The State Department created the Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) in 2011 to support alumni initiatives that promote shared values and innovative solutions to global challenges. The competition provides small grants to teams of past and current participants of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs to carry out public service projects that utilize skills and knowledge they have gained through their exchange experiences. To participate, alumni must be members of the International Exchange Alumni (IEA) global online community and form teams of at least five IEA community members. Proposed projects must embody one of the AEIF themes.