Arts & Humanities

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Limiting Language
An organization may submit only one application under this program solicitation. You may apply to other NEA funding opportunities, such as Grants for Arts Projects, in addition to this program solicitation. In each case, the request must be for a distinctly different project. No project costs or staff time may overlap with activities and/or costs included as part of other federal awards. 

Executive Summary
The purpose of this Program Solicitation is to select an organization (“Cooperator”) to support the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) with the 2027 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert and related events. The Cooperator is expected to coordinate a range of activities, including a live concert, webcast, video tributes, and other associated activities. 

This award will be made as a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement is a funding mechanism in which the federal agency (NEA) maintains substantial involvement in carrying out the supported project in partnership with the award recipient (known as a Cooperator).  

Eligible applicants include nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; federally-recognized tribal communities or tribes; and the six Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs).  

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Limiting Language
Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.

Executive Summary
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational Cultural Affairs announces the FY2026 American Film Showcase open competition for one cooperative agreement to support thematic projects in film, television, gaming, and other media arts-based, international cultural and commercial diplomacy exchanges that create partnerships through artistic collaboration and professional development activities, promote economic opportunities, demonstrate the power of free expression, and support Administration foreign policy and America First priorities.

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Limiting Language
Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.

Executive Summary
The Office of Citizen Exchanges in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) invites proposals for the FY 2026 Leaders Lead On-Demand program (LLOD). This program develops ideas from across the Department of State into customized, two-way exchange projects. LLOD provides rapid response, flexible programming focused on building self-sustaining global, regional, and country-based networks of practitioners.

The recipient will design and carry out a series of exchange projects for emerging leaders and mid-level professionals representing government, business, and civil society. The program expects to support approximately four to six exchange projects for approximately 75 participants, including approximately 55 foreign and 20 U.S. participants.

Each project will feature a group of foreign participants who will travel to the United States for an intensive, customized program. Activities may include workshops, meetings, or events. Every U.S.-based exchange must also include at least one segment overseas, which should involve U.S. participants. All participants should have relevant experience or expertise in the project’s field. U.S. participants will work with foreign participants during both the U.S. and overseas segments. The award recipient will work closely with ECA, other State Department staff, and partner organizations in the relevant countries or regions as appropriate to identify participants and design activities that meet each project’s goals. ECA must approve the final list of foreign and U.S. participants.

Additional project elements, such as regional meetings overseas, small grants competitions, or local trainings, should be included as needed to support project objectives and promote American leadership and expertise.

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Limiting Language
Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.

Executive Summary 
Priority Region: Tibetan populations in China, India, Nepal and Bhutan

The Global Leaders Division in the Office of Citizen Exchanges at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is seeking proposal submissions for one to two cooperative agreements to design, implement, and oversee the FY 2026 Ngawang Choephel Fellows Program. Launched in 1997, the Ngawang Choephel Fellows Program is a two-way economic exchange program designed to enhance leadership and professional skills and build lasting partnerships between emerging entrepreneurs from Tibetan communities in China, India, Nepal and Bhutan, and the United States. The defining element of the program is a minimum four-week U.S.-based exchange which will provide Fellows with opportunities to discuss and share best practices for initiating and supporting business and/or community initiatives.3

The award recipient will be responsible for planning and administering all components of the Ngawang Choephel Fellows Program. The non-U.S. Fellow component will feature a series of virtual engagement opportunities leading up to a minimum four-week U.S.-based exchange for up to 25 participants. This component will consist of professional and leadership development activities which may include, but shall not be limited to: trainings, workshops, site visits, job shadowing, team building exercises, panel discussions, case studies, resource-sharing, and networking events. The U.S. Fellows component will enable up to 10 U.S. professionals, who engaged with the non-U.S. Fellows during the course of their program, to travel to India, Nepal or Bhutan for approximately two weeks to assist the non-U.S. Fellows’ follow-on plans and conduct alumni engagement activities.

The Ngawang Choephel Fellows Program directly supports the 2025 National Security Strategy and the Administration’s foreign policy, furthering our national interests. In addition, the Program positions the United States as the partner of first choice, by demonstrating American principles of openness, transparency, commitment to freedom and innovation, and free market capitalism.

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Limiting Language
Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant

Executive Summary
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Office of English Language Programs (ECA/A/L) announces an open competition to support the FY 2026 English Language Fellow, Specialist, and Virtual Educator Program (ELFSVEP). ECA/A/L plans to issue one cooperative agreement to support approximately 385 participants for $14,000,000, pending the availability of funds.

The English Language (EL) Fellow, Specialist, and Virtual Educator Program (ELFSVEP) places top-tier American experts in the field of English teaching in strategic projects at key institutions to advance U.S. interests in strategic countries. The program sends highly qualified experts on approximately ten-month Fellow exchanges, short-term (two weeks or more) Specialist assignments, or three-week to six-month Virtual Educator assignments at educational institutions in all world regions.

