Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Grants: Tier 2

Tier 2 grants should be used to establish a public and community-engaged scholarship project.

Applications for Fall 2024 are now closed. Spring 2025 applications open Mon., Jan. 13.

CU Boulder faculty members, staff members or graduate students (with faculty advisor) may apply for Tier 2 grants (formerly Community Impact Grants). 

Applicants may request up to $5,000 for each project. 

Grant recipients sometimes use Tier 2 grants to establish a project prior to applying for a Tier 3 or 4 grant or for external funding. For event and partnership development funding, please see Tier 1 Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Grants. 

Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Grants fund work that connects research, teaching and creative work with public needs and interests. Projects must connect CU Boulder scholarship with the expressed needs, interests or activities of external constituents and be aligned with the campus definition of .

Applicant must be a CU Boulder faculty member, staff member or currently enrolled graduate student (with a faculty advisor).

The most competitive Community Impact Grant proposals provide clear evidence of how communities beyond the CU campus are involved in and benefit from the project AND:

  • Align with the
  • Align with our office's mission
  • Involve communities external to the CU Boulder campus, especially those with less access to university resources (e.g. rural, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, immigrant, low income)
  • Are rooted in CU Boulder scholarship (research, teaching or creative work)
  • Provide mutual benefit to CU Boulder and external community partners/participants
  • Develop innovative ways to address community issues in collaboration with community partners 

 

Allowable Budget Items

  • Stipends or hourly pay for currently enrolled CU Boulder undergraduate or graduate students
  • Supplemental staff pay
  • Community partner or participant honoraria/stipends
  • Travel expenses for faculty, staff, students or community partners
  • Food/beverages integral to the project
  • PR/media materials integral to the project
  • Other direct costs

Non-allowable Budget Items

  • Expenses incurred prior to the grant period
  • Faculty pay, honoraria or release time

  • Pay for undergraduate students who are receiving course credit for their participation in the project
  • Fees and travel expenses for outside consultants, speakers or professional/specialized services
  • Capital expenses or overhead costs (e.g., rent, personal computers, office equipment)

  • Expenses to attend or host/create a conference

  • Catering expenses for receptions or other social events
  • Marketing or advertising costs

Spring 2025 proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 16, 2025.

 

  • Keep in mind that the review committee members represent various academic disciplines. Write your proposal so that it is clear to all.
  • Be sure to spell out acronyms and provide definitions for technical terms.
  • Prepare a draft of your proposal to cut and paste into the online submission form so that you have a copy for your records.
  • Check your word count. The online form will cut off any information that exceeds the maximum word count. 

Spring 2025 proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 16, 2025.

Proposals are reviewed by a committee comprised of one Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship staff member and three CU Boulder faculty and staff members who have previously received Tier 2 Engaged Scholarship Grants (formerly named Community Impact Grants).

Funding decisions will typically be announced within 30 days of the submission deadline. The grant selection process is competitive. Funding is subject to availability, and partial funding may be awarded.

Graduate student proposals are reviewed separately from faculty and staff proposals.

Applicants must complete the online proposal form. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. Applicants and projects may be awarded up to one grant per academic year.

Our office supports public and community-engaged scholarship across the entire campus. As we aim to distribute resources equitably, please be aware that multiple proposals from a single unit within a given cycle may not receive funding.

Review the Tier 2 grant proposal scoring rubric.

An academic unit or department must sponsor and maintain fiscal oversight of the project.

Funding Requirements

  • Add your program information to the  
  • Sign the funding agreement and provide a Fund 29 speedtype within 30 days after receiving funding notification. Information for creating a new speedtype can be found on the .

Orientation requirement

  • Attend a 30-minute virtual orientation.

Communications requirements

  • Inform your department communicator and Gretchen Minekime, Office for Public and Community-engaged Scholarship communications program manager, about any events or story ideas related to your project.
  • Acknowledge that the project received Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (formerly named Office for Outreach and Engagement) grant funding on communications about your project including webpages, stories or press releases, and presentation materials.
  • Tag @CUBoulderPACES on any social media posts related to your project.
  • Respond in a timely manner to office staff about project deadlines or publicity related to the project, which may be featured on the

Status Report Requirements

  • Complete a brief status report within 30 days of the grant period’s end. Note that the status report must be completed prior to submitting additional funding requests to the office

The Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship provides four tiers of funding. See other Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Grant opportunities.

Questions: engagedscholarship@colorado.edu