The CU Boulder Outreach Awards are well known. The Community Impact, Micro, and Undergraduate Community-Engaged Scholarship Grants are newer to our office’s funding opportunities and important gateways to conducting community-engaged scholarship. These grants are awarded twice annually (spring and fall) and range from $1,000 – $5,000. Faculty and staff members, as well as graduate and undergraduate students, are eligible to apply.
This month 14 grants were distributed, totaling $43,100.
- Half of the grants have a K-12 focus with heavy emphasis on STEM/STEAM education for historically excluded and underrepresented groups.
- Many of the projects support college readiness—providing hands-on skill-building, mentorship and support for middle and high school students who are interested in pursuing STEM/STEAM majors and careers.
- Two very different projects will focus on effects of the Marshall Fire. Young people affected by the fire will have social/emotional learning opportunities through nature-based education. The other project will study water quality in local streams.
- Two of the grants have an economic development focus. One will focus on entrepreneurship education with Indigenous communities in Colorado. The other will focus on building agricultural opportunities with community members in the Ruby Valley in Nepal.
- Two art-based projects were funded. The Soul of Oja will be a documentary film produced with Nigerian music students about the role of the oja (a traditional wooden flute) in Igbo culture. The other grant will support mural projects in Trinidad, CO. A graduate student will work with area artists, youth and senior residents to transform into murals local data and stories pertaining to environmental changes.
Congratulations to all of the grant recipients and thank you for your leadership pursuing community-engaged scholarship between CU Boulder and communities around the world.