By Brinda Patel
Staff Writer
The College secured funding for the second year from The Allstate Foundation in June, being one of 65 colleges and universities across the country to receive financial assistance to award individuals or student organizations with service mini-grants.
Katie Sheridan, the program manager of the Center of Community Engagement, was awarded a $15,000 grant from The Allstate Foundation, the nonprofit leg of the Allstate Insurance Company, to distribute to students who are interested in planning service activities independently or with an organization on campus. This is the second year The Allstate Foundation has partnered with the Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity to “support and drive youth-led service and leadership.”
“This is about encouraging and empowering young people at TCNJ and providing the support and the funding to let them thrive,” Sheridan told The Signal.
In an email sent to the campus community on Sept. 4, Sheridan said the funding will range from $250 to $1,000 to support students’ initiatives.
“We are able to support financially for either transportation, food for volunteers or supplies for the project. We cannot directly pay partners or students to do the service, but we want to help them get involved,” Sheridan said in an interview. “If students are not sure if their idea would qualify, they can reach out to me and just ask for ideas.”
Beach cleanups, sorting donations at a soup kitchen or collaborating with community partners who host English as a second language classes are a few examples that Sheridan mentioned. However, she encourages students to think creatively when pitching their ideas, given that there is no one right option.
Sheridan added that this semester, CCE will be awarding the mini-grant only once per individual or group. Students are allowed to enter twice, independently and part of an organization, only if someone else in their same organization takes the lead on the service opportunity.
She also noted that although the grant has been awarded to the school for the fall and spring semesters, she will be applying for it again this upcoming spring for the next academic school year. She adds that CCE is fortunate to receive it two years in a row, but it is a “very competitive grant process,” and her team wants to “always have opportunities to continue supporting students doing services.”
She encourages every student to “take a leap of faith and apply,” and with feedback given throughout the process.
A committee of five staff members at the school will review the applications and make sure the website’s requirements are met.
“I know oftentimes students will have great, big ideas, but money can be a hindrance. So hopefully, this would open doors to students who might have ideas but not be able to execute them without some additional support,” Sheridan said.
Eligibility criteria and application instructions are attached to the email.
Applications for the College Service Mini-Grants are due at midnight on Sept. 19. This deadline allows CCE to confirm that all proposals can be reviewed and approved by the committee with enough time for students to plan and host their event before the fall semester ends.
