institutional development, venture capital or for-profit endeavors, charging participation fees, fundraising campaigns, and religious activities. Lodging is allowed only when tied to project activities, not as long-term rent for team members, and travel should use the most economical options.

The required application package is structured and fairly comprehensive. Applicants must submit the AEIF 2025 Proposal Form (including a cover/summary page) and a proposal narrative that spells out what will be done, why it is needed, who will be reached, and what results are expected. The proposal is expected to include a problem statement, clear and measurable goals and objectives, a description of activities, methods/design (a logic model where appropriate), a schedule and timeline with locations, key personnel roles and time commitments, partner information, a monitoring and evaluation plan, and an approach to sustainability or future funding. Required attachments include one-page CVs or resumes for key personnel. Optional but useful attachments include letters of support from partners, any required permission letters, relevant agendas or curricula, and prior pilot materials. If an organization plans to charge indirect costs under a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, the NICRA must be provided. The Embassy also specifies a file naming convention for submitted documents (formatted like AEIF24CountryProjectTitle, despite the 2025 cycle), which applicants should follow to avoid technical disqualification.

In practical terms, a strong AEIF Latvia 2025 proposal is one that keeps the project fully outside U.S. territory, centers Latvian audiences, and shows a clear line from a real, documented problem (for example, specific misinformation vulnerabilities, civic trust gaps, integrity risks in a sector, or barriers to transatlantic economic engagement) to concrete activities and measurable outcomes that reinforce democratic resilience and the U.S.-Latvia partnership. It also needs a compliant budget that avoids prohibited categories (especially salaries, media content creation, and U.S. travel), stays within the management cost cap, and includes a detailed justification for every line item.

• The U.S. Mission to Latvia in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "AEIF Latvia 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 2024-11-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-01. (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.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 2025 1

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: