Grants + Awards

Available grants

Engaged Course Grants

Engaged Course Grant at a glance

Funding maximum: $4,000
Deadline: February 26, 2025
Notification of Awards: March 14, 2025
Start date: April 1, 2025
Submission portal

Next cycle deadline: July 15, 2025

Grant purpose

The purpose of CHE Engaged Course Grants is to fund faculty who are integrating community-engaged learning into new and existing courses that involve students in work with community partners. These grants allow faculty to explore new partnerships, develop new courses, and integrate community-engaged learning into existing courses.

Specifically, this funding is meant to introduce, improve, or increase the four community-engaged learning criteria in your course.

Need. Student projects in the course address a community-identified need.
Partner. A community partner is integrated into course instruction.
Connection. The project connects (and integrates) engaged experiences with course content and disciplinary perspectives.
Reflection. Student assignments involve critical reflection on the engaged experiences.

Introducing community-engaged learning into courses in ways that are sustainable is a high priority, so we encourage applicants to consider how these funds can support teaching courses more than one time.

Are you wondering whether your course idea is a good fit? Contact the CEL Coordinator kce28 [at] cornell.edu (subject: Discussion%20of%20CHE%20CEL%20grant%20idea) (Kristen Elmore) (kce28 [at] cornell.edu (kce28[at]cornell[dot]edu)), and we can talk about your course.

CHE Engaged Course Grants are not intended to support:

Proposals to develop co- or extra-curricular activities such as student clubs or speaker series (though curricular development may include integration of co-curricular opportunities). For this, see the CHE Engaged Opportunity Rapid Response Grants.
Undergraduate research that is not part of a course or curriculum. For this, see the CHE Engaged Research Seed Grants.

Who is eligible?

Faculty of any rank and research, teaching, or extension (RTE) faculty in Cornell Human Ecology. The faculty lead on a collaborative project must be a member of the department responsible for the course.

Staff, graduate students, and community partners can be team members but cannot serve as team leads. Participation of community partners is strongly encouraged. Partners may be community-based nonprofits, government entities, corporations, unions, health facilities or Cornell-based organizations that facilitate external partnerships. There is no restriction on the geographic location of the partnership.

Projects that have not previously received Engaged Curriculum Funding will receive priority.

Funding

Funding for course grants will not exceed $4,000. All budget lines must be justified. Applicants should make their case for the use of funds most appropriate to their needs. Please note that grantees might not receive their full budget request.

Engaged Course Grants have a 12-month term. At the end of the approved grant period, grant-holders may be eligible for a no-cost extension or will return the remaining funds to the CHE CEL initiative block grant.

Expectations and deliverables

A final report will be due one month after the funding is completed. Required final reports will include the course syllabus and describe student participation, student evaluations of their experiences, community partner contributions to the student learning experience, as well as the benefit to the community partner and achievement of learning goals set by the applicants. As appropriate, grantees may be asked to contribute photographs or stories to support communication about engaged learning in the college.

Grantees will also be expected to participate in the CHE community-engaged teaching mentorship network and CHE Engaged Forum to share their experiences with other faculty.

Budget

Allowable Expenses

Faculty and/or staff support:
- **Travel, meals and lodging associated community-engaged learning conducted off campus
- Resources for collaborative planning (meals, mini-conferences, books, subscriptions, webinars, etc.)
- Materials that support the project
- Funding for student interns, graduate assistants and/or academic staff to assist with course development
Student support:
- **Travel, meals and lodging associated with community-engaged learning conducted off campus
- Systems that support the student work experience (graphics, software, enrollment in online training, etc.)
Community partner support:
- Funds that support the participation of the off-campus community in the experience

**Travel, meals, and visitors must be consistent with current Cornell COVID-19 Travel and Visitor Policy.

Unallowable expenses

overhead and indirect costs (IDC);
tuition;
capital projects;
faculty or staff salaries;
post-graduation wages or travel costs for students.

Selection criteria

CHE’s CEL leadership and invited reviewers will review proposals using the following criteria, as appropriate:

The intention to impact teaching culture in department/unit/program and/or to embed community-engaged learning into the heart of the major/minor/concentration
Contribution to Cornell’s goal of 100% undergraduate participation in high-quality community-engaged learning opportunities, which
- Address a specific community interest, problem or public concern (Need)
- Include working with and learning from a community partner (Partner)
- Connect and integrate community-engaged experiences with educational content (Connection)
- Include structured, documented critical reflection (Reflection)
Prospect for sustaining the community-engaged course beyond the life of the grant

Given the competitive funding environment and limited resources, priority is given to proposals that

engage undergraduates;
embed community-engaged learning into core or required components of the curriculum, particularly at the 1000 or 2000 level or in large-format classes;
come from departments/programs that offer fewer opportunities for community-engaged learning;
have not received prior funding from Engaged Learning initiatives

We are especially excited to support engaged courses with a commitment to working with, supporting, and/or addressing issues affecting historically marginalized and underserved groups (Black and Indigenous communities/communities of color, or other underrepresented minorities).

Instructions to apply

Proposals must be submitted using the online application form, and include the following information, within the space limits described on the form.

Course title
Name(s) of team member(s) and their unit(s)
Signature endorsements from chair or supervisor
Community partner(s) information, if applicable. Letter of collaboration is strongly encouraged.
Succinct summary, to be shared publicly, describing the course, public purpose, and what the project team will be doing
Short narrative that describes the proposed community-engaged course, including, as relevant:
1. Specific aims of the grant in connection to the course (e.g., adding community partners to an existing course, developing a new course with a partner, integrating reflection into student learning, etc.)
2. Need. Description of the benefit of the student coursework to the partner(s)
3. Partner. Clearly identified community partner(s) and their role in the student learning experience
4. Connection. Anticipated student learning outcomes and how you plan to assess these
5. Reflection. Description of how the course supports student preparation for and critical reflection on their community-engaged learning experiences
Description of how the proposed course connects to the broader curriculum within a major (e.g., what are the course prerequisites, is it a required course, is the course introductory, capstone, etc.)
Discussion of whether this course requires funding that will need to be replenished to teach it in the future. What are the opportunities to sustain the course beyond the grant period? Include estimate of resources needed and plan for securing and sustaining those resources.
Estimated number and type of Cornell students (majors; undergraduate, graduate, professional) targeted by the proposal
Budget and budget justification aligned directly with the budget categories in the online application form
1. Projects are encouraged to include funding to support community partner efforts

Engaged Research Seed Grants

Engaged Research Seed Grant At-a-Glance

Funding maximum: $4,000
Deadline: February 26, 2025
Notification of Awards: March 14, 2025
Start date: April 1, 2025
Submission portal

Next cycle deadline: July 15, 2025

CHE community-engaged learning initiative

Cornell Human Ecology (CHE) is partnering with the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement to recognize, support, and advance community-engaged learning (CEL) throughout the college. This engaged college initiative reflects the next phase of OEI’s work to involve more Cornell undergraduates in CEL while also furthering community partners’ missions and advancing faculty members’ research. The new approach empowers each college to support the engaged learning opportunities that best fit the mission of their college.

CHE is offering grants to enhance existing and create new community-engaged learning opportunities for students. The goal of these funding opportunities is to reach as many interested faculty, staff, and students as possible and to make sustainable investments in opportunities that will continue beyond the funding of this block grant.

Grant purpose

Engaged Research Seed Grants are intended to support CHE faculty and academic staff’s scholarship and scientific research collaborations with both undergraduates and community partners.

Community-engaged research occurs in collaboration with a community partner who is involved throughout the research process. Some proposals may focus on incubating and accelerating the participation of community partners into scholarship and scientific research. Other proposals may involve existing community-engaged research collaborations but focus on developing or expanding opportunities for undergraduates to play a meaningful role.

