UVA students, faculty, and staff: do you have a crazy idea but need funding? The Jefferson Trust Annual Grant Cycle is open for the 2023-24 academic year!
Proposals can come from students, faculty, and staff for a variety 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 is intended for requests with budgets ranging from $10,000 to over $300,000, but there are no minimums and maximums vary based on available funds.
Key dates to remember:
August 2023: LOI forms are available in the grant portal and can be submitted now!
Every Annual Cycle grant starts with a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), which is an opportunity to simply explain the idea (no need to justify it or cite sources; less is more). Requests are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Early LOI entries (before September 15) have a chance for edits and resubmission.
October 1: Last day to submit a finalized LOI. From there, selected LOIs move to the proposal stage.
October 31: Proposal deadline. After review, the final batch moves forward for in-person pitches to the full Board of Trustees.
UVA grant seekers, are you already working on your proposal or considering applying for a Jefferson Trust grant? Consider these tips:
Keep your Letter of Inquiry (LOI)/proposal form succinct. The key is to sell the idea first and not get lost in extraneous details.
Use numbers to illustrate the scope and scale of your project whenever possible. Trustees want to clearly see the potential impact of your project—on the student experience, University community, or society at large.
Budgets are important, so double-check your numbers and make sure it all adds up.
Write for a lay audience. Not all reviewers are subject-matter experts in your field, so ask someone who is not affiliated with your project to read the LOI/proposal to see if they understand what you are presenting.
Focus on your project’s novelty, uniqueness, or the specific niche it fills. The Trust has recently moved into funding research projects but is limited to efforts that bring students into the lab or is completely new. Graduate thesis projects, existing projects, or projects that clearly could be funded elsewhere are not likely to receive a Trust grant.
Have additional questions? Visit our grant seekers page to view our grant guidelines and contact our Director of Grants, Amy Bonner, at 434-243-9078 or abonner@virginia.edu. An idea is more likely to be funded if we have a chance to work with the grant seeker. You may preview the LOI questions and the Annual Cycle Proposal.
Catch up on Trust grant projects recently featured in the news:
Year two of the Starr Hill Pathways program occurred this summer! See features of the camp in the Daily Progress, CBS19 News, and NBC29. In addition, the program has received additional grant funding to further programs, research, and support. Learn more from CBS19 News.
The Holsinger Studio Portrait Project’s “Visions of Progress” exhibition has ended, but additional programming is being planned and offered this fall. Check out this UVA Today feature to see what is in store.
Gideon French received a flash grant in 2021 to lead a team of undergraduate researchers in the digitization, transcription, and curation of private letters written by Rev. John W. Alvord, a Civil War Army Chaplain and Freedmen’s Bureau Superintendent of Schools and Finance. See this blog post about the work involved, history uncovered, and next steps in the project.
As we begin a new fiscal year, we also welcome a new chair, Alex Arriaga (Col ’87), and vice chair, Jenn Nisi (Engr ’98). Both are slated to serve two-year terms and guide the Trust towards new grantmaking and fundraising heights.
Alex Arriaga is the founder and partner at Strategy for Humanity LLC, a consulting firm that works with mission-driven organizations and those who fund them to achieve meaningful results. She has deep expertise on a breadth of global issues and policy development and a successful track record facilitating organization-wide priority-setting, strategic planning, and change management.
Earlier in her career, Alex held leadership roles at the White House, US Congress, and large international nonprofits. She has served as the Vice-Chair of the Jefferson Trust for the past two years, has been on the Board of Trustees since 2012, and serves on several Boards focused on education, disability inclusion, refugees, and human rights. Alex is bilingual and of Spanish and Chilean descent.
Jenn Nisi has been a Jefferson Trust Trustee since 2019. She is General Manager for Innovation in the Microsoft Industry Solution Group, helping customers achieve business outcomes through Digital Transformation and Process reengineering. In her more than 25 years with Microsoft, Jenn has served in various roles including Chief Technology Officer, Director of Global Workforce Planning, and P&L Leader for the Americas Industry Solutions Organization.
