Cornell alumni Gerald Robinson ’54, Margot Robinson ’55, Robert Appel ’53 and Helen Appel ’55 established the Robinson-Appel award to recognize and honor undergraduate students who have had significant involvement in community engagement by providing support for their projects, which address a community’s social needs or problems.

Three projects are selected each year to receive $2,500 to further community engagement work initiated and proposed by Cornell undergraduate students. The focus of the project’s efforts may be the Cornell campus, the Ithaca community or a location outside of Tompkins County (but within the United States and its territories).

Proposed projects should not be part of academic coursework, dissertation research or for academic credit, but may be an outgrowth of previous work or course experience.

Funding cannot be used for travel or salary. 

This student award is taxable unless it is issued to a non-profit or transferred to a Cornell department or student group.

Nominations must be submitted using the online form by Monday, February 9, 2026.

The application requires:

A résumé with a 1-page description of the community engagement work you performed in the last twelve months. The description should include:

• information about the people or programs you assisted or the social problems you addressed;
• the impact of these activities on others;
• how you were influenced by the work and the people with whom you worked.

A project description with:

• information about the community you plan to work with and the issue you will address together;
• goals or intended outcomes for the project and the steps you will take to achieve them;
• how and when you will assess the results;
• how the project will have lasting impact beyond the initial investment.

A budget outlining how award funds would be spent and indicating how other funding sources will support the project.

A support letter from a collaborating community partner.

An OPTIONAL letter of recommendation (not from a peer).

Semifinalists must be available mid-March 2026 to virtually present a 20-minute prepared presentation of their project and respond to follow-up questions from the selection committee. If applying on behalf of a group, the person that is named on the application must be the person that presents.

Awardees must be available to attend the award ceremony on the evening of April 22, 2026.

Contact Whitney Tassie, the Einhorn Center’s grants and awards lead, at wst7@cornell.edu.