Scholarship Seed Grants
Scholarship Seed Grants
The College of Health Community Engaged Seed Grants are designed to catalyze meaningful and equal partnerships between the university and community stakeholders. These grants provide foundational support for developing, sustaining, and expanding collaborative initiatives that improve health and well-being. Emphasizing mutual benefit, innovation, and long-term impact, the program aims to build capacity for teaching, research, and service that directly responds to community needs. Funded projects should strengthen relationships and generate insights that can lead to sustained partnerships or larger-scale efforts.
Given that we have limited funding, please be cognizant that your funding requests match your needs. Partial funding is an option. Proposals will be accepted in the amount of $5,000 or less. To submit a proposal, follow the steps below. Preference will be given to partnerships that have not received previous College of Health seed funding in the last 3 years.
Seed Grants Information
Faculty, Staff, and Students
Faculty, staff, and students whose primary affiliation is within the College of Health. Students are required to apply with the support of a faculty mentor whose primary affiliation is within the College of Health.
Community Members
Community members who would like to partner with a faculty or staff member in the College of Health. Community members must apply with a faculty or staff partner whose primary affiliation is within the College of Health.
New Partnership Development
These projects provide seed funding to initiate meaningful new collaborations—with external community partners. Proposals should describe the strategic value of the emerging relationship, outline clear partnership goals, and present mechanisms for trust-building, shared decision-making, or co-creation planning. Funded projects should lay the groundwork for future joint efforts with potential to address community-relevant challenges and secure additional support.
Existing Partnership Sustainment and Enhancement
These projects are designed to maintain and expand established community-university partnerships, especially when resources are limited or between major funding cycles. Proposals should identify ways to deepen engagement, such as expanding the scope of collaborative activities, enhancing communication strategies, or aligning efforts with new community priorities. Applicants should articulate how the proposed work will strengthen the partnership’s effectiveness and increase its current or future impact.
Community Engaged Project
These projects provide funding to launch a new, collaboratively developed project that addresses a community-identified need through teaching, learning, or research. Proposals should clearly describe how the idea was co-developed with community input and how the partnership will be structured during implementation. Projects should emphasize mutual benefit, demonstrate relevance to the partnering community, and articulate the potential for meaningful short- and long-term outcomes. Strong applications will describe how the project lays the foundation for deeper engagement and the potential to evolve into sustained collaboration or future funding opportunities. This mechanism will support up to $5k per project with a total cap of $20-25k per year.
Proposals consist of 5 sections (general information, summary, narrative, budget, and letter of support) and all documents must be submitted in ONE combined PDF.
-
- General Information
- Summary (150 words or less)
- Narrative (1,000 words maximum, double-spaced). Address the following points:
- Need and Rationale: Explain the effect the project will have on the community that it is intended to benefit in a way that is clear to those outside of the discipline. Citations and/or links to information relevant to understanding the application of the proposal are welcome.
- Objectives: Explain what the partnership will accomplish.
- Plan and Timeline: Provide a proposed schedule for the activities supported by the funds. Implementation should be scheduled to begin no sooner than 1 month after the grant is awarded.
- Expected Outcomes and Long-term Community Impact: Successful applications will generally indicate how the supported activity will continue to benefit the community beyond its initial implementation.
- Describe the history and accomplishments of your partnership as they align to the preceding items (if applicable).
- Budget: Please include an itemized list of the amount of money you are requesting including detailed information about sources for rates/quotes. Please note that the intention of this funding is for the majority to go towards benefitting the community that you are partnering with. The proportion of funds allowed for internal use (i.e. travel, salary, etc.) Should not exceed 50%.
- Letter of support:
- For College of Health faculty, staff, and students – a letter of support from your community partner(s) is required. A single letter signed by multiple partners is acceptable.
- For students – an additional letter from your faculty mentor is required.
- For community members – a letter of support from your faculty or staff partner within the College of Health is required.
Template for Proposal
You are highly encouraged to use the template provided to submit your proposal.
Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed in February, May, August, and December. Notices of award will be shared in the month following review. Projects are funded for 12 months following the notice of award.
You can submit a proposal by emailing COHCommunityEngagement@utah.edu.
- Please ensure that your proposal is attached and send with “Seed Grant Proposal” in the subject line.
Submit a Proposal
Submit a proposal by emailing COHCommunityEngagement@utah.edu.
Proposals will be evaluated by the Community Engagement committee based on the following criteria:
- Importance of the topic: severity and prevalence
- Quality of the letter(s) of support
- Likelihood of sustained impact
- Likelihood of obtaining other external support
Get Involved
By getting involved, you can make a positive impact on the lives of those in the community!