Specifically, this funding is meant to introduce, improve, or increase the four community-engaged learning criteria in your research.

Need. Addresses a specific need, problem, or common concern of the partner.
Partner. Involves collaboration with community partner(s).
Connection. The project connects (and integrates) engaged research experiences with students’ disciplinary learning.
Reflection. Includes documented critical reflection for undergraduates involved in the research.

Supporting community-engaged faculty research in ways that are sustainable is a high priority, so we encourage applicants to consider how these funds can seed student involvement in projects over a prolonged period of time.

Are you wondering whether your project idea is a good fit? Contact the CEL coordinator, kce28 [at] cornell.edu (subject: Discussion%20of%20CHE%20CEL%20grant%20idea) (Kristen Elmore) (kce28 [at] cornell.edu (kce28[at]cornell[dot]edu)), and we can talk about your project.

Who is eligible?

Faculty of any rank, academic staff, and post-docs in Cornell Human Ecology. Applicants are welcome whether or not they have established community-engaged research or scholarship experience in their field of study.

Applications that involve multiple researchers/scholars, junior faculty participants and/or collaboration across units are strongly encouraged.

Temporary staff and students can be team members but cannot serve as team leads. Participation of community partners and/or alumni is encouraged.

Projects that have not previously received Engaged Research funding will receive priority.

Funding

Funding for grants will not exceed $4,000. All budget lines must be justified. Applicants should make their case for the use of funds most appropriate to their need. Please note that grantees might not receive their full budget request.

Engaged Research Seed Grants have a 12-month term. At the end of the approved grant period, grant-holders may be eligible for a no cost extension or will return remaining funds to the CHE CEL initiative block grant.

Expectations and Deliverables

A final report will be due one month after the funding is completed. Required final reports will describe student participation, student evaluations of their experiences, community partner contributions to the student research experience, challenges encountered, as well as the benefit to the community partner and achievement of research and learning goals set by the applicants. As appropriate, grantees may be asked to contribute photographs or stories to support communication about engaged learning in the college.

Grantees will also be expected to participate in the CHE community-engaged teaching mentorship network and CHE Engaged Forum to share their experience with other faculty.

Budget

Allowable expenses

Student support*:
- **travel, meals and lodging associated with research conducted off campus;
- direct costs incurred by students while conducting research;
- participation in conferences, workshops;
- costs of publication;
- systems that support the student research experience (software, enrollment in online training, etc.);
- wages for students (work study, other). Information and policies for student employment and federal work-study.
Community partner support:
- expenses incurred by community partners that are directly related to their participation in the research experience and that support community partner capacity to effectively partner in and maximize the benefit of community-engaged research.

* While this mechanism prioritizes the involvement of undergraduates, the inclusion of graduate students in a mentorship or supervisory role may be appropriate. Funding to support graduate student involvement will be considered with proper justification.

**Travel, meals, and visitors must be consistent with current Cornell COVID-19 Travel and Visitor Policy.

Unallowable expenses

overhead and indirect costs (IDC);
tuition;
capital projects;
faculty or staff salaries;
post-graduation wages or travel costs for students.

Selection criteria

CHE’s CEL leadership and invited reviewers will review proposals using the following criteria, as appropriate:

Involvement of undergraduate students in the research, including strategy for inclusion and access to this opportunity
Contribution to Cornell’s goal of 100% undergraduate participation in high-quality community-engaged learning opportunities, which
- Address a specific community interest, problem or public concern (Need)
- Include working with and learning from a community partner (Partner)
- Connect and integrate community-engaged experiences with educational content (Connection)
- Include structured, documented critical reflection (Reflection)
Clear collaborative role of both community partner(s) and undergraduates in the research and compelling description of the intended benefits of the research to the community(ies) of interest
Prospect for sustaining the community-engaged learning beyond the life of the grant

Given the competitive funding environment, priority is given to projects that:

Come from departments/programs that offer fewer opportunities for community-engaged learning
have not received prior funding

Instructions to apply

Proposals must be submitted using the online application form, and include the following information, within the space limits described on the form.

