Funding Opportunities for Faculty & Staff

Ginsberg Center Community Driven Engagement Grants (up to $2000, Mini grants up to $500)

This grant offers faculty up to $2000 for eligible expenses that advance community partner priorities and strengthen university-community partnerships in community-engaged research, teaching, programs, projects, and initiatives at U-M. We seek to fund projects that align with Ginsberg Center’s definition of community-engagement, strengthen relationships with community partners in Washtenaw County, Detroit, and/or Southeast Michigan; specifically allocate funds for the community partner in the project budget; respond directly to community partner priorities and requests; and/or are matched through Ginsberg Center’s community partner matchmaking process. 

Mini grants of up to $500 are also available with a shorter application process and expedited review. In addition to the funding priorities listed above, applicants can also request a mini grant for one-time funding gaps and emerging needs in community-engaged research, teaching, programs, or projects. Proposed expenses in this category should be those that are difficult to fund from other sources, will strengthen U-M relationships with local community partners, and provide a direct benefit to community partners. In most cases, proposals should originate from a request that a community partner has made of their U-M partner(s).

Who can apply?

• Open to faculty (tenured and tenure-track, research, lecturers, and clinical faculty), postdoctoral fellows, program staff.  Faculty advisors may not apply on behalf of student projects.
• Campuses: Ann Arbor. Flint & Dearborn may be considered for select projects.
• Priority Consideration for current Ginsberg Academic Partners: Yes 

Allowable expenses include:

• honorariums for community partners serving as guest speakers and advisory board members
• compensation for community partners serving as co-educators, co-researchers, and for other contributions 
• project-related travel for community partners
• materials and resources that enhance or support the partnership
• research support for community partners, including technology, software, or data access
• addressing a specific request expressed by your community partner, in line with U-M spending policies
• paying a student to complete a specific project or task requested by the community partner
• transporting a group of students to work on a project or task requested by a community partner
   

Application Information

• Deadline: rolling applications accepted, due 1st of each month, until funds exhausted. First review for '26-'27 begins Sept 1, 2026.
• Before Applying: 
  • Book a pre-application consultation - required for all applicants

  • Review the Ginsberg CDE Application Requirements & Guide for full instructions & application form

     

Click here to learn more about our Past Award Recipients.

For student interested in funding opportunities, please visit our student funding page.

Ginsberg Center Community Engaged (CE) Course Grants offer up to $1500 to support U-M instructors who teach (or will teach) community-engaged courses. Mini grants offer up to $500 dollars in funding, with a shorter application and expedited review.

Who can apply?

• Open to tenured and tenure-track faculty; clinical instructional faculty, post-docs, and lecturers (all ranks) who teach on Ann Arbor campus and have continuing appointments and/or course development responsibilities. 
• In some circumstances, staff who teach in community-engaged programs may also be eligible. To determine your availability before applying, book a consultation

Application Information

• Application Deadline: rolling applications accepted, due 1st of each month, until funds are exhausted. First review for '26-'27 begins Sept 1, 2026.
• Review the GC CE Course Grant Application Requirements & Guide for instructions and application form

Priority Consideration
Priority applicants to our grants have established and maintained a connection with Ginsberg Center as a part of their community-engaged practice at U-M. This can include but is not limited to connecting with community partners through Ginsberg Center’s matchmaking process, participating in our cohort programs, utilizing our teaching or research consultation services, serving on our advisory boards, or utilizing our student-facing curriculum to prepare students for community engagement. Priority consideration will also be given to proposals submitted by an applicant who has not received Ginsberg funds during the previous academic year.

Pre-Application Consultation
Some grants require a pre-application consultation with our Academic Partnership staff to confirm eligibility and ensure alignment with our grant priorities and to provide insights to the applicant on writing the application, timing of application, feasibility of request, funds available, etc. Pre-application consultations are typically 30 minutes. Request a grant consultation.

Re-Applying for Funding
Due to funding limitations, Ginsberg Center grants are not intended to be sustaining or repeating sources of funding for CE courses and projects at U-M. Applicants must seek additional sources of funding to sustain their projects over time. If you have applied in previous years, you may apply again, but we strongly encourage you to plan ahead in the event that our funding is exhausted or unavailable.

Grant Agreement & Benefits
Ginsberg Center provides grantees with funding, as well as access to ongoing consultation on project design, partnership development, project scoping, assessment of impact, and the production and dissemination of academic and public products. All Ginsberg Center grantees commit to our Grant Agreement as a condition of award acceptance. This includes agreeing to submit a final grant report and/or post award questionnaire and acknowledgement that your community partner(s) must confirm support of your project before funds are disbursed. 

Community Partner Confirmation of Support
Some grants require that your community partner(s) affirm their support of the project and use of funds outlined in your proposal. Your community partners can affirm their support during the grant application process or during a contingent period after an award notification. Review the Instructions for submitting Community Partner Confirmation of Support.

How to Prepare Your Application
All grant proposals are submitted via Google Forms. We’ve eliminated many of our document uploads and now require applicants to answer questions within the form. Before sitting down to apply, we suggest you gather information in advance and prepare some of your responses. View a list of short answer application questions and required documents for each grant type.

• Ginsberg Community Driven Engagement Grant & Mini Grant
• Ginsberg Community Engaged Course Grant & Mini Grant 

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The Ginsberg Center does not manage vehicles for instructors teaching community-engaged courses or programs or provide funding specifically for transporting students to off-site engagements. Transportation of students may be an allowable expense for our LSA CE Course Development grants and Ginsberg Community Driven Engagement Grants if the proposed project otherwise meets grant criteria (ex: students are addressing a community request). 

• Review our Transportation FAQs for resources & ideas on arranging transportation for students

• See also: Detroit Transportation Grant Program through U-M Detroit Center for Detroit-based engagement

Ginsberg Center welcomes requests from faculty, staff, schools and units to co-sponsor community engaged events and initiatives that advance our our mission. To learn more and apply, visit Ginsberg Center Co-Sponsorship Support.

These are opportunities for additional support and outside funding, unaffiliated with Ginsberg:

• UM's Life Changing Education Grants can be used for community-engaged research, events, and projects that align with the fund's goals. 
• Office of the VP for Engaged Learning/ Engaged Michigan lists funding opportunities available from numerous campus partners. 
• MICHR's guides and resources are relevant to community engaged research, as is their Promoting Academics and Community Engagement (PACE) dissemination grant
• UM's Office of Research Research Commons shares open internal funding opportunities for faculty and graduate students. 
• University Library has a comprehensive guide to funding opportunities.
• Center for Research on Learning and Teaching has grants that can be used for community-engaged teaching projects
• Additional sources of support include MICHR, Poverty Solutions, and School of Social Work's Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-Being, Detroit URC, Detroit Center
• LSA provides research development services for LSA faculty, including funding search and support for developing your proposal sections related to Broader Impacts and community engagement.