English Language programs advance American influence with critical audiences and have a cascading reach and strategic returns. The initiatives go beyond teaching English; they advance America’s national interest by embedding the global language of diplomacy, business, and science abroad. American expertise is in high demand by foreign governments, educational institutions, and workplaces. Providing American English Educators abroad allows U.S. Missions to build trusted networks in fragile regions, reinforce alliances through shared language and values, and promote U.S. economic interests. When America leads in English Language teaching, we set the terms of engagement; when America steps back, competitors fill the void. These programs ensure foreign partners turn first to the United States for English education, vocational upskilling, and secure partnerships, delivering on the Department’s America First mission.

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Limiting Language
Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.

Executive Summary
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, through its Office of Citizen Exchanges, invites proposals to design and implement the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellowship. The program advances U.S. strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific by developing a network of emerging leaders from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states who share America’s founding principles of liberty, opportunity, and self-reliance. By promoting free enterprise, open markets, and innovation, the program fosters shared prosperity and supports a secure, free, and open Indo-Pacific.

Through professional fellowships and reciprocal exchanges, YSEALI PFP advances U.S. leadership by strengthening commercial ties, promoting regional stability, and supporting peace and security across the Indo-Pacific. Each year two cohorts of approximately 144 Fellows from Southeast Asia will travel to the United States for five to six weeks of professional and leadership development. Participants, ages 25 to 35, will be placed with U.S. public, private, and nonprofit institutions for customized fellowships aligned with four strategic themes central to U.S. foreign policy: Economic Prosperity, Strategic Energy and Minerals, Liberty and Freedom, and Peace and Security.

The exchange will culminate in a YSEALI Fellows Forum in Washington, D.C., where participants will share lessons learned and explore future collaboration. Following each U.S. fellowship, approximately 72 American professionals will travel to Southeast Asia on Reciprocal Exchanges to extend engagement, transfer expertise, and strengthen bilateral partnerships.

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M. Reimann (Marketing)

Limiting Language
Organizations can submit up to one application to the FY27 Research Labs funding opportunity. 

• Applicants to the FY27 Research Labs funding opportunity may apply to other FY27 NEA funding opportunities (applications submitted in CY2026), including Research Grants in the Arts. Each proposal must be for a distinctly different project.
• An organization may receive up to one FY27 award in either the Research Labs program or the Research Grants in the Arts program. 

Program Description
The NEA Research Labs program is a funding opportunity under the NEA’s Research Awards initiative. The program funds long-term research agendas (referred to herein as NEA Research Labs, or Labs) that include multiple empirical studies and the dissemination of various products or services for promoting public knowledge about the arts and their contributions to American life. Each Lab must include an interdisciplinary team of researchers. Products or services developed under the award are expected to be of value to arts researchers, arts practitioners, and professionals in sectors such as healthcare, education, and business or management. Funded projects should have national, regional, or field-wide significance.  Projects supported through this program include: 

1.  Arts and Health. Includes studies that will test or characterize the benefits of the arts or arts and health activities—including creative arts therapies—in terms of health and wellbeing for people or communities. The NEA has a special interest in supporting such projects in the following contexts: • Military personnel, veterans, and their families •
   • Pediatric cancer care and other childhood diseases
   • Opioid use prevention, treatment, and recovery
   • Disaster relief and emergency response and preparedness
   • Care of older adults experiencing cognitive or neurodegenerative declines
2. Arts and the Economy. Includes studies that will test or characterize the benefits of the arts or arts activities in terms of economic or workforce development.
   • The NEA has a special interest in supporting such projects involving the arts in Artificial Intelligence (AI) competency training, in career development for people with disabilities, and/or in preparation for high-paying skilled trade jobs of the future.
3. Arts and Education. Includes studies that will test or characterize the benefits of the arts or arts activities in terms of school readiness, school engagement, or academic achievement among children from preschool through high school.
   • The NEA has a special interest in supporting such projects for learners with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disabilities. 

Applicants seeking funding solely for discrete research studies and the promotion of their results should instead apply to the Research Grants in the Arts program. 

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Limiting Language
You may submit more than one application to the NLG-L Program; however, you may not submit the same proposal under more than one project type. You may only submit one proposal to the Community-Centered Implementation project type. 

Executive Summary 
National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) projects enhance the quality of library services nationwide. The program supports projects that:  

• manage and preserve the national information infrastructure;  
• serve the public’s information and education needs;  
• enhance library and information services through effective and efficient use of new and emerging technologies;  
• improve community prosperity;  
• provide emergency services to communities during disasters and emergencies; and  
• build collaborative partnerships between libraries, archives, and museums that benefit the communities they serve.  

The models, tools, research findings, services, and partnerships resulting from these awards can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend and maximize the benefit of Federal investment to libraries and archives of all sizes. 

