Engaged Opportunity Grants support campus-community partnerships affecting positive change on issues that matter most to communities.  Engaged Opportunity Grants serve the university-wide goal to have all Cornell undergraduates experience the benefits of community-engaged learning.

Following the four criteria of community-engaged learning, funded projects will:

• address a specific community interest, problem or public concern, ideally identified by a community partner;
• provide a structure for Cornell undergraduates to work with and learn from a community partner;
• provide Cornell undergraduates with educational content that connects to and integrates with their community engagement; and
• facilitate critical reflection for Cornell undergraduates.

Both Cornell and community partners should be involved throughout project development, implementation and assessment. Successful teams will design a process for healthy collaboration to coordinate and expand resources, deepen impacts and create more effective agents of change. Projects should have reciprocal benefits for partners and their communities. Community partner roles, expectations and goals should be expressed in the required community partner statement of collaboration. Applicants should demonstrate how they will measure project impact on the community partner(s). 

Cornell partners can access resources for community-engaged learning via Einhorn Center programs, like the free and self-paced eCornell CEL Online Program.

There are two types of Engaged Opportunity Grants. First-time applicants may apply for a Planning Engaged Opportunity Grant to help build partnerships, identify networks and pilot community-engaged learning programs. Applicants who have successfully completed a Planning grant may apply for a Sustaining Engaged Opportunity Grant to assess, improve and embed community-engaged learning opportunities into the fabric of the university to ensure that future students can participate in sustaining impactful partnerships.

Engaged Opportunity Grants support, but are not limited to, the following activities:

• Expanding or integrating community-engaged learning into existing credit or non-credit bearing opportunities; 
• Developing, implementing and expanding community-engaged learning and/or broader impact research;
• Presenting and documenting community-engaged learning events;
• Producing and disseminating data or other information in support of and/or celebrating community-engaged learning;
• Developing training or supportive experiences that prepare students and team members for the community-engaged learning experience;
• Developing and using tools for assessing community-engaged student learning outcomes and/or community-based outcomes/impacts;
• Engaging students and community partners to raise awareness about a public issue and the university-community work being done to address it;
• Engaging students and community partners to deepen and broaden university-community partnerships to better approach community issues in an interdisciplinary way;
• Engaging students and community partners to increase positive impact on communities around the issue being addressed.

Engaged Opportunity Grants are not intended for projects that serve one individual undergraduate. For that, consider the Einhorn Center’s Community Work-Study Program.

Do you have an idea not listed here? Contact Whitney Tassie, the Einhorn Center grants and awards program lead, to discuss your project.

This grant is available to Cornell faculty and staff from schools, colleges and other administrative units (SCL, HR, Facilities, etc.), along with select community partners.

However, due to the funding already provided via the Engaged College Initiative, applicants from the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy; College of Architecture, Art and Planning; College of Human Ecology; Cornell SC Johnson College of Business; and School of Industrial and Labor Relations may only submit joint proposals in collaboration with individuals from another college (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, College of Engineering, Cornell Tech, Cornell Law School, College of Veterinary Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine). Single applicants from Engaged Colleges should contact their Engaged College representative for more information about resources for community-engaged learning.

Eligible community partners include Cornell affiliate organizations (Cornell Cooperative Extension, Center for Transformative Action, etc.) and other external organizations (non-profit, for-profit, government, etc.) with proposals impacting New York state. Community partners should consult Whitney Tassie, the Einhorn Center grants and awards program lead, to determine eligibility.

Temporary staff, students and alumni are encouraged to be team members but cannot serve as team leads, who play the primary role in leading the grant team, communicating with the Einhorn Center and receiving grant funds. 

Applicants with or without established community-engaged teaching, research or scholarship experience are eligible.

Teams must submit a final report for a Planning grant and secure matching funding before they are eligible to apply for a two-year Sustaining grant.

There are two categories of Engaged Opportunity Grants that support undergraduate community-engaged learning: 

• Planning grants ($5,000 maximum over 1 year) – help build partnerships, identify networks and pilot community-engaged learning programs.
• Sustaining grants ($5,000 maximum, over 2 years with $5,000 in matching funds) – used to assess, improve and embed existing community-engaged learning opportunities into the fabric of the university to ensure that future students can participate in sustaining impactful partnerships.

Grantees might not receive their full budget request.

Sustaining Engaged Opportunity Grants
Once a Planning grant has concluded and the final annual report has been submitted, project teams may apply for a two-year Sustaining grant. Sustaining grants require a minimum of $5,000 in matching funds. Applicants must submit confirmation of matching funds with their application. Eligible matching funds include external grants, Cornell grants and commitments from Cornell college/schools, departments and units. In-kind donations are not eligible. 

The Einhorn Center is committed to supporting applicants in their efforts to secure matching funds. Contact Whitney Tassie, the Einhorn Center grants and awards program lead, to discuss funding strategies.

An Engaged Opportunity Grant can support the following expenses. 

Undergraduate student support:

• Travel, meals and lodging associated with community-engaged learning conducted off campus
• Direct costs incurred by students involved in the project
• Participation in conferences and workshops
• Costs of publication
• Systems that support the student experience (software, enrollment in online training, etc.)
• Paid undergraduate student employment with/without federal work-study support
• Funding to support graduate student involvement will be considered with proper justification. While this mechanism prioritizes the involvement of undergraduates, the inclusion of graduate students in a mentorship or supervisory role may be appropriate. 

