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American Impact Award Application

American Impact Award Application

Application Guidelines

About the American Impact Award

The American Impact Award (AIA) will offer funding to a limited number of projects as a follow-on to the Reciprocal Exchange component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship.  The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX.

The AIA is designed to enhance the U.S. impact of Reciprocal Exchange projects.  This small grant program provides funds for Reciprocal Exchange Participants to implement programming and/or present at events in the United States that continue, expand, or deepen the local impact of their Reciprocal Exchange projects.  Participants from all Reciprocal Exchange years who have not previously been awarded an AIA are eligible to apply for grants of up to $3,000 to support a follow-on AIA activity related to their Reciprocal Exchange project.

As the focus of this award is domestic U.S. impact, eligible projects should clearly demonstrate both direct and indirect impact on U.S. stakeholders such as local businesses, community groups, youth organizations, and/or Fellowship Institute Partners.  The intent of the AIA is to increase the number of U.S. beneficiaries who gain global skills, cultural knowledge, and strategic partnerships as a result of the Reciprocal Exchange component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship.  Please note that no funding will be provided to bring Fellowship Alumni to the United States; however, Fellowship Alumni may choose to travel here without funding or support from the U.S. Department of State or participate in the AIA virtually.  Projects should not be contingent upon Fellowship Alumni participation.  Cost-share is strongly encouraged.

 

Award Goal

The American Impact Award will provide small grants of up to $3,000 to Reciprocal Exchange Participants to implement short-term projects designed to extend or enhance the overall U.S. impact of their Reciprocal Exchange projects.

Award Objectives

  • To increase the number of U.S. professionals who gain global skills, cultural knowledge, and strategic partnerships as a result of the Reciprocal Exchange component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
  • To increase U.S. citizens’ understanding of sub-Saharan African countries, cultures, histories, societies, governments, and/or business environments.
  • To expand opportunities for U.S. professionals’ economic and cultural engagement with Fellowship Alumni or other African stakeholders. 

American Impact Award Timeline

  • Application Deadline: Rolling
  • Grant Period: January 15 – November 30

Financial Provisions


Maximum Award Amount: $3,000

The American Impact Award will provide small grants of up to $3,000 to Reciprocal Exchange Participants to implement short-term projects designed to extend or enhance the overall U.S. impact of their Reciprocal Exchange projects.  Projects may be offered partial funding at the discretion of the selection committee, and cost-share with third-party donors/contributors is strongly encouraged.  Please note that funding will not be provided to support Fellowship Alumni travel to the United States.

Funds will be disbursed in two installments, contingent upon receipt of required deliverables.  If funding is requested to present at an external conference or event, proof of acceptance into the conference or event is also required before disbursement.  Upon approval of an updated work plan and budget, 80% of the approved budget will be disbursed to the AIA Recipient.  Within 30 days of project completion and submission of a final report and relevant media, the remaining 20% of the approved budget will be disbursed to the Recipient.

AIA Recipients will receive funds via a wire transfer to their personal bank account.  Therefore, Recipients will be asked to provide IREX with their bank information, as well as a signed Terms & Conditions document that will outline the award terms.

Note: Costs in excess of $3,000 will not be covered by this Award and must be co-funded by the AIA Recipient and/or other funding sources.

 

Eligibility Requirements


Reciprocal Exchange Participants from all years are eligible to apply for grants of up to $3,000 to support a follow-on project or activity related to their Reciprocal Exchange project.  As the focus of this award is domestic impact, eligible projects should clearly demonstrate both direct and indirect impact on U.S. stakeholders such as local businesses, community groups, youth organizations, or Institute Partners.  Collaboration and cost-sharing with U.S. stakeholders for AIA projects is strongly encouraged.

Eligible applicants must:
  • Be Reciprocal Exchange Participants who have completed a Reciprocal Exchange project prior to applying for the AIA;
  • Be U.S. citizens currently living in the United States;
  • Not be employees of the U.S. Government (including a U.S. Embassy, USAID, or other U.S. Government entity); and
  • Agree to sign an Award Terms & Conditions agreement.
Note: Applicants proposing conference attendance will be required to present or exhibit at the proposed conference to share the outcomes of their Reciprocal Exchange projects.

