The UCSF University Community Partnerships Program and council, in partnership with Tides Foundation, is offering grant funding to support projects that strengthen partnerships between the San Francisco community and the University.
Community-based organizations or UCSF faculty, students or staff are eligible to apply for these grants for projects that promote partnership activities between the community and the University. All projects must be implemented by San Francisco community-based partners for the benefit of San Francisco residents.
UCSF created the University-Community Partnerships Program in 2006 to empower the community to partner with the University and vice versa. The program is directed by a 20-member UCSF University-Community Partnerships Council, a group of passionate public service advocates consisting of 10 UCSF representatives and 10 members of the community.
"We felt it was important to invest in the community this way," said Dixie Horning, a member of the grants subcommittee for the council. "One of the missions of the University is to serve the community and one way that can be measured, besides the time and energy we put into programs, is to make a monetary investment in projects that support the community."
As Horning points out, the UCSF Strategic Plan, released in June 2007, calls upon the University to "promote civic engagement in all facets of activities at UCSF to strengthen partnerships between the campus and the community."
The council is charged with the important task of enabling faculty, staff and students to further improve the University's presence and participation in community partnerships and to assist the community in partnering with UCSF to address community needs.
And as such, grant money, ranging from $2,500 to $50,000, will be awarded to UCSF and community-based projects that are focused on:
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• service learning programs, which promote socially responsive, community-based educational experiences for UCSF students and residents, and which support faculty development in this area as well as providing an invaluable service to the community;
- • educational outreach, including partnerships with local school districts to improve K-12 science education and other programs;
- • community-based research and evaluation, emphasizing participatory models that engage and empower community members and community-based organizations by making them partners in research activities and
- • workforce and economic development programs targeting economically disadvantaged communities by building partnerships with local businesses, job training programs, and other agencies to improve the economic and civic environment in these neighborhoods.
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University-Community Partnerships Council members Dixie Horning, executive director of UCSF's National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, and Kevin Grumbach, professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, talk at a meeting of the council in 2006. |
All projects must be conducted by partnerships that include at least one eligible community organization (501(c) (3) or (504) tax-exempt IRS status) and have at least one eligible academic partner, including UCSF faculty, students, residents, postdoctoral scholars, fellows, clinical or professional staff.
Applicants for the new grants are required to attend workshops that will clearly describe the program, application process and answer any questions. Workshops begin on Tuesday, March 11. The application deadline is Friday, April 18.
To attend a workshop, RSVP to
[email protected] or call 415/476-5589 by Friday, March 7, 2008.
The following is the workshop schedule:
- • Tuesday, March 11, 6 p.m., 3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic, 5190 Third St., San Francisco
- • Wednesday, March 12, noon, Millberry Union, City Lights Room, 500 Parnassus Ave., San Francisco
- • Thursday, March 13, 5 p.m., Ida's Café, first floor, UCSF Center for Excellence in Women's Health, 2356 Sutter St., San Francisco
The University Community Partnerships Council has chosen to partner with Tides Foundation, part of Tides Network, to administer this grants program. Since 1976, Tides Foundation has partnered with donors and institutions by offering donor-advised funds, philanthropic advice and management services for progressive social change philanthropy. Tides is committed to strengthening community-based nonprofit organizations and the progressive movement through national and global philanthropy, creating a positive impact on people's lives in ways that honor and promote humans rights, economic justice and a healthy sustainable environment.
Photo by Elisabeth Fall
Related Links:
Grants webpage
Tides Foundation
UCSF Forms University-Community Partnerships CouncilUCSF Today, May 26, 2006
