As part of the N2025 Initiative to broaden the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s engagement, the university’s Engagement Collaborative is seeking proposals for Community Engagement funding.
The small seed funding initiative is intended to support community-campus collaborations which co-create solutions to issues and strengthen partnerships between community-based organizations and groups, and faculty and staff at UNL. It is the hope that these connections form a strong foundation that supports mutually beneficial projects that contribute to the public good.
Two more funding cycles will be offered during the academic year 2023–2024:
The first remaining round of funding, proposals must be submitted to NuRamp by 5 p.m. April 19;
The second remaining round, proposals must be submitted to NuRamp by 5 p.m. July 19.
Proposers may request awards up to $5,000. Applications will be accepted while funds remain available and will be reviewed and awarded quarterly.
Proposals must be co-created by a community-campus team and involve, at a minimum, a community co-lead and an academic co-lead. The projects can focus on the development of new partnerships or further those that already exist. The community co-lead can represent a local nonprofit, grassroots organization, tribal/local government, cultural center, museum, chamber of commerce, school district, or other community group. The academic co-lead must be a UNL faculty or staff member.
Projects can focus on the development of new partnerships or further those that already exist. Projects must target a specific group or community in Nebraska and have a project duration of up to 12 months.
Proposals will be evaluated regarding the extent to which they describe the partnership’s potential to improve a focal group or community, identify one or more external funding opportunities or measurable societal impacts likely to follow funding from the seed grant program, and detail, where appropriate, alignment with current community and UNL priorities.
Applications for internal funding must be submitted via the Internal Competitions module in NuRamp . Sign in to NuRamp using your institutional credentials.
For more information about the request for proposals, contact Kathleen Lodl at klodl1@unl.edu. For more information about the NuRamp submission process, contact Mari Greer at mgreer1@unl.edu.