A Go Grants workshop was held in the Writing Center of Park Library on March 5 after President Neil MacKinnon announced the new initiative to give opportunities to provide grants to student groups and organizations on Feb. 11.

The Go Grants Initiative is designed to help keep Central Michigan University on track for its five-year strategic plan created in 2023. Go Grants is a one-time opportunity to give students, staff and faculty groups $5,000 to $50,000 in grants to help fund proposals made by the students.

Any groups of students and staff, department and division can participate. This initiative started on Wednesday, Feb 12 and the deadline to apply is Friday, March 21.

Former Chair of the Academic Senate and CMU professor Tracy Davis said that CMU’s strategic plan was created in 2023 and was used as a way to guide CMU in a path of inclusivity and greater engagement with students and community members.

“Every business has a five-year plan,” Davis said. “It’s a guidance that helps us figure out what it is that our administration wants us to do.”

In order to apply, the Go Grants must meet one of four priorities in the strategic plan:

It must “inspire student and scholarly success” by finding ways to address societal issues, help support students in need and create more learning opportunities for students on campus
Create community engagement by collaborating with groups and organizations outside of the CMU community
Enhance different cultures and expanding ways to be inclusive to everyone on campus
Enhance on-campus sustainability.

Along with these four priorities, proposals must have goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound, or what is called “S.M.A.R.T. goals.” These proposals must also fit the S.M.A.R.T. goals that align with each priority in the strategic plan, Davis said.

Davis organized this workshop and was one of the members to form the strategic plan back in 2023. She said that the goal of the initiative was to educate students on CMU’s strategic plan and get a better understanding of the needs and wants of students on campus.

“The idea here is that students have a very unique perspective,” Davis said. “(It’s) to explain what the priorities are and why they exist.”

The students who came were given strategies and skills in grant writing. These skills included:

How to keep grants brief
How to make proposals S.M.A.R.T.
How to use word choices strategically
How to pitch a project

Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Education Jennifer Weible was one of the main professors helping students with grant writing. Weible also has experience in grant writing and teaches a grant writing class on campus.

“This is one way the university can give money to students,” Weible said. “(Go Grants) has a lot of potential for sparking some innovation and making sure student’s voices are heard.”

Many students who attended already had projects in mind for their Go Grant.

One of them was Emily Hansard, the vice president of Student Advocates for Prison Reform and the Incarcerated (SAPRI). She said her group is looking for Go Grant funding so they can host programs that give students a different perspective on those leaving incarceration. Their goal is to bring students in and spread awareness of the social justice system and incarceration.

“We want to invite people who don’t have any experience in a way that’s more than just a slide show,” Hansard said.

The student proposals will then be reviewed by the Budget Priorities Committee which they will check for: