Serve in Place Fund
Up to $1,000 for students participating in community-engaged learning over winter and summer breaks
Up to $1,000 for students participating in community-engaged learning over winter and summer breaks
This Opportunity At a Glance
Most Cornell undergraduate, graduate and professional students
Summer funding application was due
The Serve in Place Fund provides financial support for students pursuing community-engaged learning activities during summer 2023 that:
- Address a specific interest, problem or public concern;
- Include working with and learning from a community partner;
- Connect and integrate community-engaged experiences with educational content; and
- Include structured, documented critical reflection.
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
*Priority is given to undergraduate applicants, and special consideration will be given to projects that directly benefit predominantly Black, Indigenous and/or other marginalized groups.
Purpose
The Serve in Place Fund provides financial support for students pursuing community-engaged learning activities during summer 2023 that:
- Address a specific interest, problem or public concern;
- Include working with and learning from a community partner;
- Connect and integrate community-engaged experiences with educational content; and
- Include structured, documented critical reflection.
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
*Priority is given to undergraduate applicants, and special consideration will be given to projects that directly benefit predominantly Black, Indigenous and/or other marginalized groups.
$1,000 maximum
The application deadline for summer session funding is Friday, April 14, 2023. Grants can’t be renewed.
Funds can be applied toward travel, the community project, a personal stipend or other necessary costs to ensure the project’s success. However, funds can’t be used toward tuition or nonrefundable program fees.
Funds will be distributed as a credit to students’ bursar accounts.
Funding
$1,000 maximum
The application deadline for summer session funding is Friday, April 14, 2023. Grants can’t be renewed.
Funds can be applied toward travel, the community project, a personal stipend or other necessary costs to ensure the project’s success. However, funds can’t be used toward tuition or nonrefundable program fees.
Funds will be distributed as a credit to students’ bursar accounts.
The summer Serve in Place Fund is open to Cornell undergraduate, graduate and professional students who:
- plan to be enrolled for the fall 2023 semester (students graduating in May cannot apply);
- have not previously received a Serve in Place Fund grant;*
- and are NOT enrolled in the College of Human Ecology (CHE); College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP); School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR); or the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.**
*We invite previous grantees to get involved in Einhorn Center programs and apply for our other awards and funding. See the full list on our website and subscribe to our Student Update email for more info.
**CHE, AAP, ILR and the SC Johnson College have launched Engaged College Initiatives in partnership with the Einhorn Center, and students from those colleges should contact their college representative to learn more:
Eligibility
The summer Serve in Place Fund is open to Cornell undergraduate, graduate and professional students who:
- plan to be enrolled for the fall 2023 semester (students graduating in May cannot apply);
- have not previously received a Serve in Place Fund grant;*
- and are NOT enrolled in the College of Human Ecology (CHE); College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP); School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR); or the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.**
*We invite previous grantees to get involved in Einhorn Center programs and apply for our other awards and funding. See the full list on our website and subscribe to our Student Update email for more info.
**CHE, AAP, ILR and the SC Johnson College have launched Engaged College Initiatives in partnership with the Einhorn Center, and students from those colleges should contact their college representative to learn more:
Expectations and Deliverables
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 a pre-engagement module, mid-project reflection and end-of-project reflection and a post-engagement module. Applicants may publicly share their work via The Ripple Effect blog.
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 a pre-engagement module, mid-project reflection and end-of-project reflection and a post-engagement module. Applicants may publicly share their work via The Ripple Effect blog.
Applying
Timeline
Summer funding application open
March 9 – April 14
Decision notification
Early May
Instructions
To be considered, proposals must be completed in full and submitted using the online application form. Proposals must include the following information, within the space limits described on the online form.
- Applicant name, Cornell ID number, NetID and email address
- Applicant graduation year, college/school, 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
- Links to relevant the local (e.g., city, county) public health department for applicant and community partner. These will be different if the student and partner are in different locations.
- 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
- How the applicant found out about the community need
- 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)
- If relevant, description of how this project is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and how applicant plans to mitigate disease transmission risk (e.g., maintaining social distancing, working online only).
- 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
- Either a (a) Community Benefits Agreement signed by both the applicant and the community partner or (b) one letter of support from the community partner. This is a strict requirement.
Selection Criteria
Engaged Ambassadors and Einhorn Center staff review and 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 in the context of “serving in place”