Deadline: 13 September 2018

The Stevens Initiative is currently accepting applications for its annual competitions to give grants (also referred to as awards) for educational institutions and non-profit organizations in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa to administer virtual exchange programs between youth in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa.

The Initiative opened to fund virtual exchange programs in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa in order to help young people gain the collaboration, language, problem-solving skills, technical and vocational skills, as well as the familiarity with and empathy for different perspectives, that they need to succeed in today’s economy and society. The competition is open to organizations in the United States as well as the Middle East and North Africa.

The Initiative is interested in seeding new models as well as scaling proven models of virtual exchange through proposals focused on technology and computing, world affairs and global studies, business and entrepreneurship, and language learning and practice. Proposals must demonstrate that young people participating in the program will have the opportunity to build practical skills and global competencies through hands-on and collaborative activities.

Priority Topics

Proposed projects are strongly encouraged to focus on the following topics:

• Technology and computing
• World affairs and global studies
• Business and entrepreneurship
• Language learning and practice

Funding Information

• Seeding Awards support promising new virtual programs at the proof-of-concept stage to test, refine, and evaluate their models. These proposals must demonstrate the potential to find an institutional home, replicate, or scale in the future. This growth may include expansion across an educational institution, network of institutions (such as a district), or more broadly.
  • Approximate Number of Awards: 4 to 6
  • Award Duration: The period of performance of the awards will be 27 months, beginning April 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2021.
  • Anticipated Award Size Range: $100,000 to $300,000.
  • Number of Participants Range: 100 to 750 participants.
  • Cost per Participant Range: $400 to $1,000 per participant.
• Scaling Awards support innovators and institutions that are ready to expand an existing, successful virtual exchange program. These proposals must demonstrate an intention and pathway to scaling up considerably while reducing cost per participant. This growth may include expansion across an educational institution, network of institutions (such as a district), or more broadly.
  • Approximate Number of Awards: 4 to 6
  • Award Duration: The period of performance of the awards will be 27 months, beginning April 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2021.
  • Anticipated Award Size Range: $350,000 to $1,000,000.
  • Number of Participants Range: 1,000 to 8,000 participants.
  • Cost per Participant Range: $100 to $350 per participant.

Invitational Priorities

The Initiative is particularly interested in projects that involve the following:

• Participants and institutions located in Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, and in the Palestinian Territories.
• Programs that would involve intra-regional interaction, such as between Israeli participants and those in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. These programs must still include participants in the United States.
• Community engagement and community service. Virtual exchange programs can include activities that bring participants outside the classroom and into their communities to better understand and make a difference in addressing local and global issues.

Eligible Applicants

• Applying organizations must be based in the United States or in the Middle East and North Africa.
• Applicants based in the United States must be tax-exempt non-profit organizations, including educational institutions. U.S. applicants in the process of registration must submit proof that they are seeking non-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service at the time of submission. Should the applicant be selected for an award, funding will be contingent on the organization receiving tax exempt status. Award recipients must be registered to conduct proposed activities in the countries where the activities would take place, if applicable.
• Applicants based in the Middle East or North Africa must be non-profit organizations, including educational institutions, that can demonstrate current in-country registration. Other organizations are not eligible to apply, though they may be included as sub-awardees or contract recipients. Staff should be proficient in English, able to file reports and conduct evaluations in English as well as in Arabic or French as appropriate.
• An organization can request no more than 80% of the amount of their Fiscal Year 2017 operating budget.
• Organizations may submit more than one letter of interest or proposal if the proposed programs are distinct and do not involve any overlap in staff, curriculum, participants, etc.
• Activities must be conducted in the United States and in one or more of the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, the Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Programs involving refugees from these countries who are currently in countries not listed above are also eligible.
• Participants should be young people in the age range that corresponds to the middle school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate education levels, and young professionals under the age of 35. Educators, facilitators, or group leaders who work with the youth participants are counted as participants for the purposes of travel but are not counted as part of the youth participants number.

How to Apply

Letters of Interest may only be submitted online via given website.

For more information, please visit Stevens Initiative.