Alumni grants

Be sure to apply for a grant well in advance of the event and when the funds are required. Grants will not be approved for an event that has already occurred. If your funding requirement is more than a year away please contact the alumni office for further guidance on when to submit your application. All applicants will be notified of the committee's decision within two weeks of the scheduled due date, assuming the application and budget are complete. The grant application due dates for the 2022-2023 academic year are:

• Monday, Sept. 12
• Monday, Nov. 14
• Monday, Jan. 9
• Monday, March 6

Grant requests received between April 1, 2023 and Sept. 1, 2023 may be considered by the committee on an individual basis; the applicant will be given feedback within three weeks of their date of application.

For further information or to save a pdf and submit via email, e-mail alumni@uvic.ca, or call 250-721-6000.

MANDATE

Alumni grants are allocated by the Grants and Awards Committee of the UVic Alumni Association. Priority is given for events, activities, clubs, or equipment that meet the following criteria:

1. Directly benefit the university experience of current students, and
2. Maintain or increase alumni engagement with the University of Victoria, and/or
3. Maintain or increase collaboration across campus among students, alumni, and university units.

FUNDS AVAILABLE

On average, successful grants range from $300 to $1000, with most grants ranging from $500 to $800.

TIMING OF APPLICATIONS

Applications for funds must be for events taking place, or when items are to be purchased, at least one month after the application deadline.

GUIDELINES

The committee uses the following guidelines to evaluate grant applications, and while these guidelines are generally followed, the committee reserves the right to evaluate each request on its own merit and decide accordingly. All grant applications must be sponsored by a UVic faculty or department advisor to oversee the grant funds (the Alumni Grant funds are not permitted to be transferred to a non charity). If you require assistance with finding a UVic faculty or department advisor, please email our office: alumni@uvic.ca. 

Preference (in no particular order) is given to grant requests that:

One-time REQUEST	Require a one-time allocation of funds for completion of a project or for an event that otherwise is self-sustaining.
Partial funding	Provide support for an event in which applicants seek additional funding sources to complete their total monetary needs.
Groups	Events that benefit more than one individual, for example, covering some expenses for student-groups to attend student-focused conferences.
Service to alumni	Result in a direct engagement to alumni or alumni groups, for example, a musical performance featuring alumni performers, or an alumni event for UVic athletes, or an honorarium for a guest speaker at a conference.
Equipment	Involve an equipment purchase that will benefit many students.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE	Result in a beneficial, intellectual, cultural and/or sustainability experience, for example, Youth Challenge International, Global Water Brigades.

The committee may choose to not evaluate an application for a number of reasons (e.g., late submission, does not meet guidelines, not enough information).

Please note that grant monies awarded must be used for the project or event described in the application. If, for any reason, the event or project does not occur, does not occur as described, or is delayed then the monies must be returned to the Alumni Association.

Grants will not be considered for:

Illegal purpose	Any purpose that is, or would result in, a contravention of university or government laws and policies.
Past events	Any event that has already occurred. See guidelines above regarding timing of applications.
Personal & professional development	Any purpose that solely benefits the applicant. For example, to complete coursework, conduct research, cover travel expenses, attend a conference. Neither will funding be provided to assist faculty in research-funded activities, such as, to cover research expenses, travel to conferences, or organize a conference to disseminate research findings.
EMPLOYMENT	Grant funds cannot be used to hire employees for a project or organization, nor can grants be used to pay employee salaries or benefits.
Overhead	General overhead and operating expenses for university units.
No specific purpose	Projects where no specific use is identified for alumni funds, such as when the funding would simply offset a project deficit.

FOLLOW-UP

It is required that all grant recipients submit a written report to the Grants and Awards Committee within the month following the date of the event or purchase of equipment.

The report will include the following:

• A summary of the event
• A description of how alumni funds were used or how they contributed to the overall objectives of the project or event
• The number of attendees/participants and of those, the number who were alumni.
• Photographs and/or video as relevant to the report.

The Grants and Awards Committee will periodically bring this information to the Alumni Board of Directors. In addition to the written report, an informal presentation may be made to the Board of Directors at one of their regularly scheduled meetings if time and circumstances permit.     

(Updated: January 2021)

It is expected that the application of alumni funds will result in positive recognition for the University of Victoria and the Alumni Association.  Some form of planned recognition for the financial support provided by the Alumni Association should be incorporated into the funding proposal, for example, a plaque on the donated equipment, or the alumni logo on an event program, acknowledgement on written materials such as a program or posters. Recognition should not involve any significant expense.

Please download and complete both the grant application and budget at least one month prior to the event/item acquisition date for which you are applying for funds:
 
UVic Alumni Association Grant Application (note some buttons on this form are only accessable once the form is downloaded)

Grant Application Budget Form (note some buttons on this form are only accessable once the form is downloaded)

For further information or to save pdf and submit via email, please e-mail alumni@uvic.ca, or call 250-721-6255.