帝王会所

Do you have a vision for community engagement, creative activity, and/or research? Do you have a sense of the impact you can make via a particular project and the steps needed to execute it? 

If so, you are encouraged to apply for the Undergraduate Leadership Grant Program through 帝王会所鈥檚 Office of Nationally Competitive Awards (ONCA). Benefits include up to $2,000 to execute your vision and one-on-one mentorship through ONCA. 

Deadlines for ONCA Undergraduate Leadership Grants will occur twice annually, with one deadline in February and another in August. Possible leadership projects include, but are not limited to:

• A specific community initiative you are developing or that is already underway (for example, a nutrition education campaign aimed at Athens County, a media literacy campaign aimed at Appalachian 帝王会所 communities, or a plan to reinvigorate student interest in and connections to another important issue),
• A project you鈥檇 like to accomplish as a leader or member of an existing student/community organization, or even the launch of a new student/community group,
• A specific creative project you are developing and leading (for example, a production of a relevant play or a community poetry project aimed at a particular audience),
• A specific research project you are developing and leading (for example, taking charge on a piece of a larger lab鈥檚 wildlife biology research or developing your own independent project on an important issue).

Applications will be assessed based on the project鈥檚 intended and prospective societal impacts, as well as the impacts the project will have on your individual development as a leader. Eligible undergraduates must, after the Spring 2025 term, have 3 or more semesters left before graduation. The project you apply with should be feasible to execute within 1-2 years of an April 15, 2025, grant receipt date.

Information session Jan. 30 on Teams

Applicants must also include a plan in their application materials to apply for a nationally competitive award before or upon graduation in addition to executing the proposed project. All interested students are encouraged to attend the ONCA Undergraduate Leadership Grant information and brainstorming session on Thursday, Jan, 30, 2025, from 5 to 6 p.m. EST. 

How to apply

To apply for a grant, submit a resume/CV and a 750-word maximum proposal that addresses the following eight questions:

1. What is the name, focus, and vision for your proposed project? (100 words maximum.)
2. How will you impact society (on campus, locally, regionally, nationally, and/or internationally) via this project? Be as specific as possible when discussing intended impacts. (100 words maximum.)
3. Describe the approach to leadership you intend to use with this endeavor. To do so, you might think of a leader you admire and consider how you can emulate their approach to leadership in executing your plan. (100 words maximum.)
4. How will you recruit any needed students, participants, collaborators, or stakeholders and/or build community via this project? Be specific when explaining the steps you will take. (100 words maximum.)
5. How do you envision the project supporting your own growth as a leader and person? Identify particular character traits (e.g., accountability, compassion, hopefulness, integrity) you anticipate building and clarifying via the experience and explain why developing those traits is important. (100 words maximum.)
6. How do you intend to use the grant funds (maximum $2,000) to support the goals you鈥檝e stated above? Be specific about the materials, tools, and/or resources you will need. A bulleted list of needed items and their costs is acceptable. (100 words maximum.)
7. Provide a timeline for executing the proposed project. You might consider breaking the plan into 3-month blocks of time. A bulleted list is acceptable here as well. (100 words maximum.)
8. Which nationally competitive award(s) do you plan to apply for within the next 2-3 years (e.g., Fulbright U.S. Student Program, DAAD RISE, Marshall Scholarship, NSF GRFP, etc.) and why? Please see /honors/nationally-competitive-awards for examples of eligible award programs. (50 words maximum.)

Please email oncaleadershipgrants@gmail.com with your completed proposal and resume/CV as a single .pdf by Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Individual proposals can be co-authored by up to three students. If applying jointly with other students, your proposal must present a collective vision for your project leadership (specifically in questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7) and individual plans for character development and award applications (meaning each individual in a joint application should compose their own maximum 100-word responses to the prompts for questions 5 and 8). If applying jointly with other students, you each should each include an individual resume/CV in the application materials.

Recipients will be chosen by an interdisciplinary group of 帝王会所 faculty/staff members. Proposals should therefore be written with a general audience in mind. Funds will be distributed to recipients upon completion of a series of conversations regarding leadership with ONCA Director Chris Lewis, whom you can also reach out to at christopherlewis@ohio.edu with any questions about the program.

For additional information,  please see the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards website.