Eligibility is restricted to organizations that are: 

• Located in the United States or any U.S. Territories or freely associated States; AND
• A unit of state, local or Tribal government or a private, nonprofit organization; AND
• One of seven types of qualifying organizations:  

1. A library or a parent organization, such as a school district, a municipality, a State agency, or an academic institution, that is responsible for the administration of a library.
2. An academic or administrative unit, such as a graduate school of library and information science that is part of an institution of higher education through which it would apply;
3. A digital library or archives, if it makes materials publicly available and provides library or archival services, including selection, organization, description, reference, and preservation, under the supervision of at least one permanent professional staff librarian/archivist;
4. A library or archival agency that is an official agency of a State, Tribal, or other unit of government and is charged by the law governing it with the extension and development of public library and archives services within its jurisdiction;
5. A library or archives consortium that is a local, statewide, regional, interstate, or international cooperative association of library or archives entities that provides for the systematic and effective coordination of the resources of eligible libraries or archives, as defined above, and information centers that work to improve the services delivered to the clientele of these libraries or archives; or
6. A library or archives association that exists on a permanent basis; primarily serves libraries, archives, or library or archival professionals on a national, regional, state, or local level; and engages in activities designed to advance the well-being of libraries, archives, and the library, and archives professions.
7. A nonprofit organization affiliated with a library or archives whose sole mission includes supporting the specified library or archives, has the ability to administer the project, and can ensure compliance with the terms of this NOFO and the applicable law, including the IMLS Assurances and Certifications. We require that you provide an agreement from the library or archives that details the activities the applicant and library will perform and binds the library to the statements and assurances in the application.   

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Limiting Language
You may submit more than one application to the LB21 Program; however, you may not submit the same proposal under more than one project type. You may only submit one proposal to the Community-Centered Implementation project type. 

Program Overview
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian (LB21) projects build a library and archival workforce that can meet the information needs of communities and increase the institutional capacity of libraries, archives, and library and information science graduate programs across the country.  The program supports projects that:  

• provide training and professional development to library and archives professionals;  
• develop faculty and information leaders; and
• recruit, educate, and retain the next generation of library and archives professionals.  

Projects can support the recruitment, education, training, and retention of preprofessionals, students, faculty, and the current library and archives workforce.  

Eligibility is restricted to organizations that are: 

• Located in the United States or any U.S. Territories or freely associated States; AND
• A unit of state, local or Tribal government or a private, nonprofit organization; AND
• One of seven types of qualifying organizations:  

1. A library or a parent organization, such as a school district, a municipality, a State agency, or an academic institution, that is responsible for the administration of a library.
2. An academic or administrative unit, such as a graduate school of library and information science that is part of an institution of higher education through which it would apply;
3. A digital library or archives, if it makes materials publicly available and provides library or archival services, including selection, organization, description, reference, and preservation, under the supervision of at least one permanent professional staff librarian/archivist;
4. A library or archival agency that is an official agency of a State, Tribal, or other unit of government and is charged by the law governing it with the extension and development of public library and archives services within its jurisdiction;
5. A library or archives consortium that is a local, statewide, regional, interstate, or international cooperative association of library or archives entities that provides for the systematic and effective coordination of the resources of eligible libraries or archives, as defined above, and information centers that work to improve the services delivered to the clientele of these libraries or archives; or
6. A library or archives association that exists on a permanent basis; primarily serves libraries, archives, or library or archival professionals on a national, regional, state, or local level; and engages in activities designed to advance the well-being of libraries, archives, and the library, and archives professions.
7. A nonprofit organization affiliated with a library or archives whose sole mission includes supporting the specified library or archives, has the ability to administer the project, and can ensure compliance with the terms of this NOFO and the applicable law, including the IMLS Assurances and Certifications. We require that you provide an agreement from the library or archives that details the activities the applicant and library will perform and binds the library to the statements and assurances in the application.   

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Limiting Language
Primary applicants may submit one application in response to this NOFO.

Executive Summary 
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor,
Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF) announces an open competition
for organizations interested in submitting applications for a program to provide
emergency financial assistance to victims of religious persecution and defenders of religious freedom.

IRF promotes religious freedom as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy that
makes America stronger, safer, and more prosperous. IRF’s mission is guided by
its statutory mandate established by the International Religious Freedom Act of
1998 (IRF Act) and the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016
(Wolf Act). The IRF Act provides that it is the policy of the United States,
“standing for liberty and standing with the persecuted, to...promote respect for
religious freedom by all governments and peoples.” To that end, the Wolf Act calls
for the State Department to issue foreign assistance awards to promote respect for
religious freedom and combat religious freedom violations.

As declared in President Trump’s Executive Order 13926, the promotion of
international religious freedom is a “national security imperative” and “a foreign
policy priority of the United States.” Pursuant to that Executive Order, IRF funds
foreign assistance programs to “anticipate, prevent, and respond to attacks against
individuals and groups on the basis of their religion, including programs designed
to help ensure that such groups can persevere as distinct communities; to promote
accountability for the perpetrators of such attacks; to ensure equal rights and legal
protections for individuals and groups regardless of belief; to improve the safety
and security of houses of worship and public spaces for all faiths; and to protect
and preserve the cultural heritages of religious communities.”

Information on religious freedom conditions globally can be found in the State
Department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report.

Applicants will be responsible for ensuring program activities and products are
implemented in accordance with the Establishment Clause of the United States
Constitution.