Application Instructions and Best Practices

All applicants must be Indiana University South Bend students, faculty, or staff.

The Women of IU South Bend seeks projects that better the IU community, both within campus walls and beyond. We will consider all proposals that focus on pillars from the IU 2030 strategic plan: student success and opportunity; transformative research and creativity; and service to our state and beyond. Some of those priorities (the list is not exhaustive) are:

• Create service-learning experiences and focus on high-impact educational learning. Enabling IU students to gain exposure to local, state, national, and global service opportunities and broaden their life experiences.
• Promote and advance STEM learning and teaching. Focus on connecting campus with outside communities and encourage STEM exploration on campus. Advancing underrepresented populations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
• Solving Social Problems: Supporting student and faculty initiatives critical needs, new ventures, and innovative ways to solve social problems.
• Improve public health: Protecting and improving the health of people and their communities at the IU, state, national, and global level. This includes promoting healthy lifestyles, disease research and prevention, and improving mental health.
• Support leadership initiatives: Giving women, and others, opportunities to lead as well as participate in leadership roles at university, local, state, national, and global levels.
• Provide educational and cultural enrichment for the benefit of others: Promoting all aspects of local, state, national, and global educational and cultural activities, including all areas of the arts.

Section 1 - Contact Information

Tell us who will be acting as the main contact on this project and how we can contact them. Tell us who the appropriate campus administrator is for this project.

Section 2 - Project Information

In this section, provide a title for the project and a brief purpose statement that summarizes the project (you will be asked to provide more details in the project narrative section). The purpose statement should include the issue your project will address. The summary should give an overview of the purpose, objectives, deliverables, methods, and impact. Budget information will be listed in Section 3 of the application.

Focus Areas. This section denotes the areas in which the project aligns with priorities and seeks to better the IU South Bend community, and beyond (e.g., local, state, national, and/or global communities). The focus areas listed are the current priority areas of the Women of IU South Bend. Multiple focus areas may be selected.

Project Narrative: This section is an integral component of the application, which should clearly describe the project need and how the project contributes to building a more equitable and inclusive environment at IU South Bend and beyond campus.
In this section, expand on the following:

• Purpose
• Objectives
• Deliverables
• Methods (including who was involved in developing the concept)
• Impact (including benefit to the population(s) affected)
• How your project be impacted if not fully funded

Specific Project Needs. Please do not copy and paste repetitive information from other sections.

1. Are there unique or innovative aspects of your project? How were the needs assessed?
2. How many people will your project help?
3. What data supports your analysis of this need?
4. State how the project aligns with the Women of IU South Bend focus areas. What are the goals and objectives of your project? What methods will you use to implement your project?

Timetable: Project should not exceed one full year from the launch date.

Evaluation Plan. The Women of IU South Bend review committee wants to know grant funding will make a difference. It is essential to explain how you are going to evaluate your project and report on the findings. How are you going to show the impact of your project? How will you determine success?

Sustainability Plan. The Women of IU South Bend review committee wants to know when grant funding is supporting a project that will continue to have an impact into the future. The Women of IU South Bend grant only provides funding for one year and does not provide ongoing funding. If your project may continue, you should explain how you will fund the project after the grant period. If you are proposing a self-contained project, you may want to explain how lessons learned from this project will continue to be used in future work. Even if you do not continue the exact project, how will you build on its successes and fund future efforts?

Tell a compelling story. The review committee will read many grant applications, and it is important to make sure your project stands out.

Provide specifics. Reviewers need a clear understanding of a project’s impact. Provide specifics, including how you will spend grant money, whenever possible — such as the number of people who have been helped already, the number you will help if you receive grant funding, or research findings that support your project methodology. Also be sure to clearly explain your methodology — audiences you will be reaching, how your project will be managed, and more.
NOTE: Thorough, yet clear and succinct descriptions are crucial.

Section 3 – Budget Information

Budget Narrative. The budget narrative should justify the amount of money requested and show specifically how it will be used. This should line up with the required Excel budget form.To request the required budget form please email Erika Zynda at ezynda@iu.edu.

NOTE: Items not usually funded—Food, promotional items, licensures, and accreditations.

Section 4 – Successful Proposal, Awards Timelines, and Logistical Details

Maximum grant awards are $2,500 each for a duration of one year

• The Grant Application Cycle is open from Dec 1 to Jan 31, 2025.
• You will be notified if your proposal was accepted by mid-March and you will be asked to present to a review committee of the Women IU South Bend in April.
• Awards will be finalized by the end of April.

If you need any additional information, please contact Dana Rassas Jojo, development officer, at drassas@iu.edu or 574-520-4454. For any budget questions please contact Erika Zynda at ezynda@iu.edu or 574-520-4181.