In 2013, the University of Central Missouri’s Alumni Foundation launched the Opportunity Grant Program. This program serves as a resource for staff and faculty to apply for grants to support student-centered initiatives. The grants are funded by donors who wish to support the furtherance of facilities and opportunities on campus.
“The Opportunity Grant Program is unique to UCM and enables big dreams from our faculty and staff to become a reality,” Page Shinn, Graduate Assistant of Annual Giving, said. “It’s our way of fulfilling our mission to transform the lives of our students. Having benefited from several of these grants like the Campus Cupboard and Professional Clothing Studio, I know firsthand how impactful they can be.”
Opportunity Grants are made possible by donor contributions to the Central Annual Fund. The Central Annual Fund allows alumni and other donors to donate to support UCM, through their online form. These funds go on to help finance student experience and facilities on campus.
Applicants are staff and faculty bringing forward the initiatives to help students. Applicants are able to submit proposals for up to a maximum possible award of $20,000 for grants. This allows for opportunities to make changes on campus that benefit students.
Sarah Ray Rondot, Director of Gender and Sexuality Studies, spoke on her Opportunity Grant experience.
“The Opportunity Grant allowed me to provide 32 boxes across the UCM campus with free menstrual products for students,” Rondot said. “Over the course of 6 months, we filled and refilled these boxes for a total of more than 8,000 pads and more than 6,000 tampons… This grant impacted assigned-female-at-birth students greatly; many reported having been “saved” by the boxes on a number of occasions when they otherwise would have been forced to leave campus to pick up a period product. This project expanded access for AFAB students on our campus and raised awareness about the notion of ‘period poverty.’”
Further, not every grant has to go towards social programs. There are also educational uses for the grants. Another recipient of a grant, Corey Werner, Associate Professor in Geography, explains the impact of Opportunity Grants.
“I was able to use the Opportunity Grant to begin launching weather balloons,” Werner said. “Students in my Weather and Climate class helped with the inaugural balloon launch in September. That balloon’s payload included an instrument package to measure atmospheric properties, which my students looked at in the lab the following week. In addition, it included a VR camera and a GoPro camera.”
If you want to learn more about Opportunity Grants, visit the Alumni Foundation website page for more information at https://ucmfoundation.ucmo.edu/opportunity-grants/
