Projects for Peace

Fall 2021 Semester: Contact organizations, learn, conceptualize your project. Work on a proposal. In person advising available.

January 14, 2022: Proposals due! Check on BCLS website for final submission instructions in November

January 21, 2022: Finalists are notified

January 28, 2022: Finalists presentation and Q+A with judges (20 minute appointment between 9am-12pm)

Late May 2022: Funding dispersed

Summer 2022: Project implementation

Late August 2022: Final report due to BCLS

You will upload a 4-page word document in the application, including the title page, proposal narrative, and budget. The document must use Arial 10 point font and have 1” margins for top, bottom, right, and left margins.

Title page

• Title of Project (Final Report title must match project Proposal title)
• Country of project implementation
• Designated Project Leader name and the complete list of student team members; for each student named, please list: a. home country b. college/university c. UWC school attended if applicable
• Associated project blog or website if applicable

Proposal narrative: What? Where? Why? Provide the overall purpose of your proposal. Discuss topics such as describing the issue, why there is a need for a call to action, how you and your team plan to collaborate with partners and communities to enact this positive change, and other topics that will help distinguish your proposal.

• Maximum of 2 pages

Budget: Identify expected budget costs and additional funding. Support your budget by providing contextual information that justifies your funds for expenses (travel, accommodation, project supplies, equipment, food, visas, transportation, etc.).

• 1-page maximum
• Estimate costs in U.S. dollars (USD)
• Categories to consider including

• Student Expenses

• Travel (Including airfare): Expenses for airfare, car rentals, fuel and maintenance, public transportation, and/or any other travel-related costs for the student team only. Include expenses for both travels to the project focus region and within the project focus region.

• Lodging: Lodging costs for the student team only, such as hotels, apartments, homestays, and utility costs. This does not include lodging costs for guests, beneficiaries, or other participants not on the student team.

• Communications: Personal communication costs for students only. For example, cell phones and minutes, calling cards, internet service.

• Food: Food expenses for the student team only, including food purchased while traveling and working in the project focus region. Enter expenses on a biweekly basis.

• Miscellaneous: Any additional personal costs that do not fall into the student expense categories above. For example, vaccinations, visas and country entrance fees, etc. Enter expenses every week.

• Non-Student Expenses

• Non-Student Travel and Lodging: Travel and lodging expenses for project staff, volunteers, beneficiaries, and anyone else involved in the project which is not a member of the student team.

• Direct Equipment and Supplies: Equipment and supplies necessary for the direct implementation of the project and fulfillment of the project’s mission. For example, construction materials, books, computers, agricultural materials, start-up costs. Enter expenses on a weekly basis.

• Marketing and Event Support: Materials used to support the project but not for the direct fulfillment of the project’s mission. For example, marketing materials, infrastructure rental, media documentation materials, event support materials (i.e., refreshments). Enter expenses on a weekly basis.

• Staffing Costs: Any stipends or payments to guests, professional mentors, contractors, community participants.

• Miscellaneous: Any additional project expenses that do not fall into the previous categories. For example, donations for project sustainability, incorporation fees, funding for continued research, etc. Enter expenses on a weekly basis.

Letters of support

• Short letters of support from community organizations, UF faculty, or student groups that have collaborated with you on this project. The letters should outline their input and how they plan to be involved in the project as we advance. There is no set amount of letters, but between 1-3 is preferable to submit and upload as a PDF.

Judging will take place in two phases.

Phase 1: Proposal Submission: All proposals will be judged on the following:

• Clear and thought out proposal: Does the student show clear objectives, activities, and articulate a problem in the local Gainesville community? Have they anticipated project challenges?
• Feasibility of the project/meets a need: Will the project contribute to meaningful change on their topic? Will the project be able to be carried out in the allotted amount of time and do they have plans for sustainability?
• Wise use of funds Will the $10,000 be spent on materials that can support project activities and benefit the community directly? Some funds can be spent on travel and accommodation, but it should not be the bulk of the budget. Students are encouraged to include a budget justification narrative to explain costs.
• Community Involvement: Is there an effort to involve the local community in project planning and implementation? How do students engage with other stakeholders to create an inclusive project?

Phase 2: Presentation
The finalists will deliver a short presentation of their project for the judges (2/3 slides) and answer questions about their application. This is a time for applicants to show their knowledge of the project/issue and demonstrate that they have thought of possible challenges. Community partners will be asked to attend this session to show support and help answer questions. The judges will make their final decision after presentation day.

For each funded project, the responsible student(s) must prepare and submit a final report to the Brown Center for Leadership & Service once the project has been executed. The final report is to be limited to two pages of narrative with an accounting of the funds expended and one page of digital photographs of the project.

Final narratives should include:

• a brief restatement of the project’s purpose/plans
• actual work completed, outcomes/achievements/ failures
• long-term prospects of the initiative

Final reports may be posted on the program’s website. A complete set of reports will be compiled for the Davis Foundation and the Davis family as a way of thanking Mrs. Davis for her faith and investment in young and motivated peacemakers.

• Students may have a member of the Brown Center for Leadership & Service staff provide feedback on preliminary draft during the period.
• Students are also encouraged to seek feedback about their proposal from experienced professionals
• Any alternates selected will be finally agreed to in late March.
• Funding will be dispersed in May.
• Projects are to be completed during the summer session following reciept of the grant.
• Final reports are due to the Brown Center for Leadership & Service by late August.
  

Undergraduate students who plan to enroll in courses in fall of the summer after the project will be completed are eligible. Groups of students from the same campus, as well as individual students, may submit proposals.

Project for Peace recipients will receive $10,000. However, projects in need of or with larger budgets as well as those that currently being co-funded from other sources (such as other philanthropists, a college or university, foundation, NGO/PVO or students’ own funding) are welcome to submit proposals.

Funding Disbursement Policy
If selected as the Projects for Peace winner, the disbursement of the grant will be done through vendor disbursement. This means that either one member of the project team or the project team’s organization will need to become a vendor of the University of Florida. If selected, the BCLS staff will provide guidance on this process. At this time, this is the only option for fund disbursement.

**It is important to note: becoming a vendor of the university means that you will be taking on the grant as additional income. It is your team’s responsibility to identify what financial implications this has for you specifically. Please be sure to research any and all outcomes of becoming a vendor and receiving a $10,000 grant.