In 2003, Jenn established Sprout Creek Capital, which invests in early-stage seed startups, established technology funds, and new businesses in the Hudson Valley area. She brings her experience in scaling delivery and customer success organizations to founders throughout the Hudson Valley and the New York Metro Area. She continues to sit on the Board of Trustees for Dutchess Day School, a pre-k through 8th grade private school in Millbrook, NY.
Alex and Jenn bring extensive professional experience and a passion for all things UVA to their new roles. We look forward to the great years ahead!
The Jefferson Trust has awarded $96,350 across 14 flash funding grants since January.
“Creativity is key this semester! We have received a tremendous number of submissions, primarily from students, seeking to shake things up and move in new directions” shared Director of Grants, Amy Bonner.
Educational opportunities are the standout theme this spring. Whether it’s coming together to learn at programmatic events like the Darden Emerging Markets Conference, Virginia Undergraduate Investment Conference, and the Black Student Business Expo, creating a better way to study organic chemistry, or educational opportunities for incarcerated individuals, people around UVA are seeking out new ways to learn and engage.
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 2023 Flash Grants:
Darden Emerging Markets Conference: $10,000
International affinity clubs at Darden are organizing the inaugural Darden Emerging Markets Conference, bringing together thought leaders, professionals, academicians, and students to discuss business and growth opportunities and challenges in global emerging markets in a post-COVID world.
Laboratory for Citizen Education and Leadership: $10,000
Funding provides student leaders across Grounds opportunities to engage and learn from mixed-reality simulations, to increase leaders’ understanding of and capacity for thoughtful and ethical community-engaged leadership.
Behavioral Science Across Grounds: $9,240
Funding helps to establish the first formal gathering of behavioral scientists across the University, providing an opportunity for improved collaborations, better training, strategic planning, and a greater sense of community.
Creating a Cohesive and Coordinated Food Union: Food Union Banquet: $3,200
The Food Union aims to integrate all the UVA Food-related CIOs and their goals of food-related work. This spring’s banquet brings together student leaders, University leadership, and community members to strengthen relationships and to increase awareness about sustainable and just food systems.
Morven Student Days: $10,000
Morven Farms will be open to all students during Morven Student Days and will provide transportation to and from Grounds. Students can study, relax, learn, and explore Morven through unique programming opportunities.
Students participate in yoga during Morven Student Days this spring.
Orgopoly: The Organic Chemistry Monopoly/Gameboard: $1,522
A student-created game designed to review Organic Chemistry I and II, Orgopoly aims to innovate and enliven the process of studying chemistry.
Predicting Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at the Bedside: $3,187
Funding helps establish a student research project to understand the connection between brain activity in premature infants and abnormal social development linked to autism.
The Virginia Undergraduate Investment Conference (VUIC): $10,000
The Virginia Finance Institute is hosting the VUIC stock pitch conference, bringing students together from multiple universities to provide hands-on experience in equity analysis and investment skills, networking opportunities, and professional growth.
VLPP Prison Education Program : $10,000
In partnership with The Decarceration Clinic at UVA Law and Resilience Education (RE), funding expands the Entrepreneurial Reentry Education Program model to include law school students in developing and teaching educational course materials for incarcerated learners.
Black Economic Empowerment Society (BEES): $9,734
Through a business development program, educational events, and community partnerships, BEES aims to increase financial literacy, emphasize the importance of asset ownership, and empower Black UVA students to start businesses.
{in}Visible Magazine: $3,170
Funding helps to launch the first literary publication at the University of Virginia dedicated to Asian Pacific Islander South Asian American (APISAA) community on Grounds, creating a space for exploring and sharing unique experiences through writing and art.
Talking Trees: $1,546
With the purchase of a print press, a folio of wood prints is being created as a visual catalogue of the different species of trees from across Grounds, providing tangible education to UVA students.
