Civic Innovation Scholars

Partners for Campus – Community Engagement (PCCE) is pleased to announce the release of the  Civic Innovation Scholars application for the 2024 fall semester – the 2025 spring semester. 

Applications are due October 14, 2024. PCCE will award Civic Innovation Scholarships, at  $1,000 each, to all selected applicants. 

PCCE is specifically looking for projects that focus on equity in these categories: race, voting, and climate. 

 The purpose of Civic Innovation Scholarships is to encourage and support the civic innovations of the next generation of undergraduate leaders. This scholarship program is open to students who have innovative ideas for addressing local civic problems, either on campus or in the local community. Our goal is to create a diverse cohort of creative student civic leaders from across New York and Pennsylvania who are inspired to strengthen our democracy through civic and community engagement.

Eligibility

The applicant must be:

  1. Pell grant eligible or Federal Work Study qualified.

  2. A current undergraduate student at a PCCE member institution. (To find out if your campus is a member of PCCE, visit our website).

  3. Able to identify an on-campus faculty or staff mentor with whom the applicant commits to meeting at least four times over the course of October 2024 – April 2025. Our mentor agreement form will be sent to awarded applicants to be signed by the identified mentor.

Requirements

  1. Complete all parts of the Civic Innovation Scholars application by October 14, 2024.

If awarded:

  1. Meet with your on-campus faculty or staff mentor four times over the course of October 2024 – April 2025. 

  2. Attend one of the virtual Zoom check-in sessions in November 2024 and one in February 2025 (Dates/times below).

  3. Attend one of the virtual Zoom wrap-up sessions in April 2025 (Dates/times below).

  4. Complete and submit project deliverables to PCCE by April 30, 2025.

            Deliverables include: 

            a) A brief written description of the project and what was accomplished.

            b) A video of the project including lessons learned, next steps, accomplishments of the project etc. PCCE will use the deliverables to promote the success of the project. 

*Scholars will be paid the $1,000 scholarship in May 2025, upon completion of their project and submission of the deliverables to PCCE.

Application

The Civic Innovation Scholars application will be completed and submitted via Google Forms.

Application Sections

  • Student Information Section 

  • Campus Mentor Information Section

  • Project Focus Section (each narrative should be answered in 2-3 paragraphs)

       

1) What civic innovation are you proposing? (Description of the proposed project) 

2) What evidence do you have that this project is needed? 

3) How do you plan to accomplish the project? (Include a simple timeline  with benchmarks) 

4) What do you hope to accomplish with your project? (Realistic and concrete  goals) 

5) Who will you involve in your project and how? (Strong partnerships make the  work sustainable)

Next Steps and Project Timeline

November 2024 – April 30, 2025 – Scholars work on their projects and meet with campus mentor at least four times

November 2024 – Scholars participate in virtual Zoom gathering with PCCE

February 2025 – Scholars participate in virtual Zoom gathering with PCCE 

April 2025 – Scholars participate in virtual Zoom gathering with PCCE

April 30, 2025 – Scholars have completed projects and submitted deliverables to PCCE

May 2025 – Scholars receive $1,000 scholarship upon completion of their project and submission of the deliverables to PCCE

Scholars virtual Zoom Meetings Date/Time Options
(MUST attend one session per month)


Tuesday, November 19th at 10:00 AM or 

Thursday, November 21st at 2:00 PM


Tuesday, February 11th at 10:00 AM or

Thursday, February 13th at 2:00 PM


Tuesday, April 22nd at 10:00 AM or

Thursday, April 24th at 2:00 PM