Kosovo United States Alumni (Kusa)

Kosovo United States Alumni (Kusa), a non-profit organization based in Prishtina, Kosovo, operates as a prime recipient of federal grants from the U.S. Department of State, delivering public diplomacy, educational exchange, youth leadership development, and civic engagement programming across Kosovo and the Western Balkans.

Kusa's federal footprint consists entirely of grant work — 60 project grants and cooperative agreements, all as prime recipient, with zero sub-recipient awards. The organization's customer base is narrowly concentrated within the Department of State: the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (primary grantor) accounts for the dominant share of awards, supplemented by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and smaller activity from the Bureau of Public Affairs and Bureau of Counterterrorism. Across all award activity, Kusa has obligated $4.7 million in combined federal funding and has served four distinct customer agencies (all within State Department bureaus).

Kusa's capability portfolio centers on managing U.S. cultural and educational infrastructure and programming in Kosovo. The organization operates American Corners cultural centers in Prishtina, Prizren, and Mitrovica, providing strategic cultural programming, digital skills training, STEM education, and youth leadership development rooted in U.S. values and innovation. Representative grant work includes a $325 thousand Cooperative Agreement from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs to manage the University Support Grant Program (Nov 1, 2024 – Jan 31, 2026), covering grant administration, oversight, and reporting; a $45 thousand Project Grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to deliver strategic cultural programming across three American Corners over twelve months (Oct 1, 2026 – Sep 30, 2027); and a $300 thousand Cooperative Agreement from the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs to improve Kosovo's higher education sector and combat brain drain through youth empowerment, university support grants, and American Corners operations (Sep 5, 2023 – Dec 31, 2024). Kusa also delivers specialized programming including cybersecurity awareness campaigns, professional mentoring for university students, interethnic reconciliation initiatives, Fulbright alumni engagement, and programs promoting Euro-Atlantic values and countering malign foreign influence among Kosovo youth.

Activity has been uneven over the past five years — five awards in 2022, seven in 2023, five in 2024, dropping to two in 2025 and three in 2026 — with three awards (potential values not broken out per award in the source) reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and therefore facing recompete. Most of Kusa's recent grants carry October 2026 start dates and September 2027 completion dates, indicating a current funding cycle aligned to fiscal year 2026 appropriations. All grant work is positioned as public diplomacy and civil society programming under CFDA 19.900 (AEECA/ESF Public Diplomacy Programs).