About the American Impact Award

 

The American Impact Award (AIA) provides Reciprocal Exchange Alumni with the opportunity to expand, deepen, or amplify the U.S. impact of their Reciprocal Exchange projects.  The Fellowship provides Reciprocal Exchange Alumni with funds to implement projects and/or present at U.S.-based events that strengthen market outcomes, strategic partnerships, and institutional engagement in the United States. 

Please note that funding may not be used to support Fellowship Alumni travel to the United States; however, Fellowship Alumni may choose to travel 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.  The Fellowship strongly encourages cost-share with third-party institutions. 

Award Goal

The Mandela Washington Fellowship will provide grants of up to $3,000 to Reciprocal Exchange Alumni to offset project-related costs during the implementation period. 

• U.S. professionals will implement projects that increase the number of U.S. beneficiaries of the Reciprocal Exchange component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. 
• U.S. professionals will implement short-term projects that directly benefit U.S. companies, communities, or organizations. 

American Impact Award Timeline

 

• Application Deadline: Rolling
• Review Timeline: up to four weeks (i.e., project start date should be more than four weeks after the date of application submission).
• Grant Period: September 1, 2026 – November 30, 2027
  • Please note that IREX will not review applications during the last two weeks of November, December, or January.  Applicants should plan accordingly if submitting near these periods. 

Financial Provisions 

Maximum Award Amount: $3,000
 

Disbursement of Funds: IREX will disburse funds in two installments, contingent upon receipt of required deliverables.  Upon approval of an updated work plan and budget, IREX will disburse 80% of the approved budget to the AIA Recipient.  Within 30 days of project completion and submission of a final report and relevant media, IREX will disburse the remaining 20% of the approved budget to the Recipient. 

IREX will disburse funds to the AIA Recipient’s personal bank account.  Therefore, Recipients must provide IREX with their bank information and a signed Terms & Conditions document that outlines the Award terms. 

Note: This Award will not cover costs above $3,000; the AIA Recipient and/or other funding sources must cover any costs in excess of the Award amount.
 

Eligibility Requirements

Reciprocal Exchange Alumni 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.  Eligible projects must clearly demonstrate both direct and indirect impact on U.S. companies, communities, or organizations.  The Fellowship strongly encourages collaboration and cost-sharing with U.S. stakeholders. 
 

U.S. Professionals 

• Must be Reciprocal Exchange Alumni; 
• Must be U.S. citizens currently living in the United States; 
• May not be employees or immediate family members of employees of the U.S. Government (including a U.S. Embassy or other U.S. Government entity); and 
• Must sign an Award Terms & Conditions agreement, if awarded. 

Project Requirements and Restriction
 

• Projects should address topics that fall under at least one of the following categories (if you wish to apply for a project addressing a topic not listed below, please email REmwf@irex.org):  

  • Agriculture (such as agribusiness, food processing, or supply chains) 
  • Business & Entrepreneurship (such as commercial diplomacy, startups, or international trade and investment) 
  • Safety & Security (such as law enforcement, counterterrorism, or conflict resolution) 
  • Creative Economies (such as film and television production, sports and major events diplomacy, or music and content production) 
  • Energy (such as critical minerals, mining, or oil and gas) 
  • Health (such as biosecurity, disease surveillance, or emergency preparedness) 
  • Technology (such as artificial intelligence, information and communications technology, or cybersecurity) 
  • Transportation (such as shipping, infrastructure, or logistics corridors) 
• Projects proposing conference attendance must entail presenting or exhibiting at the proposed conference to share the outcomes of their Reciprocal Exchange.  
• Projects must not charge a participation fee from intended beneficiaries. 
• Projects must not use Award funds to cover salaries or consultancy fees.    

Selection Criteria
 

IREX will review eligible applications using the following selection criteria: 

• Demonstrates how proposed activities expand, deepen, or amplify the Reciprocal Exchange project; 
• Demonstrates clear impact and concrete benefit to U.S. companies, communities, or organizations; 
• Proposes a clear, realistic, and technically sound implementation plan; 
• Shows how proposed activities will strengthen existing or generate new partnerships with U.S.-based institutions;  
• Demonstrates specific outcomes for U.S. audiences rather than general awareness-raising;  
• Provides measurable and specific goals and project activities during implementation; and 
• Demonstrates continued impact of the project after implementation. 

IREX will give preference to applications that also: 

• Incorporate activities or events that celebrate and showcase U.S. leadership and innovation; 
• Focus on implementation and delivery of concrete activities rather than exploratory research or assessments; 
• Consist of project teams with relevant professional expertise, institutional support, and/or access to necessary resources to implement the proposed activities; and 
• Demonstrate budget cost-sharing. 

IREX will evaluate all completed applications competitively against the eligibility requirements and selection criteria.  IREX reserves the right to verify all information included in the application.   If IREX identifies a discrepancy or determines that information is false, IREX will deem the application invalid and the applicant ineligible.  IREX will not consider incomplete applications.  IREX reserves the right to offer partial funding to selected Recipients.

Reporting Requirments

All AIA Participants must submit a final report to IREX within 30 days of project implementation.  The Terms and Conditions document will include more information about reporting requirements.    
 

Application Instructions

American Impact Award applications must include the following attachments.  IREX will consider applications missing any attachment as incomplete and therefore ineligible.  Write all responses thoughtfully and clearly 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 your AIA project includes an event, provide a detailed event promotion and outreach plan to recruit event attendees (see below for event promotion tips). 
  • Use the template available here. 
• Complete Budget Form:
  • Budgets should reflect total estimated costs of project implementation, including expenses that will be provided in-kind and/or through cost-share.  
  • Use the template available here. 

Please keep the following in mind:

• IREX and the U.S. Department of State may offer partial funding to selected projects, at their discretion.  
• 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.  Submit only one application 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 you meet your expected attendance numbers.  The application will ask you to describe this plan. 

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 carefully targeted audiences in the United States.   

• Create a list of contacts who you would like to attend your event and decide how to best share information with each group.  Consider options such as: 

  • Direct email 
  • Flyers 
  • Social media event promotion 
  • Asking relevant contacts to forward your invitation to their networks 
  • Getting your event listed on industry 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 to reserve their spot at the event.  This process may 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 outreach until you meet your target RSVP number. 
• After collecting RSVPs, send a reminder one day before the event including time, date, and location details along with any special instructions needed for finding the venue such as parking, room number, point of contact phone number, etc.