Advancing Community, Democracy, and Dialogue is a special grant fund established to support events and activities promoting open dialogue and civil discourse on our campus. All members of our community are invited to join in this effort.
Advancing Community, Democracy, and Dialogue Grant Funding
We are pleased to support grassroots efforts led by faculty, students, and staff to promote diverse discourse and open dialogue on critical global and domestic social issues. Grants of up to $5,000 are available to support activities such as workshops, symposia, brown bag lunches, guest speakers, and the development of curricula or resources.
Funding Guidelines
Grants will be awarded in amounts up to and including $5,000. We reserve the right to partially fund a proposal based on the proposed budget.
Grant Criteria
- Applicants must be currently enrolled and/or employed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
- Proposed projects must benefit members of the UMass community and be implemented at the university.
- Proposed projects must address important international and/or domestic issues relevant to members of the UMass Amherst campus community.
- Proposed projects should encourage open discussion of critical social issues and/or advance ideals of diversity in intellectual discourse.
- Proposed projects should be collaborative in approach and practice; for example, campus partners who will participate in a project’s implementation must be identified.
- For events involving speakers, provisions must be made for audience participation and/or question-and-answer opportunities.
- Student applicants must be affiliated with a registered student organization or have the administrative support of a department to which funds may be transferred.
- Personnel costs cannot be funded.
Application Questions
Please review the application questions in ahead of time. You will be asked to provide:
- Identifying information (name, email, campus affiliation, office or college affiliation)
- Project name
- Project description, goal, rationale, and format (Q&A, brown bag, workshop, etc.). 450 words max
- What are the important global and/or domestic issue(s) your project will address?
- How does your project foster open discussion of complex and critical social issues and/or advance ideals of diversity in intellectual discourse?
- Project team members, if applicable
- How will you assess the impact of your project (post-event questionnaire, attendance, etc.)? Give 1-3 metrics.
- Estimated project completion date
- Amount requested
- A completed budget request form
- If you are a student, what department and/or RSO will offer you administrative support? [Please upload letter from supporting areas]
- Optional: additional materials and supporting documents
Information Sessions
If you'd like more information or would like to workshop your idea, we welcome you to join an upcoming information session.
- Friday Sept 11, 11am
- Wed Sept 23, 10am
- Fri Sept 25, 1pm
- Monday Sept 28, 3pm
- Thursday Oct 1, 2pm
Grant Selection
Awards will be selected by the members of the Advancing Community, Democracy, and Dialogue steering committee based on input from key campus stakeholders. Proposals submitted by students or staff, or faculty proposals that are co-directed with students and/or staff members, will be reviewed in October (fall) and March (spring). Proposals rated the highest and second-highest will receive funding. Additional proposals will receive funding as the budget permits.
For projects exclusively led by faculty, awards will be selected by a subcommittee of faculty members and a representative from the Community, Democracy, and Dialogue working group.
Questions?
Contact Linda (she/her) to review the application process, learn about grant criteria, and understand best practices for submitting an effective and complete proposal for the CDD initiative, to workshop ideas for proposals, or get support in writing proposals.