Project title
Name(s) of team member(s) and their unit(s)
Community partner(s) information, if applicable. Letter of collaboration is strongly encouraged.
Succinct summary, to be shared publicly, describing the project context, public purpose and what the project team will be doing
Short narrative that describes the overarching goals of the community-engaged research project, including, as relevant:
1. Need. Specific aims of the project, inclusive of community-identified need
2. Partner. Clearly identified community partner(s), their role in the student research experience, and the benefit of the work to the partner(s)
3. Connection. Role of the student(s) and anticipated student learning outcomes and how you plan to assess these
4. Reflection. Description of how the project/initiative supports student preparation for and critical reflection on their community-engaged research experiences
Discussion of opportunities to sustain research project beyond the grant period; include estimate of resources needed and plan for securing and sustaining those resources
Additional project information (e.g., course prerequisites, project completion date, conference abstract), as appropriate
Estimated number and type of Cornell students (undergraduate, graduate, professional) targeted by the proposal
Budget and budget justification aligned directly with the budget categories in the online application form
1. Projects are encouraged to include funding to support community partner efforts

Engaged Opportunity Rapid Response Grants

Engaged Opportunity Rapid Response Grant At-a-Glance

Funding maximum: $2,000
Deadline: Rolling submissions
Notification of Awards: Within two weeks of submission
Start date: Rolling
Submission portal

CHE community-engaged learning initiative

The College of Human Ecology (CHE) is partnering with the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement to recognize, support, and advance community-engaged learning (CEL) throughout the college. This engaged college initiative reflects the next phase of OEI’s work to involve more Cornell undergraduates in CEL while also furthering community partners’ missions and advancing faculty members’ research. The new approach empowers each college to support the engaged learning opportunities that best fit the mission of their college.

Grant purpose

Engaged Opportunity Rapid Response Grants are designed to help create, enhance, or sustain community-engaged learning opportunities for undergraduates. These awards can support a wide range of experiences that include curricular, research, and co-curricular (non-credit bearing) student experiences, student leadership programs, partnership building efforts, and CEL-related events.

Specifically, this funding is meant to provide timely response to opportunities for faculty, staff and community partners to introduce, improve, or increase the four community-engaged learning criteria in student experiences. These criteria are the following:

Need. Students are responding to a community-identified need.
Partner. Student work with and learn from community partner(s).
Connection. The project connects (and integrates) engaged experiences with disciplinary learning.
Reflection. Students participate in critical reflection on their engaged experiences.

These grants are intended to support a range of community-engaged learning activities, which may include:

Community-engaged leadership student programming:
projects where students can integrate their leadership education and community-engaged learning through critical reflection
collaborations with diverse partners (e.g., communities, alumni and other university stakeholders) that build student leadership capacity through community-engaged learning
Production and dissemination of “public products” in support of and/or celebrating community-engaged learning; including, but not limited to, community-engaged presentation at conferences/workshops, publications (print and electronic), tools, podcasts, videos, exhibits and datasets, and professional development/training to support production
Developing or deepening community partnerships related to co- or extra-curricular student groups or experiences
Creation and implementation of community-engaged events such as informal seminars, networking or collaboration development activities (e.g., thematic luncheon conversations, symposia, workshops, pilot collaborations, and speakers)
Can include documentation of community-engaged events or communications infrastructure related to community-engaged learning
Do you have an idea not listed here? Contact the CEL Coordinator Kristen Elmore, and we can talk about your project.

Who is eligible?

Faculty of any rank, staff, and post-docs in the College of Human Ecology.

Temporary staff and students can be team members but cannot serve as team leads. Participation of community partners and/or alumni is encouraged.

