Who can apply?

This mini-grant application process is open to all members of the UMA community, including full and part-time faculty, staff, and students. We encourage both individual submissions and proposals that include collaboration across UMA and with community organizations.

When is the application due?

Applications are due by Monday, October 23, 2023. Recipients will be notified by be Friday, November 3, 2023.

How much can I apply for?

Award amounts will vary but will be typically no more than $1500 per project. Funds must be spent on the approved project by May 31, 2024.

What kinds of projects will be funded?

We encourage proposals that seek to improve UMA’s engagement with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issues. By UMA, we mean on the Augusta or Bangor campus, at any UMA Center, and/or for online or distance students regardless of location. See below for mini-grants funded last year.

Priority will be given to projects supporting Strategy 5:  Foster Inclusion in UMA’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan.

Options might include, but are not limited to:

  • Creating a stipend for a student worker/intern for DEI related work.
  • Funding a guest speaker or speaker series.
  • Working with a community organization to sponsor workshops or training.
  • Underwriting a project to assist UMA student equity and inclusion.
  • Funding the purchase of books, videos, or other physical materials.

How will my application be evaluated?

Each application will be evaluated by a grant reader committee, to include at least one student evaluator. The applications will be rated on a 1-5 scale in the following categories:

  1. Potential impact on DEI climate at UMA.
  2. Strength of project plan/details.
  3. Connection to furthering the goals of Strategy 5: Foster Inclusion in the UMA Strategic Plan

By applying for a mini-grant award, the applicant agrees to 1) provide oversight for project activities and progress 2) ensure that incurred expenses support the original proposal intent and budget while complying with University policies 3) ensure that expenses occur within the starting and ending dates of the project stated, and 4) submit grant progress reports upon request.

For questions and more information contact: Professor Susan Baker at sbak@maine.edu or (207) 621-3285.

2022-2023 Mini-Grants Awarded

Congratulations to the Recipients of the 2022-2023 DEI Council Mini-Grants!

  • Critical Disability Visibility: Interdisciplinary Praxis Toward Disability Justice – Sarah Hentges, Professor of Transdisciplinary Cultural Studies
  • Stigma is No Joke – Heidi Toner, student, Joy Steward; Coordinator of Student Life: Wellness & Co-Curricular Enrichment, project budget manager
  • Fostering Inclusion for Justice Impacted Students in the Bangor Area – Kevin Crowley, AA Liberal Studies student; Katherine Darling, Assistant Professor of Sociology, project budget manager
  • The Experience of Student Workers at the University of Maine at Augusta – James Cook, Associate Professor of Social Science (primary investigator); co-recipients:  Elizabeth Powers, Richard Lumb, and B.J. Kitchin

Updated 9/12/2023