FY 2026 National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- DFOP0017852
- Agency
-
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Department of State
- Applications due
- Award size
- $5,000,000
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement
- Category
-
- Other
- Eligible applicants
-
- Higher Education Inst. (Private)
- Higher Education Inst. (Public)
- 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
- Points of contact
-
- Kaveri Advani advanike@state.gov
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs seeks a cooperative agreement award recipient to administer the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program, which will provide intensive foreign language instruction to approximately 275 American high school students (ages 15-18) in Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, or Russian. Eligible applicants must be U.S. not-for-profit organizations or educational institutions meeting Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) requirements and demonstrating at least four years of experience conducting international exchanges, with active SAM.gov registration and valid Unique Entity Identifiers at the time of application. The award recipient will be responsible for comprehensive program administration including recruitment and outreach, merit-based participant selection and placement, overseas and virtual program implementation, alumni programming, financial and program reporting, and performance monitoring aligned with the ECA's Monitoring Data for ECA (MODE) Framework. The application deadline is May 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, with submissions required exclusively through Grants.gov. Applicants must comply with federal certifications including trafficking in persons compliance, drug-free workplace requirements, and restrictions on unmanned aircraft systems manufactured by covered foreign entities, with evaluation criteria emphasizing organizational capacity, program design quality, participant safety protocols, and alignment with national security language objectives.
The anticipated single cooperative agreement award is approximately $5,000,000 in FY26 Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs (ECE) funds, with a performance period of 30 to 33 months beginning July 1, 2026. The award will support approximately 215 overseas participants in six to eight-week summer programs or eight to ten-month academic year programs in countries where target languages are widely spoken, plus approximately 60 virtual participants receiving 30 hours of live online instruction. Program implementation will occur primarily in overseas locations where target languages are widely spoken (excluding Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and certain Middle Eastern countries due to security concerns), with U.S.-based administrative operations, participant orientations, and host family placements.
Synopsis
2 versions
Update #2 · Latest ·
The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is pleased to announce an open competition for proposals to administer the FY 2026 National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program. NSLI-Y increases the number of American youth (ages 15 to 18) who learn critical foreign languages in support of bolstering U.S. national security; promoting U.S. competitiveness and economic prosperity; and building mutual understanding with critical regions of the world. The award will support approximately 275 American teens to study critical languages through intensive overseas language programs in locations where the target languages are widely spoken, and through virtual programming. U.S. public and private non-profit organizations, meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3), may submit proposals to cooperate with ECA in the overall administration of NSLI-Y and the implementation of summer, academic year, and virtual programs according to the guidance in this solicitation.
Please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity for additional information.
Update #1 ·
The Office of Citizen Exchanges of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) is pleased to announce an open competition for proposals to administer the FY 2026 National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program. NSLI-Y increases the number of American youth (ages 15 to 18) who learn critical foreign languages in support of bolstering U.S. national security; promoting U.S. competitiveness and economic prosperity; and building mutual understanding with critical regions of the world. The award will support approximately 275 American teens to study critical languages through intensive overseas language programs in locations where the target languages are widely spoken, and through virtual programming. U.S. public and private non-profit organizations, meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3), may submit proposals to cooperate with ECA in the overall administration of NSLI-Y and the implementation of summer, academic year, and virtual programs according to the guidance in this solicitation. Please see the Notice of Funding Opportunity for additional information.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| performance_monitoring_plan_mode_2.3_02.03.2025.pdf | ||
| performance_monitoring_plan_mode_2.3_02.03.2025-4.docx | DOCX document | |
| NSLI-Y NOFO.pdf | ||
| NSLI-Y NOFO Amended.pdf |
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