Quarterly application review and notification will take place during the following months: 
  • January
  • April
  • July
  • October
Applications will be evaluated competitively against the eligibility requirements and selection criteria.

IREX reserves the right to verify all information included in the application.  In the event of a discrepancy, or if information is found to be false, the application will be declared invalid and the applicant ineligible.  Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.  IREX reserves the right to offer partial funding to selected Recipients.

If applicants submit a time-sensitive application that will require IREX’s review prior to one of the above deadlines, please email REmwf@irex.org immediately after submitting the application so that we can do an on-demand review.

 

Application Instructions


American Impact Award applications must include the following attachments.  Applications missing any attachment will be considered incomplete and therefore ineligible.  All responses must be thoughtfully and clearly written in English.
  • Complete Application Form:
    • Include your full, legal name as it is spelled in your international passport or domestic driver’s license.
    • Provide complete contact information, including zip codes for all addresses and area codes for all telephone numbers.
    • Answers to essay questions should not exceed 300 words per question.
  • Complete Work Plan:
    • Please include as much detail as possible.
    • If planning an event as a part of your AIA project, provide a detailed event promotion and outreach plan for recruiting event attendees (see below for event promotion tips).
  • Complete Budget Form:
    • Budgets should reflect total estimated costs of project implementation, inclusive of expenses that will be provided in-kind and/or through cost-share. 
  • Professional Resume:
    • Resumes should demonstrate that the applicant is well-qualified to implement the proposed project.  Resumes should be in English and should not exceed two pages.
Please keep the following in mind:
  • Applications must be received on or before the due date.  Applications received after the deadline may not be considered.
  • Selected projects may be offered partial funding at the discretion of IREX and the U.S. Department of State.
  • Group projects (i.e., those with more than one Reciprocal Exchange Participant applicant) are permitted; however, each applicant must meet the eligibility criteria.  The maximum award for group projects remains $3,000.  If you are submitting a group application, please specify this within the contact information section of the application.  Only one application should be submitted for each project.
  • Please do not leave any space blank. If a question does not apply to you, write N/A (not applicable).

Event Promotion & Outreach


If your AIA project includes the creation of a new event, you must develop a carefully considered promotion and outreach strategy to ensure that your expected attendance numbers are met.  You will be asked to describe this plan as part of your application.

When strategizing how to market your event, consider the following:
  • Clearly define the audience you wish to reach with your event/project prior to beginning outreach.  Strong AIA projects will strive to reach diverse audiences in the United States.  Examples of target groups may include:
    • African diaspora communities
    • HBCUs and students from minority-serving institutions
    • People with disabilities
  • Create a list of stakeholders who you would like to attend your event and decide how to best share information with each group.  Consider options such as:
    • Direct email
    • Fliers
    • Social media event promotion
    • Asking relevant stakeholders to forward your invitation to their own networks
    • Getting your event listed on community calendars that promote similar events
  • Plan how you will track event RSVPs so that you can accurately monitor your expected attendance.  Note the following:
    • Responses to Facebook event invites are not a reliable way to estimate attendance numbers, due to the high attrition rate of those “interested” in attending versus those who actually attend.
    • A more reliable way to track RSVPs is to require attendees to complete a sign-up form in order to reserve their spot at the event.  This process can be organized through a pre-existing website such as Eventbrite or a self-created survey form.
  • When monitoring sign-up numbers, keep in mind that roughly 30% of people who RSVP to a free, public event will likely not attend.  Plan accordingly.
  • Watch your sign-up numbers closely and continue stakeholder outreach until your target RSVP number is met.
  • After collecting RSVPs, send a reminder one day before the event including time, date, and location details, along with any special instructions for finding the venue such as parking, room number, point of contact phone number, etc.
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