What is your new, radical idea that will advance UVA and enrich the student experience? We want to hear it in our 2024–25 Annual Cycle, open now!
Proposals can come from students, faculty, and staff for an array of new programs and projects—everything from starting a new student group to supporting an innovative research project to seeding a University initiative. The Annual Cycle grants typically range from $10,000 to over $300,000, but there are no minimums and maximums vary based on available funds.
Key dates:
Now: Letter of Inquiry (LOI) forms are available in the grant portal and can be submitted today. LOIs submitted before September 1 may be invited to edit and resubmit.
October 1: Last day to submit a finalized LOI. From there, selected LOIs move to the proposal stage.
October 31: Proposal deadline. Decisions are made in December, with possible invitation to the next stage.
UVA grant seekers, working on your proposal or considering applying for a Jefferson Trust grant? Consider these tips:
Submit early to have more time for edits, and to refine your Letter of Inquiry (LOI) and proposal.
Sell your vision. Pitch the idea. Focus on impact.
Write for a lay audience. Reviewers are not always subject matter experts in your same field. You must write so anyone can understand it.
Proofread.
Check your budget – include all expenses, all revenues, highlight what portions you’re asking the Trust to fund. Double check your numbers and make sure it all adds up.
The third-party authorization must be received by the submission deadline. Send that email immediately. They will not see the document, just the project name.
Focus on your project’s novelty, uniqueness, or the specific niche it fills. The Trust has recently moved into funding research projects, but it’s often limited to efforts that bring students into the lab, is completely new, or clearly translational. Graduate thesis projects, existing projects, or projects that clearly could be funded elsewhere are not likely to receive a Trust grant.
Please reach out to Director of Grants, Amy Bonner, at 434-243-9078, abonner@virginia.edu, or schedule a meeting. An idea is more likely to be funded if we have a chance to work with the grant seeker.
“Developing Future Leaders in Autism Healthcare Through Emergency Medical Training” received a flash grant in 2022 to develop and distribute Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) autism response training to emergency professionals. The program’s success has resulted in additional funding for training expansion, increased partnerships, nationwide inquiries about the program, and a new Virginia law.
Nursing Narratives received an annual grant earlier this year to add a recurring editorial section to both print and digital versions of “Virginia Nursing Legacy,” the School of Nursing’s quarterly magazine. Read insights from three nurses in their spring edition.
Cville Tulips received an annual grant in 2023, bringing student volunteer together with local refugee women and their children to support English instruction, digital literacy, and youth programming.
“The Green Book” was created as a travel guide from 1936–1966, listing safe places for traveling African Americans to stay across the country. A 2021 flash grant helped launch a website database to document listings. Check out “Architecture of the Negro Travelers’ Green Book” in UVA Arts Magazine to learn about the project’s progress and growth.
Each Trust grant funds a new idea. Some of these ideas are in areas of particular importance to the President or Provost. ‘University priorities’ are not permanent but rather time-bound areas of focus where administrators put additional resources toward advancing UVA. Trust support can play a unique role in jumpstarting a project or program toward having an immediate impact.
Student success in science and mathematics courses and exposure to technology or engineering fields, collectively known as STEM, is a current University priority and one that the Trust has supported often.
The University’s STEM Initiatives are vast and when combined with individual school efforts can manifest in everything from maker spaces to calculus tutoring to biomedical research. Each element helps shape the UVA experience for all, and the advances the positive outcomes this education and research can have in a tech-driven world.
STEM is ever-changing, and fresh ideas are always being introduced to advance the field. In the last two years alone, the Trust has helped jumpstart many of these projects such as:
UVAi Vanguard ($112,870) which integrates Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) into academic settings including research, mentorship and teaching;
UVA Cyber Range ($71,548.79) which provides students the opportunity to increase cybersecurity education, research and training outside of the classroom;
Southwest Virginia Can Code Regional Student Showcase ($9,750) which brings together UVA Wise, local schools and community organizations to teach coding, web app development, problem-solving, prototyping, and entrepreneurial and communication skills to local middle- and high- school students;
Air Force ROTC VR Simulator ($10,000) which brings increased virtual reality simulator training to Air Force ROTC students at UVA;
Printers 4 Kids ($30,000) which takes discarded electronic equipment and creates STEM kits for local Charlottesville schools, and recycles plastic waste from University labs; and
Beyond this direct support, the Trust is committed to being part of the STEM ecosystem across Grounds, funding ideas and fostering innovation that will make UVA an event better place.
Catch up on Trust grants recently featured in the news:
The Black Economic Empowerment Society (BEES) received a Trust flash grant in 2023. They recently hosted a pop-up shop to highlight student-run and local black businesses. Learn more about the event and their organization in this Cavalier Daily article.
