IIENetwork member institutions may nominate up to 5 international students from any country ​​who were financially impacted by the January 2025 fires in the greater Los Angeles area of California. Nominations should ​​explain the specific impact to the student, such as loss of property or evacuation and relocation expenses, including temporary relocation.

IIE will award selected students with a one-time grant of $800 to offset these expenses.

To find out if your institution is an IIENetwork member, visit www.iie.org/membership or email membership@iie.org. If your institution is not a member, please reach out to ESF@iie.org with any questions.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria 

• Nominations must be submitted by an administrator at an IIENetwork Member institution in the United States. An institution may not nominate more than 5 students. Students may not submit their own nomination.
• Nominees generally must be studying in the United States on an F-1/J-1 or F-2/J-2 visa. If the student is on another visa, you may explain the situation in the application. ESF cannot fund permanent residents or citizens of the United States.
• Nominees must be enrolled for studies during the 2024-25 academic year and pursuing an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. 
• Nominators must provide unique and accurate information for each nominee, demonstrating the financial hardship that nominees face as a result of the relevant emergency. 
• U.S. host campuses nominating students for the Emergency Student Fund are encouraged to provide additional emergency assistance to nominated students through tuition waivers, scholarships, housing or other direct support when possible. 

Students who are active participants of the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright program are not eligible for ESF awards. If these participants have emergency needs, they should contact their advisor at IIE (or the advisor at the relevant cooperating agency) to discuss any individual situations.

Nomination Deadline 

The nomination deadline for the ESF California 2025 round is February 10, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. eastern time.

Nomination Form

If nominating several students, please rank students from 1-5 based on financial need, with “1” being the highest level of need. Please take the time to describe each student’s financial and personal situation individually. The more detailed and personalized information the selection committee has access to, the better are the chances for students to receive an ESF award. 

It is possible for an individual to be awarded ESF scholarships over multiple rounds; however, preference will be given to those who have not been awarded. If you are nominating someone with a high rank who has previously been funded, please make sure the nomination form explains why their need is higher than those from your institution who have not previously received funding.

Please email esf@iie.org with any questions and review this FAQ before beginning your nomination form. 

Contribute to the Emergency Student Fund

IIE always welcomes additional contributions for the Emergency Student Fund so it can respond quickly to help international students when disasters and emergencies in their home countries threaten to jeopardize their studies. 

We thank you for your interest in supporting students in times of crisis and appreciate your donation. 

To learn more about IIENetwork Membership, please visit www.iie.org/membership.