America’s Disappearing Chinatowns: $5,250
This project aids in student research of Chinatowns around the US by exploring the emergence and endurance of Chinatowns within the larger global context and culminating in the creation of a book to document students’ observation and research.
UVA x Nocturnal Medicine: $9,500
In partnership with the nonprofit Nocturnal Medicine, the Student Association of Landscape Architecture and Design (SALAD) is planning an event in fall 2023 concentrating on regeneration, focus, re-grounding, and building community among School of Architecture students.
On April 21, active grant directors, Trustees, and some of our University partners met at Darden for the second annual Jefferson Trust Summit. The purpose was to provide additional resources to grantees and members of the University community. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents were able to engage and discuss the great work across Grounds.
In addition to multiple networking and brainstorming opportunities, structured events included panel discussions on making a pitch and promoting a project, as well as a resource fair. The resource fair was new for this year and gave grantees an opportunity to learn more about pan-University resources, such as the Licensing & Ventures Group, or external organizations, such as local media outlets.
“We are always looking to support our grantees and other members of the University community in any way we can,” noted Brent Percival, the Trust’s executive director. “The Summit is a way the Trust can add value beyond grantmaking alone, and I’m thrilled we could include other University and external partners this year”.
He went on to say, “we see the Trust as connecting inspired ideas with dedicated donors, and the more opportunities we have to do that, the better”.
The Trust will continue to look at new ways to bring people together, and if you have any ideas, please send us your thoughts, jeffersontrust@virginia.edu.
Our Annual Cycle application is open for the 2023-24 academic year! The Annual Cycle is intended for requests with budgets ranging from $10,000 to over $300,000, but there are no minimums and maximums vary based on available funds.
Important dates to remember:
April 13: First day to submit an LOI
Every Annual Cycle grant starts with a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), which is an opportunity to simply explain the idea (no need to justify it or cite sources; less is more). Requests are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Early LOI entries (before September 15) could have a chance for edit and resubmission.
October 1: Last day to submit a finalized LOI. From there, selected LOIs move to the proposal stage.
October 31: Proposal deadline. After further review, a final batch moves forward for in-person pitches to the full Board of Trustees.
January: Proposal pitches
February:Grants awarded
We encourage you to plan ahead! Visit our grant seekers page to view our grant guidelines and contact our Director of Grants, Amy Bonner, at 434-243-9078 or abonner@virginia.edu. An idea is more likely to be funded if we have a chance to work with the grant seeker.
Hosting trainings and events, conducting research and workshops—our grantees have been busy! Check out projects recently featured in the news:
The Trust was an early supporter of the Darden Prisoner Reentry Education Initiative, in 2013, and we’re thrilled to see its continued growth and impact in Darden News and on NBC29.
Learn about the community and programming C-ville Tulips has established in their UVA Arts Winter Magazine feature.
The Transformative Autism Biomarker Research Initiative, a 2020 grant recipient, received coverage from 13 News Now.
The School of Medicine’s, Medicine in Motion News highlighted the research work of Dr. Sean Moore’s Lab, Organ-on-a-chip technology, a 2023 annual grant recipient.
Researchers from Dr. Sean Moore’s Lab are researching organ-on-a-chip technology.
PBS News Hour highlighted the work and impact of the Holsinger Portrait Project, a 2022 grant recipient.
UVA and local researchers are creating and conducting new autism training for local emergency responders to improve patient interactions and care. Read more about this 2022 flash grant project.
The Virginia Law in Prison Project, one of our newest flash grant recipients, involves UVA Law students developing and teaching incarcerated individuals. Read more about the scope of their work in this UVA Today feature.
UVA Edge received a Trust grant in 2021. They’re continuing to expand and enhance their program for adult learners. Read their progress in UVA Today.
A 2022 grant recipient from The Equity Center, Starr Hill Pathways brings local middle-school students to Grounds to explore college and career pathways. A group of approximately 40 Starr Hill Pathways students visited Grounds recently to learn about UVA’s School of Nursing.