Starr Hill Pathways students participate in the Nursing pathway. Photo credit: Dan Addison
In 2022 the Equity Center received a $150,000 Trust grant to support the Starr Hill Pathways Program. Read about their continued growth and impact in the community in this University Advancement feature.
A team of UVA School of Education Professors is working to provide open access to high-quality, peer-reviewed educational resources, while developing a CAD library. Check out more about this 2023 grant project and their ongoing work in UVA Today.
In 2023 the Co-Circular Plastics Initiative received a Trust grant. They recently held a symposium to discuss the use and reuse of plastics and sustainability. Read this UVA Today feature to learn more about our relationship with plastics.
Check out {in}Visible Magazine’s most recent issue. A 2023 flash grant recipient, {in}Visible is dedicated to exploring and sharing unique experiences through writing and art for the Asian Pacific Islander South Asian American (APISAA) community on Grounds.
Follow the Trust on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date on grant news.
Students participate in the BEES Black Student Business Expo.
This article is the first in a series on Trust grants that directly support University priorities.
Each Trust grant funds a new idea. Some of these ideas are in areas of particular importance to the University President or Provost. ‘University priorities’ are not permanent but rather time-bound areas of focus where administrators put additional resources toward advancing UVA. Trust support can play a unique role in jumpstarting a project or program toward having an immediate impact.
Entrepreneurship is a current University priority and one that the Trust has supported often.
Entrepreneurship at UVA has many homes. There are multiple centers, incubators, programs, competitions, and courses across different schools and units. Each avenue has a different audience.
As is often the case, the Trust was out in front. In June 2022, Jefferson Trust board member, Lars Norell, Law ’98 and his family gave $100,000 to the Trust to support entrepreneurial programming. These funds were allocated outside the normal grant cycles to immediately support projects such as:
the Virginia Venture Fund’s National Undergraduate Venture Cup, which brought Reddit founder, Alexis Ohanian, Com. ‘05 to Grounds to speak to students;
and the creation of a mobile app for entrepreneurs across Grounds to connect and share ideas, developed by the Batten Institute.
In the past two years alone, through our Annual and Flash Funding cycles, the Trust has funded several projects that directly impact the entrepreneurship effort, such as:
Changemaker Bootcamp, a week-long, experiential program in social entrepreneurship for undergraduates;
Entrepreneurship for All, a UVA faculty led high school program for youth from historically marginalized communities to create their own ventures and social enterprises;
Darden Emerging Markets Conference, designed to bring thought leaders, professionals, academicians, and students together to discuss emerging markets in a post-COVID world;
Black Economic Empowerment Society, designed to increase financial literacy, emphasize the importance of asset ownership, and empower Black UVA students to start businesses;
and, the Virginia Undergraduate Investment Conference (VUIC), which provided hands-on experience in equity analysis and investment for students.
Beyond this direct support, the Trust is committed to being part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem across Grounds, funding ideas and fostering innovation that will make UVA an event better place.
New. Radical. Novel. Fun. These are some of the adjectives that describe the ideas we fund. Our 2024–25 Annual Cycle is open, and we are looking for ideas that will break the mold and chart an exciting path forward. If you have an idea that will advance UVA or enrich the student experience, we’d love to hear it.
Review the grant seekers section of our webpage and if you think your project or program might be a good fit, contact Amy, our Director of Grants at abonner@virginia.edu.
The Jefferson Trust has awarded $119,880 across fourteen flash funding grants since January.
“The volume of requests we received this year was overwhelming. It is a clear indication that UVA is an active, forward-looking university with a healthy student body ready to make an impact,” shared Brent Percival, Executive Director of the Jefferson Trust. “The Trustees were thrilled to see so many Flash Funding requests from students; their engagement in programs and projects that enrich the student experience is a hallmark of the Trust.”
Student experiences are the standout theme this spring. Whether student research experiences, like Morven Soundscape and From the Ground Up, to learning opportunities with artificial intelligence (AI), through McIntire’s Escape Room Tournament and the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Research and Training, people at UVA are seeking out new ways to engage and enhance the student experience.
Different than the Jefferson Trust’s Annual Cycle grants, Flash Funding grants are capped at $10,000 per project and are awarded monthly beginning in January.
The 2024 Flash Grants:
AFROTC VR Simulator: $10,000
Funding will bring virtual reality simulator training on the T-6 Texan II aircraft to Air Force ROTC students at UVA, and a potential partnership with the UVA Aeronautical Engineering club.
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Research and Teaching: $8,040
A team of professors is launching a series of workshops, open to the University and local communities, designed to illustrate the benefits and weaknesses of AI.
From the Ground Up: $9,700
Through hands-on learning labs and field research, UVA students will develop an educational module centered on soil biological health of Native tallgrass prairies to help build agricultural and environmental education among local Indigenous youth in Sisseton, South Dakota.
