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Home Student Philanthropy and Grants Opportunities Student Impact Grant

Student Impact Grant

Student Impact Grants provide funding for a variety of University of Iowa undergraduate and graduate student activities outside the classroom, such as research, travel, and service projects. The goal is to enable students to pursue opportunities that might not otherwise be possible without financial assistance.

The President's Office has generously allocated $7,000 per semester to help enhance the student experience through these grants. The designated funds come from generous philanthropic gifts made by alumni and friends who have chosen to provide unrestricted support to the university.

Grants are awarded twice a year. Applications are typically accepted for the summer/fall semester beginning in January and for the winter/spring semester beginning in September.

Read the stories of previous recipients.

The grants are made possible by a partnership between the Office of the President and Student Advancement Network (SAN).

GRANT GUIDELINES

Award Application Process

Applications will be considered for funding based on the timeline below. An online form will be available for students and student groups to use when the application period opens. A maximum of $7,000 in total grants will be awarded. Grant amounts will range from $100-$1,000 awards.

Summer and Fall 2025 Semester Award Grant Cycle

  • September 2 : Application opens
  • September 27: Application deadline (5 p.m.)
  • November 20: Grant recipients will be notified about funding requests for winter or spring semester.
  • December 4: Signed recipient agreement form due
  • December 3: Summer/Fall 2024 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant enhanced the recipient’s Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.
  • December 23: Award transfers/payments for summer projects
  • January 21: Award transfers/payments for fall projects
  • April 29: Winter 2024/Spring 2025 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant enhanced the recipient's Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.

Student Eligibility Requirements

  • Applicants must be enrolled full time as a University of Iowa undergraduate or graduate student for the fall 2025 semester and be in good standing as defined in the University of Iowa Code of Student Life.
  • Student groups or organizations must be recognized by the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership or by a University of Iowa department.
  • If your program is funded in full by other programs or funding methods your program is not eligible.
  • Program/experience must abide by all university guidelines. Grant funding does not permit activities that conflict with these guidelines.
  • Program/experience must abide by all university research guidelines. Grant funding does not permit activities that conflict with Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines. Funding does not provide IRB permission for the project.
  • Funding requests must be shown to improve or enhance the student experience and may not be used to reimburse research subjects. Recipients will share about this outcome during a biannual Student Impact Grant Presentation event.
  • Once a student receives a grant, they are not eligible for another University of Iowa Center for Advancement student grant within the next three years.
  • Grants are not renewable.
  • Recipients must present during the Summer/Fall grant recipient presentation detailing how the funds were used and how your Iowa experience was enhanced because of this award. Presentations will be held on Dec. 2, 2025.

Review Process

Members of the University of Iowa Student Advancement Network will review all submissions and make a recommendation. A University of Iowa Center for Advancement employee will oversee the scoring and review process. After review, recommendations will be sent to the Office of the President, which will make the final decision on all grant awards.

Awardees will then be notified of their selection to receive a grant, and payment will be provided by the Office of the President through a transfer to the student's U-Bill or student organization's account. The University of Iowa Office of Student Financial Aid will be consulted to ensure that funding does not affect other financial aid that a student may receive.

If you have questions, please contact Hannah McClintock at hannah.mcclintock@foriowa.org.

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For the Love of the Game

A University of Iowa scholarship supports students who have a passion for the game of basketball?all thanks to a few former UI basketball players. Pictured are former Iowa men's basketball players who took part in a charity basketball game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 1986. The first of three charity basketball games helped raise more than $300,000 for two UI scholarships. Front row (left to right): Ronnie Lester, Fred Brown, Bo Hairston, Rick Williams, Waymond King, Jim Hodge, Kirk Speraw, and Chad Calabria. Second row: Fred Haberecht, Craig Anderson, Steve Krafcisin, Steve Waite, Mike Henry, Greg Stokes, Michael Payne, Clay Hargrave, and Mark Gannon. Back row: Kenny Arnold, Ken Grabinski, Kevin Boyle, Dan Frost, Mike Gatens, Bobby Hansen, Dick Peth, Tom Norman, John Johnson, and Glenn Vidnovic. Basketball is more than just a game to Brooke Stout. Stout, who started playing basketball in the third grade while living on a farm outside of Washington, Iowa, learned countless life lessons on the hardwood. ?Basketball taught me to never give up and to work hard to accomplish my goals,? says Stout, who was a two-year varsity starter at Washington High School. ?My teammates were the reason I enjoyed basketball so much. The game produced some of my closest friends, and we learned responsibility, accountability, and to never give up on each other.? When Stout chose to come to the University of Iowa, she left competitive sports behind, including basketball. Because of her love for the game, though, Stout was a recent beneficiary of the Iowa Farm Scholarship/Iowa Basketball Letterman Fund, which provides one-year full-tuition scholarships to UI students who played basketball in high school and have a rural or agricultural background. The Iowa Farm Scholarship/Iowa Basketball Letterman Fund got its start during the 1980s farm crisis. While the economic downturn was wreaking havoc on rural Iowa families, a few Hawkeye basketball letterwinners decided to help. ?We wanted to find a way to give back to the state that we represented and to the people who supported us during our time on the court,? says Mike Gatens (76BA), an Iowa City native who earned three varsity letters under former coaches Dick Schultz and Lute Olson. ?We thought it would be great to have an alumni basketball game and have the money go toward helping those affected by the farm crisis.? In 1986, Gatens and other UI basketball letterwinners held the first of three alumni basketball games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Their efforts were substantial, raising $300,000 over five years to support two endowed scholarships: the Iowa Farm Scholarship/Iowa Basketball Letterman Fund and the John Streif Men?s Basketball Scholarship, which honors the longtime Iowa athletic trainer. While Stout says the full tuition scholarship has improved her Iowa experience, other recipients such as Kaylee Kortenkamp?who suffered a career ending basketball injury during her time at East Buchanan High School in Winthrop, Iowa?said it has helped her get involved in organizations such as Dance Marathon. ?This scholarship has allowed me to focus so much more on my studies in biomedical engineering and get involved on campus,? says Kortenkamp, who received the scholarship in the 2017-18 academic year. ?I can?t express how grateful I am to these individuals who believe in future generations.? To date, the Iowa Farm Scholarship/Iowa Basketball Letterman Fund has supported 58 students by using the interest accrued each year to award the scholarship. Gatens said he?s been humbled to meet several of the recipients and see that the former Hawkeyes? work more than 30 years ago continues to have an impact on Iowa?s students. ?As a kid in Iowa City, I dreamt of being a basketball player at Iowa, and I was fortunate enough to be a scholarship athlete,? says Gatens. ?It?s so important to give back so that others can participate and have memorable experiences. Through these scholarships, we have been able to help some really good kids.? If you or someone you know may qualify for the Iowa Farm Scholarship/Iowa Basketball Letterman Fund, learn more.

Iowa Alumni Networks

Whether you ended up across the state or across the ocean since your time at Iowa, you can meet fellow Hawkeyes through volunteer-led clubs and alumni affinity groups.

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