Cornell CHE affiliate organizations should consult the CHE Initiative Coordinator, Kristen Elmore (kce28 [at] cornell.edu (kce28[at]cornell[dot]edu)), to determine eligibility.

Projects that have not previously received funding from Engaged Learning initiatives will receive priority.

Funding

Funding for grants will not exceed $2,000. All budget lines must be justified. Applicants should make their case for the use of funds most appropriate to their need. Please note that grantees might not receive their full budget request.

Rapid Response Grants have a 12-month term. At the end of the approved grant period, grant-holders may be eligible for a no cost extension or will return remaining funds to the CHE CEL initiative block grant.

Expectations and deliverables

A final report will be due one month after the funding is completed. Required final reports will describe student participation, student evaluations of their experiences, as well as the benefit to the community partner and achievement of student learning goals set by the applicants. As appropriate, grantees may be asked to contribute photographs or stories to support communication about engaged learning in the college.

Grantees will also be expected to participate in the CHE community-engaged teaching mentorship network and CHE Engaged Forum to share their experience with other faculty.

Budget

Allowable expenses

Faculty and/or staff support:

**Travel, meals and lodging associated community-engaged learning conducted off campus
Project planning, development, assessment and dissemination
Reservation of space
Materials that support the project

Student support:

**Travel, meals and lodging associated with community-engaged learning conducted off campus
Direct costs incurred by students involved in the project (e.g., conference registration)
Costs of publication
Systems that support the student work experience (graphics, software, enrollment in online training, etc.)
Wages for students (work study, other). Information about Cornell student employment and federal work-study is available on the Cornell Student Employment website.

Partner support:

Funds that support the participation of the off-campus community in the experience and/or documentation, including expenses necessary to build capacity for partner participation
Honoraria for outside speakers and/or consultants to complement project planning and student learning
**Speaker travel costs

**Travel, meals, and visitors must be consistent with current Cornell COVID-19 Travel and Visitor Policy.

Unallowable expenses

overhead and indirect costs (IDC);
tuition;
capital projects;
faculty or staff salaries;
post-graduation wages or travel costs for students.

Selection criteria

CHE’s CEL leadership and invited reviewers will review proposals using the following criteria, as appropriate:

Involvement of undergraduate students
Contribution to Cornell’s goal of 100% undergraduate participation in high-quality community-engaged learning opportunities, which
- Address a specific community interest, problem or public concern (Need)
- Include working with and learning from a community partner (Partner)
- Connect and integrate community-engaged experiences with educational content (Connection)
- Include structured, documented critical reflection (Reflection)
Clear indication of community-engaged student learning and leadership opportunity
Prospect for sustaining the community-engaged learning beyond the life of the grant

Given the competitive funding environment, priority is given to projects that:

Come from departments/programs that offer fewer opportunities for community-engaged learning;
have not received prior funding.

Instructions to apply

Proposals must be submitted using the online application form, and include the following information, within the space limits described on the form.

Project title
Name(s) of team member(s) and their unit(s)
Community partner(s) information, if applicable. Letter of collaboration is strongly encouraged.
Succinct summary, to be shared publicly, describing the project context, public purpose and what the project team will be doing
Short narrative that describes the overarching goals of the community-engaged learning activity, what you plan to do, how you plan to do it and potential next steps and/or outcomes. As is relevant to the request, include:
1. How the project/initiative directly supports undergraduate community-engaged learning at Cornell, or creates the supportive environment for this learning to take place in the near future
2. Need. Description of the project, inclusive of community-identified need
3. Partner. Clearly identified community partner(s), their role and the benefit of the work to the partner(s)
4. Connection. Role of the student(s) and anticipated student learning outcomes and how you plan to assess these
5. Reflection. Description of how the project/initiative supports student preparation for and critical reflection on their community-engaged learning experiences
If this community-engaged learning opportunity requires funding for it to be sustained, please discuss opportunities to support this project in the future. Include an estimate of resources needed and plan for securing and sustaining those resources.
Additional project information (e.g., related courses, course prerequisites, project completion date), as appropriate
Estimated number and type of Cornell students (undergraduate, graduate, professional) targeted by the proposal
Budget and budget justification aligned directly with the budget categories in the online application form
1. Projects are encouraged to include funding to support community partner efforts

