This spring the Jefferson Trust launched a new funding opportunity – Flash Funds. Awarded on a monthly basis as long as funds last, Flash Funds seek to meet more immediate needs of the University community.
Eight awards totaling just over $50,000 were funded in March and April. These flash grants include:
Virginia Quarterly Review Podcast Initiative: $8,000
The goal is to launch a radio storytelling series that brings the magazine’s artful style and civic relevance to a globally syndicated podcast—modeled after The New Yorker Radio Hour and The Daily from The New York Times. VQR, one of the country’s most prestigious literary journals, won a National Magazine Award for general excellence this year.
Lightbulb: $10,000
Lightbulb is a unique web platform for college campuses that connects people with ideas to people who have the skill to implement them—helping overcome the most fundamental problem that aspiring entrepreneurs face. Users can approach the platform with an idea (while looking for the right talent to execute it) or as someone with valuable skills to help others with their ideas.
WICS Hack for the Future: $1,400
Women in Computing Sciences (WiCS) supports and celebrates the growing community of women in computing. Every year, WiCS hosts a hackathon at UVA to inspire coders (specifically targeting minorities in the CS industry) to create innovative projects and build their confidence through various workshops. Funding will expand this hackathon in its second year.
Coding for Kids: $2,400
This program supplements the technology and computer science curricula at Charlottesville City Schools—helping combat the pipeline problem in STEM fields through face-to-face, interactive, small-group lessons led by students and faculty from UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce.
Solar Education Community Outreach Program: $2,850
The program teaches Charlottesville middle school students about the logistics and benefits of solar technology, providing a greater understanding of our society’s options with respect to energy sources.
Community Engagement Training Video: $7,940
The Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Outreach will create a set of short training videos for UVA students seeking community service opportunities.
Echols Scholars Symposium: $10,000
Echols Scholars, while in their final year as undergraduates, will present what they have learned from their coursework in individual fields of study and at the intersection of various disciplines.
Ripple Fellowship: $10,000
This summer intensive is dedicated to training students in venture development, that they might eventually serve as entrepreneurial mentors for their peers—transforming UVA’s entrepreneurial culture as well as pioneering a national model.