Faculty/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

 Community partner support:

• Participation of the off-campus community in the experience and/or documentation
• Capacity building necessary for partner participation
• Honoraria and travel costs for outside speakers or collaborators to complement project planning and student learning
• Expenses incurred by community partners that are directly related to their participation in the project and that maximize the impact of the project on the community or students

The following expenses cannot be funded by an Engaged Opportunity Grant:

• Overhead and indirect costs (IDC)
• Tuition
• Salary for faculty and staff team members
• Post-graduation wages or travel costs for students
• External consultant fees or salary for consultants
• Capital projects

All applicable costs must be described with a strong rationale and justification in the grant application.

Please note that funding for conference travel will be limited to $500 per traveler.

If funding remains at the end of the grant term (1 year for Planning, 2 years for Sustaining), grantees must either return the remaining funds or submit a request for a no-cost extension. No-cost extensions are not guaranteed. No-cost extensions may not be longer than one year and cannot be renewed. Any unspent funds must be returned at the end of the extension. 

Engaged Opportunity Grants are not retroactive and can only support activities that take place after posted notification dates.

Teams working with minors must discuss their projects with Children and Youth Safety at Cornell in advance of submitting their application. Please contact youthprogramadministrator@cornell.edu.

Teams that require the occupation of space that is not owned by Cornell University must adhere to Cornell’s Leased Space Approval Process. Please contact your college facilities director or spaceplanning@cornell.edu for more information.

Grantees must submit annual reports within one month after each year of funding. Annual reports will:

• be submitted online using the provided reporting template; 
• describe the student experience, including how they met proposed learning goals; how community partners contributed to the student experience; and findings from student evaluations;
• describe the community partner experience, including how the project benefited the community partner or addressed community-identified needs and community partner feedback on their experience with this partnership;
• identify any ongoing undergraduate community-engaged learning opportunities, community impact and/or campus-community partnerships;
• document student and partner participation;
• summarize how the funding supported scholarly publications, success with other grant applications, reports that incorporate student contributions and community impact and presentations made by students supported by the program;
• provide financial reporting.

There are two application cycles per year. Prospective applicants are encouraged to consult with Whitney Tassie, the Einhorn Center grants and awards program lead, well in advance of the application due date.

Proposals must be submitted using the online application form. 

The following documents must be complete with signatures and uploaded with the application at the time of submission.

• Signed statement(s) of collaboration from the community partner(s) describing the role that the partner expects to play in the collaboration, expected benefits and how they will interact with students. For sample community partnership agreements that can help clarify this process, email Whitney Tassie, the Einhorn Center grants and awards program lead.
• Signed endorsements from Cornell team members’ chair or supervisor.

The application requires the following information.

• Project title
• Type of grant being sought (Planning or Sustaining) 
• Names of team members and their department(s), programs, college(s) and/or community organizations.
• Financial contact information. Who is the individual that will be setting up the account for this grant?
• Succinct summary, to be shared publicly, describing the context, purpose and activities of the team. (300 word max)
• Timeline. Provide an estimated timeline for important milestones during grant period.
• Budget and budget justification (500 word max)
• Additional funding sources. What Cornell and external funding sources are supporting this project? What other funding sources could support this work now or in the future? 
• Additional project information (e.g., course prerequisites, conference abstract), as appropriate
• Signed community partner statement(s) of collaboration 
• Signed Cornell supervisor endorsements
• Short answers (300 words max)
  1. Clearly define the community interest, problem or public concern that the team will address.
  2. What is the role of community partner(s) and the expected benefit to the community(ies) and/or community partner(s)? How will the team assess the project’s impact on community(ies) and/or community partner(s)?
  3. How will the project enable Cornell undergraduates to work with and learn from a community partner? Additionally, please describe the target student population (class year, major), the anticipated number of students and the recruitment plan. Applicants must specify how they intend to structure the participation of undergraduate students, for example a) independent study/research for credit, b) honors theses, c) volunteering or d) paid student employment with/without federal work-study support.
  4. How will the team provide students with educational content that connects to and integrates with their community engagement experience? 
  5. How will the team facilitate critical reflection for students?
  6. Describe anticipated student learning outcomes and how they will be assessed. For inspiration, see the Einhorn Center’s rubric for Student Learning Outcomes.
  7. What opportunities exist for sustaining community-engaged learning for students beyond the grant period and any single cohort of students?
  8. How will this project advance a discipline, promote positive civic/social impact and/or contribute to the field of community-engaged learning? 
  9. How will the team disseminate findings, and what opportunities exist for students and community stakeholders to present or publish findings/scholarship?

A selection committee will review proposals, with selections being made by applying the following criteria, as appropriate:

• Potential to increase Cornell undergraduate participation in high-quality community-engaged learning;
• Clear articulation of the public issue that the team will address and/or evidence of a community-identified need. 
• Clear collaborative roles of community partner(s) and undergraduates, and compelling description of the intended benefits to the community(ies).
• Clarity of goals and intended outcomes (student learning outcomes, community benefits, discipline advancement, etc.) and how they will be measured.
• Feasibility

Given the competitive funding environment, priority will be given to proposals that: 

• show a potential for sustaining community-engaged learning opportunities for undergraduates beyond the grant period;
• are from disciplines and Cornell departments that offer fewer opportunities for community-engaged learning or research;
• address a wide range of historically marginalized and underserved groups.

Contact Whitney Tassie, the Einhorn Center grants and awards program lead.