Orpheus & Erica: A Deaf Opera held performances in mid-March. This one-of-a-kind theatre experience brought together opera, deaf actors, and the UVA Chamber Singers.
The Jefferson Trust Board of Trustees has had a banner year, awarding almost $1.4 million to 14 new projects and programs.
“The decision-making process was extremely difficult,” shares Amy Bonner, Director of Grants for the Trust. “This grant cycle was record-breaking in terms of dollars sought and exceptional ideas. With this cohort, we have taken another great step forward towards our vision of seeing every great idea at UVA come to fruition.”
The Trust awarded its largest-ever single grant to the School of Data Science. Researchers will study the practices surrounding “collaboratories,” or interdisciplinary research, making UVA a national leader in the field and bringing broad resources to the University.
Sustainability was a key theme this year, with Printers 4 Kids and the Co-designing Circular Plastics Initiative focusing on how UVA can improve plastics recycling. UVA Sawmilling, the UVA Exhibit at Columbus 2023, and the Building Community at Biscuit Run Park all focus on sustainable materials in action. Other grant themes included community engagement, student experience, and cutting-edge research.
The 2022-23 Grants:
Printers 4 Kids: $30,000
This project is creating STEM kits for local Charlottesville schools from discarded electronic equipment and working to establish UVA’s first plastic recycling center.
Building Community with Architecture and Design at Biscuit Run Park: $200,000
The School of Architecture, in partnership with Albemarle County Parks & Recreation, will provide students with experiences in the design, fabrication, and construction of several innovative installations and multi-functional spaces.
C-Ville Tulips: $150,000
Led by the Center for American English Language (CAELC) and the Sound Justice Lab, this program will bring student volunteers together with local refugee women to support them in English instruction and digital literacy, as well as provide youth programming opportunities.
Evaluating Collaboratory Cultures: $298,693
The School of Data Science will research collaboration and promote the findings to illustrate how more collaborative groups and cultures can be built across Grounds and throughout academia.
Virginia Baja Racing: $25,000
Funding helps to reestablish the Virginia Baja Racing Team through the purchase of materials, parts, and equipment, enabling the team to compete in the Baja SAE event in May 2023.
OrChiD-Bio: Organs-on-a-chip with integrated detection of bioluminescence: $100,000
This research project aims to create a novel instrument that will detect bioluminescence in living cells embedded within organ-on-a-chip devices.
Piloting an Open-source Educational Manufacturing Model: $49,900
Funding radically expands a STEM kit program from proof-of-concept stages at Buford Middle School in Charlottesville to a national, open-source curriculum.
UVA Sawmilling: Fully Sustainable: $137,860
Funding helps UVA Sawmilling in purchasing equipment, enhancing programming, and supporting personnel to make the program a self-sustaining organization and expand its outreach.
[De]Construction Project: remapping the roles of design and implementation in the building industry: $136,550
Through a series of workshops that reimagine the construction industry, students will rethink the collaboration between the labor force, design process, and implementation.
In collaboration with UVA’s recycling division, this project will repurpose recyclable plastics and film plastics into outdoor and indoor furniture.
UVA at Exhibit Columbus 2023: $35,000
Students will create a unique, sustainable architectural installation for Exhibit Columbus 2023 that will ultimately be displayed on Grounds for the UVA community.
1st UVA Construction Engineering and Management (CEM) Competition: $22,729
Funding will bring undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and construction practitioners of the UVA Construction Industry Consortium and UVA Facilities Management together to build community and share ideas through competitive events.
Including Preschoolers with Autism: $61,841
Funding will develop and pilot a 12-week professional development program for preschool teachers of children with autism spectrum disorder.
The Sports Science and Analytics Collective: $123,314
The collective blends research and practical application in sports, healthy living, and musculoskeletal health to accelerate efforts in research, collaboration, and student education.
We received 19 proposals requesting $170,297 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 28, 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.