Engaged Student Experience Awards

CHE Engaged Student Experience Awards at a Glance

Funding maximum: $1,000
Deadline: TBD
Notification of awards: TBD
Start date: TBD
Submission portal

Purpose

This fund supports students who are participating in any type of community-based research activities or community-engaged learning projects that meet the following criteria:

Need. Your project is responding to a community-identified need.
Partner. You are working with and learning from community partner(s).
Connection. Your project connects (and integrates) engaged experiences with your disciplinary learning.
Reflection. You will participate in critical reflection on your engaged experiences.

These grants are intended to support students participating in any of the following:

Course-based engagement activities
Team-based learning and research projects
Individual community-engaged projects (including programs, internships or research)
Mentored internships
Team-based consulting projects

Special consideration will be given to projects that directly benefit predominantly Black, Indigenous and/or other marginalized groups.

Contact Kristen Elmore (kce28 [at] cornell.edu (kce28[at]cornell[dot]edu)) with any questions about this application process.

Funding

$1,000 maximum

Funds can’t be used toward tuition or nonrefundable program fees. However, funds can be applied toward the community project, a personal stipend or other necessary costs to ensure the project’s success. Grants can’t be renewed.

Funds will be distributed as a credit to students’ bursar accounts.

Eligibility

The CHE Engaged Student Experience Awards are open to Cornell Human Ecology undergraduate students who:

plan to be enrolled for the spring 2025 semester;
have not previously received a Serve in Place Fund/Engaged Student Experience grant.

Expectations and deliverables

Throughout the planning and implementation of the project, students must adhere to county, statewide, national and international public health guidelines, as well as university policies.

Successful applicants will be required to complete an end-of-project reflection. Interested applicants may publicly share their work at future CHE community-engaged learning forums.

Application instructions

Proposals must be submitted using the online application form and include the following information, within the space limits described on the form.

Applicant name, Cornell ID number, NetID and email address
Applicant graduation year, CHE majors(s), minors(s)
Statement of financial hardship, if applicable
Project title and start/end dates
Community partner name, contact person, email, website and location
If applicable, a description of how this project is supporting Black, Indigenous and/or marginalized communities. What is the background/context of the public issue the project is addressing in this community
Description of the project and how it meets the community-engaged learning criteria
- What issue of public concern the project addresses and how the applicant found out about the community need
- How the applicant will work with and learn from their community partner
- How the project advances the applicant’s current personal, academic and career background and goals
Explanation of how applicant will evaluate the impact and success of the project (i.e., the achievement of objectives specified with the community partner)
Budget and justification of all expense requests
A list of any scholarships, grants or other financial resources the applicant has received or applied for that would supplement the costs of the project
A letter of support from your community partner that describes their expectations for your role and their role in this experience.

Selection criteria

CHE community-engaged learning leadership team members and invited reviewers evaluate grant applications using the following criteria:

Quality of project, including feasibility, ability of project to meet community-engaged learning criteria, potential for sustainability of the partnership, potential for student learning and potential for positive community impact
Potential for the applicant to develop in civic engagement, defined as the ability to connect academic study to social responsibility, public purpose, democracy and civic life within diverse communities and cultures
Potential for the applicant to develop in ethical practice, defined as the practice of examining and communicating independently the connection between one’s actions and beliefs and the well-being of communities and society
Potential for the applicant to develop skills in critical reflection, defined as the practice of describing, analyzing, interpreting and articulating your community-engaged learning experience.