Campus Compact today announced that it received $200,000 from The Allstate Foundation to support the Newman Civic Fellowship, a signature program in the nonprofit’s growing student-facing work. Each year, community-committed students from Campus Compact member colleges and universities are nominated for the fellowship by the institution’s president or chancellor based on their potential for public leadership and their work with communities. Since 2011, over 1,800 students have been named Newman Civic Fellows. Through the fellowship, students receive recognition, mentoring, and support as they develop strategies for social change.
“Youth are already blazing a trail to create positive impact in their communities, and it’s critical that we empower them with the resources they need to lead,” said Greg Weatherford II, program officer for The Allstate Foundation's youth empowerment program. “We are proud to support Campus Compact and their Newman Civic Fellowship program by lifting up student leaders who are already building the just, equitable, and healthy world we all deserve.”
The Allstate Foundation’s support helps enhance a cornerstone of the Newman Civic Fellowship Program: the Annual Convening of Fellows, an in-person conference held each October. Fellows participate in high-impact experiences including a simulated senate session, civic-action skill building, and connecting with other fellows around their shared passions and interests. These new funds increase the length of the experience from two to three days and will support student lodging, venue, and program costs.
“Through The Allstate Foundation’s generous support, Newman Civic Fellows will have more time to connect, create relationships, and build their changemaker networks,” said Natalie Furlett, Campus Compact director of partnerships and member engagement. “Campus Compact is excited to have The Allstate Foundation as a partner in bringing this impactful program to more students and deepening the student experience.”
This funding also creates The Allstate Foundation Newman Impact Grants Program, a new, $50,000 initiative that will provide fellows with $500-$2500 individual grants to enhance their social-action community-engaged work. The program will accept proposals from students to launch or continue projects that engage their campus with the surrounding communities. In particular, the impact grants will focus on supporting students from historically under-resourced institutions including community colleges, HBCUs, and other minority-serving institutions. In addition to the funds, students will participate in trainings on fund development, budget creation and management, and ethical spending practices. Campus Compact will open applications for The Allstate Foundation Newman Impact Grants Program in early September, 2023.
“The Newman Civic Fellows exemplify what student social action can look like and are role models to us all,” said Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur. “We are so grateful for the support of The Allstate Foundation in empowering these student public problem solvers. Their generosity will enable us to scale up our program’s impact and offer new opportunities for these students to nurture their assets and make positive social change.”
Learn more about the Newman Civic Fellowship here.
About The Allstate Foundation’s Youth Empowerment Program
The Allstate Foundation empowers youth to succeed and lead by engaging them in meaningful service opportunities that help them build skills and confidence while having a positive impact on their community.
About Campus Compact
Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. Campus Compact supports institutions in fulfilling their public purposes by deepening their ability to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility. As the largest national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, we provide professional development to administrators and faculty to enable them to engage effectively, facilitate national partnerships connecting campuses with key issues in their local communities, build pilot programs to test and refine promising models in engaged teaching and scholarship, celebrate and cultivate student civic leadership, and convene higher education institutions and partners beyond higher education to share knowledge and develop collective capacity.
Please address media inquiries to:
Molly Leiper, Director of Communications
[email protected]