UVA grant seekers, thank you! The Trust received 93 Letters of Inquiry (LOI) requesting $9.6 million in our annual grant cycle. Forty-seven of these requests, seeking $5.78 million, have moved forward to the full proposal stage.
Submissions cover a wide variety of topics, including mental health, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and cutting-edge research. Proposals were received from twelve student groups, almost every school, and a variety of University-related organizations.
Our Proposals Committee has started reviewing the proposals in advance of the final round, which is an in-person pitch. The Trustees will look to grant $1.6 million this year across all funding cycles.
If you missed the annual cycle deadline, the January 2025 Flash Grant Cycle opens January 1. Flash Funding grants are capped at $10,000 and focus on short-term projects or immediate use opportunities, often for student organizations. Flash Funding runs in the spring semester, and grants are made on a month-to-month basis as long as funds are available. Visit our Grant Seekers page for more information.
As always, we are available to discuss your potential project and answer any funding questions. Contact our Director of Grants, Amy Bonner, for more information.
Back for one night only, make plans to view the constellations and stars in the Rotunda Dome Room on Friday, November 29, 5:30–8:30 p.m.! This event is free and open to the community, and will feature special music from the Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia and a visit from historical actor-interpreter Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson.
In the summer of 1818, Thomas Jefferson envisioned a painted planetarium, spanning the Rotunda’s dome. “It is proposed to be painted sky-blue and spangled with gilt stars in their position and magnitude copied exactly,” he wrote. Fast-forward to 2019, and three UVA doctoral students worked to bring Jefferson’s vision to life. They received a Trust grant to purchase the equipment to “open the ceiling to the stars” and host an exhibition on the Rotunda Library’s early years.
Undergrad students participate in a week-long summer Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp.
Our grantees have been busy! Catch up on projects recently featured in the news:
The MADAYIN exhibition opened at the Asia Society Museum in New York City in September. This exhibit is in partnership with UVA’s Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum, and the Trust was a supporter of the accompanying exhibition catalogue created with the exhibit. MADAYIN is on display in NYC until January 5, 2025; we strongly recommend viewing! More information and features from the Asia Society and National Indigenous Times.
The Cavalier Autonomous Racing team competed at the Indy Autonomous Challenge in September and won the time trial competition (with record setting speed)! See more in this UVA Today article and video feature in UVA Today. The Trust was an early supporter of Cavalier Autonomous in 2020.
A group of students participated this summer in a Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, designed for budding social entrepreneurs. Read about one student’s experience in HER Campus. This ChangeMaker Bootcamp was a 2024 grant recipient.
Nursing Narratives received an annual grant 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 essays from their summer edition.
The Air Force ROTC received a flash grant this spring to increase virtual reality flight simulator training for cadets. Hear about their experiences in this CBS19 News feature.
UVA’s first Escape Room Tournament occurred in September. A 2024 flash recipient, learn more in this CBS19 feature.
Associate Professor Bryan Berger received a $93,000 Trust grant in 2022 to lead undergraduate students in research and training of industrial hemp as a tool for phytoremediation of PFAS-polluted agricultural soils. The team recently received a $1.59 million grant from the EPA to continue and expand their research! Learn more from the Maine Morning Star and EPA. Bryan shared, “None of this would have been possible without the grant you funded—thank you so much! The preliminary data and papers we published were the key to this opportunity. Really appreciate it and I think what you are doing is so important for UVA—it allows us to take risk on new ideas, build partnerships and take on big challenges in communities we otherwise wouldn’t have the means to do.”
The Trust awarded a team of professors and researchers $133,000 in 2022 for “Optimizing pediatric donor heart utilization” using big data analytics to optimize pediatric heart transplants by analyzing data sets from the United Network of Organ Sharing to help improve clinical practice and create predictive modeling to assess specific donors for specific candidates. They have received an additional $1.03 million in funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This additional five-years of funding will aid in their research and testing efforts.
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.
First-generation college students face many challenges, as organizations such as Pew Research have cited. UVA has developed both financial and programmatic resources for first-generation students and students from low-income families.
Many on the programmatic side, collectively known as ‘Hoos First’, are Trust grant recipients, such as:
Hoos First Look is an enrichment program for juniors in high school to better understand the college-application process, financial aid/scholarships, and student life at UVA. This student-led initiative received $10,479.25 in 2018 from the Trust.
FLIP at UVA aims to create and advocate for a community of first generation and low-income students. It started in 2020 with a $14,161 grant and is an on-going part of the UVA culture.
Starr Hill Pathways middle- and high-school scholars are given the opportunity to explore different career pathways through summer camps and school-year programming days with community partner organizations. The program was kickstarted with a $150,000 grant in 2022.
Roadmap Scholars Initiative began with a $200,000 grant in 2022 to build a pipeline for undergraduate students from every background into the legal profession. Students receive an intro to the legal profession, LSAT prep, and internship support.
These are just a few of the ways the Trust has enriched the patchwork of UVA, strengthened the community, and supported University priorities.
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.
