Help us enhance the Newman Civic Fellowship: Campus Innovation Grant

• All applicants must be existing Campus Compact members in good standing. Campuses will be selected to represent a diverse group of institutions.
• All applicants must currently have a 2023-2024 Newman Civic Fellow or plan on nominating a Newman Civic Fellow for 2024-2025 (Applications open in October 2023).
• All applicants must be able to send a representative to Compact24 from April 7-10, 2024 in Denver to present their project and findings.  Part of the $5,000 can be used to support travel and conference registration.  
• All applicants must commit to attending monthly meetings with other grantees to share best practices, reflect on project struggles, and receive essential grant updates. 
• All recipients must commit to submitting an end-of-grant cycle report that summarizes their experience and results and accounts for the total funds awarded.

Timeline:

• Applications will be announced and launched on August 10th
• Applications are due September 15th
• Applicants are chosen and notified by September 30th
• Applicants will be required to meet monthly with other campus recipients.
• All applicants must send a campus representative to attend and present their projects at Compact24, April 7-10, in Denver, Colorado.

All applicants must complete and send an end-of-grant report by May 31, 2024.

Campuses will be asked to complete the following questions as part of their application. Please note that We are always open to talking through these projects— if you have questions about eligibility or requirements, or would like to brainstorm about your potential project, please reach out to Student Engagement Manager Will Brummett at [email protected]

Applicant information

• Name
• Pronouns
• Email address
• Phone number
• Job title
• Highest education level completed
• Years of experience as a CEP
• Optional demographic information

Project manager information
(if two people working on it or if another person is taking the lead)

• Name
• Pronouns
• Email address
• Phone number
• Job title
• Highest education level completed
• Years of experience as a CEP

Member institution information

• Location
• Institution type
• Student population

Campus Innovation Grant Proposal
Complete questions to tell us about your proposed campus innovation project. 

1. Please select the categories of the Newman Civic Fellowship your proposal aims to improve:
   • Improving access and participation for historically underrepresented students at community colleges and minority-serving institutions
   • Redesigning the Newman Civic Fellowship application and selection process (setting up committees, designing a new application, etc.)
   • Creating new outreach materials or communication strategies to spread Newman Civic Fellowship awareness to more students, funders, and partners
   • Exploring compensation models to support Newmans doing projects on campus and/or alongside the local community
   • Linking the Newman experience to the Pathways of Public Service & Civic Engagement program and connecting Newmans with career pathways and workforce development efforts
   • Designing a new series of professional development programs or trainings for past and current Newman fellows on campus
   • Improving the mentoring process (selection, criteria, funding activities, etc.), and providing funds for mentor/mentee experiences 
   • Re-engaging Newman Civic Fellow alumni (both on campus and graduated)
   • Other Newman-related projects or programs
2. Respond to the following questions:
   • Please briefly summarize your current Newman Civic Fellowship process or experience you hope to improve.  
   • How does your proposal enhance the Newman Civic Fellow process or experience on your campus? (Not only in terms of the following year but long-term as well)
      
3. Create and share a brief action plan for how you would plan to use the grant funds if chosen.
   • What 1-3 specific outcomes would you hope to achieve from this innovation grant?
   • What mechanisms could you utilize to ensure you remain accountable to these goals and can achieve them? (This can include project check-ins, evaluations, etc.)
   • Please provide a brief proposed timeline for your action plan. (Note all major projects must be complete by Compact24, which will be held April 7-10th in Denver, Colorado).

Budget
Please attach a categorized budget describing how you would use $5,000 of the Campus Innovation Funds. Please note the list below of allowable and unallowable expenses.

• Allowable
  • Flight and accommodations to Compact24 for the campus Newman fellow and up to 2 staff members who work on the project
  • Technological or marketing costs tied to increasing Newman awareness
  • Speaker and/or mentor honorariums 
  • Professional development opportunities for Newman Fellows and staff supporting them
  • Campus or community projects tied to Newman Fellowship experience (run by the Fellow, etc.). This can be in conjunction with awarded Newman mini-grants 
  • Funds to support approved mentor-mentee activities
  • Resources or subscriptions which would enhance Newman training or selection on your campus
     
• Unallowable:
  • Non-Newman student leadership programs
  • Staff development unrelated to staff supporting Newman
  • Compact24 funding for additional staff or students outside of the allowed limit (see above)
  • Unapproved resources, subscriptions, or honorariums
  • Unrelated technological or marketing costs that do not directly affect Newman Fellowship outreach or recruitment
  • Community projects that are unrelated to the Newman Civic Fellow on your campus or the Fellowship process in general