The Office for Outreach and Engagement Micro Grants support public outreach activities that connect CU Boulder with Colorado communities.

Applications are now open for Fall 2023. Apply here!

Please note the following changes:

  1. The Office for Outreach and Engagement now accepts Micro Grant proposals on a rolling basis during the fall and spring semesters.
  2. Once funds for the semester have been allotted, no additional applications will be accepted.
  3. Undergraduates may now apply for Micro Grants with the support of a faculty or staff advisor.
  4. Micro Grants can no longer be used to pay for academic conference attendance.

Micro Grants support  the creation of public outreach events and partnership development activities through funding for materials, travel, and more. Proposals are accepted under the following categories:  

  • Events – Lectures, workshops, community meetings or other stand-alone activities (stipends, materials, food, travel). Please note that Micro Grants cannot be used for strictly social events or conference attendance. 
  • Partnership exploration or development – travel to/from a community partner, informal meetings (materials, refreshments, etc.), community partner honoraria, etc. 

See our  Community Impact Grants for funding to seed or extend new public and community-engaged scholarship projects. For funding larger and ongoing public and community-engaged project requests, see the CU Boulder Outreach Awards. 

The most competitive Micro Grant proposals provide clear evidence of how the proposed activities and events respond to community-identified needs and meet the following criteria: 

  • Align with the campus definition of outreach and engagement 
  • Align with our office's mission 
  • Support communities with less access to university resources (e.g., rural Black, Indigenous, Latino, immigrant, low income) 
  • Connect to CU Boulder scholarship (research, teaching or creative work) 
  • Provide mutual benefit to CU Boulder and external community participants 

The Office for Outreach and Engagement supports public and community-engaged scholarship across the entire campus. As we aim to distribute resources equitably, please be aware 1) an individual may receive only one Micro Grant per academic year, and 2) multiple proposals from a single unit within a given cycle may not receive funding. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Office Grants

Grant Recipients

Office for Outreach and Engagement staff review Micro Grant proposals on a rolling basis throughout fall and spring semesters: 

  • Fall: August 28 – December 14, 2023 
  • Spring: January 16 – May 2, 2024 

Funding notifications are made within 14 days of proposal submission.  

Applicants must complete the online proposal form.

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

Allowable Expenses

  • Travel and project costs for community-engaged research, teaching or creative work and outreach events or activities.
  • Program materials or supplies, including food
  • Participant stipends and expenses
  • Pay for currently enrolled students up to $1,000

Non-allowable Expenses

  • Pay or travel expenses for professional consultants or outside speakers
  • Faculty and staff pay, honoraria or release time

Proposals should be submitted online no later than 45 days before the proposed event or activity.  

Review a copy of the application here. 

 

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

Funding requirements 

  • 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 University Controller website. 
  • If applicable, add your event information to the Community Outreach and Engagement Events page and/or your off-campus event to the Statewide Event Calendar. 

Orientation requirement 

  • Attend a 30-minute virtual orientation.  

Communications requirements 

  • Inform your department communicator and Gretchen Minekime (Gretchen.Minekime@colorado.edu), OOE's communications program manager, about any events or story ideas related to your project. 
  • Acknowledge that the project received Office for Outreach and Engagement grant funding on communications about your project including webpages, stories or press releases, and presentation materials. 
  • Tag @CUOutreach and @CUBoulder 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 Public Outreach and Community Engagement website. 
  • 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. 

Questions?

Contact Katie Kleinhesselink, community outreach program manager