Morven Soundscape: $10,000
Students will create an expansive soundscape of the land at Morven Farms, enhancing listeners’ understanding of the place, and assisting researchers in a better understanding of its history, archaeology, and environment.
McIntire School of Commerce Escape Room Tournament: $8,000
A student-created game, the Escape Room Competition simulates an Artificial Intelligence (AI) business firm, where students will use critical thinking skills and hands-on learning to solve challenges in entrepreneurship, innovation, and modern workforce.
The Stan Winston and Steve Warner Festival of the Moving Creature: $10,000
In preparation for the Stan Winston and Steve Warner Festival of the Moving Creature, students in Art of the Moving Creature class work on their festival creatures.
The class, and culminating festival, will showcase the multidisciplinary lessons and passions of Arts Grounds in a public performance of larger-than-life moving creatures designed and powered by students in the Art of the Moving Creatures Spring 2024 seminar.
CALM Wellness Retreat: $1,400
The CALM Wellness Retreat for School of Medicine students provides the medical student community a dedicated space to find relief from the stressors of medicine and build sustainable mindfulness practices that they can carry with them throughout their medical school journey and future medical career.
Smiles & Spatulas: $3,400
A cooking program that will empower adults with Down Syndrome by teaching kitchen safety, cooking basics, and general nutrition. This pilot program offers volunteer opportunities for students while giving back to the Charlottesville community.
Teaching and Learning Enhancement Hub: $9,590
An initiative in the Department of Psychology with results that will be applied broadly, the Hub is evaluating several effective learning strategies to improve learning experiences for students.
JunkLabz – Printers4Kidz: $10,000
Funding helps to purchase a new plastic sheet press, enabling Junk Labz to improve the diversion and processing of plastic waste more efficiently, turning higher volumes of recycled plastic into durable, long-lasting products.
Entrepreneurship for All: $10,000
In partnership with local high schools, this program is designed to educate and empower youth from historically marginalized communities to create their own ventures and social enterprises.
Sara Curruchich. Being an Indigenous Woman in Today’s Guatemala: $10,000
The internationally recognized Mayan Kaqchikel singer and songwriter visited Grounds as a Ruffin Distinguished Artist-in-Residence. Classes, workshops, and a free public concert were held, and materials from the visit will be archived in the UVA Library for future students to learn about Curruchich, Kaqchikel art, and activism.
Public Facing Writing: Editor Workshop Series: $10,000
Graduate students in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences are organizing the Public Facing Writing workshop series, aimed to support public humanities work and grow the networks between humanities scholars and public facing publications at UVA.
SWVA Can Code Regional Student Showcase: $9,750
In partnership with UVA Wise, local schools, and community organizations, middle- and high- school students will learn coding, web app development, problem-solving, prototyping, and entrepreneurial and communication skills at summer camps, then showcase their work on Wise’s campus.
We received 50 proposals requesting $353,000 in funding in the January Flash Funding cycle. Thank you, UVA for your innovative ideas and commitment to further enhance the University!
If you missed January, our February Flash funding proposal form is open. Flash grants are capped at $10,000 and focus on short-term projects or immediate use opportunities, often for student organizations. Proposals must be submitted no later than February 29, with decisions announced on March 15.
For additional information, please visit our Grant Seekers page or contact Amy Bonner at abonner@virginia.edu to discuss your idea and potential funding.
Meghan Puglia, Assistant Professor of Neurology, received a Trust grant for the Transformative Autism Biomarker Research Initiative, studying babies in the NICU to detect early indicators of autism. A few years later, Zack Landsman, Systems Engineering PhD student, received a Trust grant for his work to recycle plastic waste and electronic equipment, creating them into new materials.
Colorful shredded plastic from recycled pipette tips.
Zack and Meghan were previous collaborators on another project, so when UVA Today featured Zack’s work to add recycling capabilities to UVA and Charlottesville, Meghan contacted him with a plastic waste “gold mine”.
“Meghan has been one of my favorite collaborators as she shows great passion for her work. The plastic recycling collaboration began after one email from Meghan and has jumpstarted all of our work! This story is a perfect example of waste stream identification helping to create an entire process. Our sights are currently set on blue wrap, a polypropylene hospital staple that, accounts for an estimated 19% of all operating room waste by weight,” shares Zack.
Many labs produce a large amount of discarded pipette tips that aren’t often recycled and end up in a landfill. “They are a perfect starter item, all the same plastic, well labeled, require no cleaning (sticker removal on some), and come in cool colors” shares Zack.
Since Zack’s team began collection, they have worked to refine their recycling process. They sort by color, type, and size, then shred the plastics and re-sort based on manufacturing needs.
Zack has formed a partnership with the School of Architecture to supply them with recycled plastics and is working with UVA Sustainability and Green Labs to increase contributions from labs across Grounds.
