Alumni Engagement Grant

Alumni Communities (including unified regions, geographic alumni communities, affinity, and affiliate groups) and individual volunteers have access to an IUAA grant. If you work with an IU staff member, please coordinate any grant requests with them before applying.

Alumni Communities should plan and budget for their yearly calendar of events based on the annual allocation funding received from the IUAA. Grant funds are available for additional financial support above the annual allocation.

Individual volunteers may also apply for grant funds to support their alumni engagement efforts.

Attendee data must be tracked for events and projects funded through the grant program.

Grants are awarded on a case-by-case basis. Alumni communities and individual volunteers may submit as many grant proposals as they wish; however, there is a cap on the total dollar amount awarded per alumni community or individual per fiscal year.

• Clearly define how the event will meaningfully engage IU alumni
• Demonstrate thoughtful planning and realistic timelines
• Include a clear promotional plan to attract attendees
• Align with IUAA’s values of collaboration, commitment, inclusion, and pride
• Show how the event contributes to building lasting alumni connections
• Indicate financial need or limited access to other sources of funding

Funding decisions also consider the existing budget available to alumni communities, and the overall alignment of the event with IUAA engagement goals.

Some strong applications may receive approval contingent on additional support or collaboration from an IUAA or staff liaison.

The Alumni Engagement Grants program is open on a rolling basis until all funds are awarded. While pop-up opportunities are welcome, we encourage early submissions—especially during summer planning to maximize support and event success.

Timing guidelines:

• Submit at least 2 months before your event whenever possible
• Applications will be reviewed within 30 days of receipt
• Notification will follow within 14 days after a decision is made
• Event reports are due within 30 days of the event
• Grant funds will be disbursed for eligible program related expenses within __ days after the event report and associated receipts are received

Note: Attendee data is required before grant funds can be disbursed

Awards letters will be emailed promptly after an approval decision is made. The approval letter will be addressed to the awardee cc’ing the awardee’s liaison. A maximum of $4000 will be awarded to selected applicants.

• Funding requests will be reviewed by the Grant Committee.
• Applicants will be notified of grant funding decisions within 30 days of the application submission.
• Funding is contingent on the event or program reasonably occurring as proposed. The applicant must notify their IUAA liaison if significant changes are expected that would impact the event or program as proposed.
• The IUAA may withdraw funding or request the return of funds for events or programs which are substantially reduced or inaccurately portrayed in the application.
• Grant reimbursement is contingent upon the completion of the grant reporting form, including:
  • List of event attendees.
  • Itemized receipts for qualified event expenses.
• Alumni communities: Consult with your liaison to determine the best method for receiving grant funds.
• Individual volunteers: Reimbursements will be made via check.

Each grant awardee will submit an event report no more than 30 days after the date of the event. The event report will include an Excel file attendance list delineating registrants that did and did not attend. The report will also include .jpg images of any receipts from the event.