Community-Engaged Learning Grants

The Center for Faculty Development and Excellence is pleased to offer Community-Engaged Learning Grants, under the direction of director of engaged learning Vialla Hartfield-Méndez. Anyone currently teaching at Emory is eligible, including graduate students, adjunct faculty, visiting faculty, lecturers, or tenure track faculty.

Community-Engaged Learning grants may be used to support activities related to well-structured community-engaged learning experiences in courses or academic programs. Proposals should address how community-engaged pedagogy is leveraged to assist organizations with addressing critical community needs in the metro Atlanta area. Such organizations might include neighborhood groups, nonprofit organizations, public agencies or other similar organizations. Proposals may also be submitted for projects that leverage community engaged learning pedagogy to prepare students to engage with community partners and then facilitate that engagement.

Funding Guidelines

Community-Engaged Learning Grants cover amounts up to $1000 and are intended to support both new or ongoing opportunities for faculty to incorporate community engaged learning (service-learning) into their courses or programs. In some cases, grants may be made to support ongoing or existing community engaged learning activities, particularly when those activities grow to involve more students, new partners or communities, or new strategies.

Specific Items Funds May Cover

Grant funds may be used to cover reasonable costs associated with the project, such as:

• transportation (mileage reimbursement, shuttle bus rental, MARTA tokens, transportation costs for vans) for students or for community participants
• stipends for community participants in focus groups or for completing surveys
• refreshments for community meetings or community-based activities (refreshments may be for students and community participants),
• printed materials, project supplies, printing, and the like
• when reasonable and appropriate, support for graduate assistants for teaching
• in certain circumstances, other student work (especially for undergraduates), in cases in which no academic credit is involved

What Funds May Not Cover

Computer equipment and other information technology devices and software generally are not approved expenses. Grant funds may NOT be used to pay Emory students for work conducted as part of a course and for which they will receive academic credit. Funds also may not be used to cover salary or consulting fees for faculty or other instructors.
 
Helpful websites for consultation regarding best practices for community-based learning and research include

• Campus Compact
• National Service Learning Clearinghouse
• Community-Campus Partnerships for Health
• Corporation for National and Community Service

Please note

• Applicants must either have their own Smartkey account or be connected to a department with a Smartkey account.
• Applicants must also participate in assessment of the program, which may include online evaluations or focus groups.                
• If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Dr. Vialla Hartfield-Méndez, Director of Engaged Learning, by email (vhartfi@emory.edu) or by phone at 727-6392.
• Pending budget approval, money will be transferred at the beginning of the new semester (early January 2018).