Mini Grants
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) offers competitive funding for faculty, staff and graduate student projects that promote equity and inclusion. The maximum award amount per project is $1,500; requests average $400-600 per project. Partial funding may be granted.
Timeline
2023 Awards
Applications open: November 1, 2022. Submit your application today!
Application deadline: January 13, 2023
Funds disbursed: February 2023
Deadline to use funds and submit report: December 17, 2023
*If you plan to expend funds after the new fiscal year begins on July 1, 2023, please check with your business office to make sure funds can be rolled over.
Eligibility
University of Arizona departments, programs and individual faculty, staff and graduate students are eligible to apply for CSW mini-grants. Student programs must be officially recognized by the Associated Students of the University of Arizona. CSW can only transfer funds to a miscellaneous designated or sales and services type of University account. Consult with your department’s business office if you are unsure about your account type.
Applicants may submit proposals for multiple projects. Please provide a separate application for each project. Preference will be given to first-time applicants.
Use of funding must comply with all University and Office of the Provost policies and procedures. Funds cannot be used for political organizations or political events. The Commission on the Status of Women cannot fund groups or organizations not affiliated with a University department or unit. We cannot provide support for alcohol, door prizes, gifts, donations or any other use prohibited by University policy. We do not provide scholarships or tuition funding.
Criteria
Funding will be awarded based upon the project's expected impact (one measure of this is the number of people who will benefit from the funded activity) and how well it advances one or more of these CSW goals:
- To identify and provide leadership on issues that affect women and/or underrepresented minorities
- To develop and support university policies and practices that promote equity, diversity and inclusivity of all gender identities
- To increase advancement opportunities for underrepresented minorities
- To collaborate with other groups to create safe and inclusive communities
- To foster individual and collective accountability promoting justice, equity and diversity
- To educate the campus community about CSW's work and objectives
After Funding
If your proposal has been funded, you must use the funds by December 18, 2023. You must also provide an electronic summary (such as a PowerPoint presentation) to the Commission by that date. CSW may also request a brief oral presentation of your project outcomes at a meeting or event.
Previous Awardees
These projects were funded in spring 2019. These are examples of the types of projects for which you might request Mini Grant funds.
- Association for Women in Mathematics Annual Diversity Workshop (Department of Mathematics)
- Inclusivity in Innovation at the UA Women's Hackathon (UA Libraries)
- Launching Your Career Symposium (UA Women in Optics)
- Policy Changes to Mitigate Unconscious Bias in Faculty Development (Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology)
- Professional Development Seminar Series (UA Graduate Women in Science)
- Recentering Growth: Creative and Professional Workshops for Writers at the Margins (Creative Writing Program, Department of English)
- Regional Gender and Women's Studies Network Meeting 2019 (Southwest Institute for Research on Women)
- Surgeon Lactation Room (Department of Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine – Phoenix)
- Women's Initiative for Leadership in the Outdoors (UA Campus Recreation)
- Women in STEM Student Council (Women in Science and Engineering Program)
- Workshop on Middle Eastern & South Asian Women and Campus Visibility (School of Middle Eastern & North African Studies)
- Women Tribal Scholars on Indigenous Knowledge and Natural Resource Management (School of Natural Resources and the Environment)
- TIME'S UP Healthcare (College of Medicine – Tucson)
- Rejuvenation of Mind, Body and Spirit for Professional-Personal Life Balance (Family and Community Medicine)
- Racism Awareness and Unlearning Workshop (UA Presents/ Arizona Arts)
- Social Justice Symposium 2018: Power & Privilege—Tackling Microaggressions in Public Health (Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health). A daylong symposium with opening plenary session, student-led breakout sessions, lunch, and a closing panel. Funds pay for speaker honorarium, food, and marketing materials.
- Native Women in Governance Speaker Series (Native Nations Institute). Series of three lunchtime lectures by distinguished American Indian women leaders who will discuss their leadership roles and responsibilities in working with Native Nations. Funds pay for food and speaker honoraria.
- Targeted Support for Women on the STEM Pipeline (Women in Science and Engineering Program). Series of 11 professional development workshops that will provide strategies for success and build a community of women committed to diversity in STEM. Funds pay for food and a portion of the program coordinator's salary.
- Social Sciences Lactation Room (SBS Administration). Conversion of 157 sq ft storage room into a private lactation room, to be available during regular business hours and evenings/weekends by prior arrangement. Funds pay for patching and painting of room, comfortable furniture, rug, and mini fridge to store milk.
- The Unconscious Bias Project Workshop (Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology). Bring UC Berkeley's Unconscious Bias Project to present a workshop on recognizing and addressing unconscious bias that negatively affects STEM fields. Funds pay for flight, hotel, and honorarium for workshop presenter.