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.

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.

Winter 2024 and Spring 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 summer or fall 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 impacted the recipient’s Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.
  • December 23: Award transfers/payments for winter projects
  • January 21 : Award transfers/payments for spring projects
  • April 29: Winter/Spring 2025 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant impacted 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 spring 2025 semester and be in good standing as defined in 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 winter/spring 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 April 29, 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.

Iowa Magazine
Explore the latest stories from Iowa Magazine.
Related Content

The UI's Academy for Twice-Exceptionality provides support for talented students, including those with autism or ADHD.

The University of Iowa and the UI Institute for Vision Research announced today that Alice and John Butler of Dubuque, Iowa, have given $5 million to accelerate progress toward treatments for blinding eye diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. The gift will establish the Alice L. and John E. Butler Vision Research Fund, which will support gene- and stem-cell based treatments for degenerative retinal diseases. Drs. Budd Tucker (left) and Ed Stone (right) beside a sterile isolation chamber containing one of the robots in development for the University of Iowa's Institute for Vision Research therapeutic stem cell program. ?As a leading research university, we are committed to finding answers to some of the world?s most pressing medical challenges, and this gift from Alice and John Butler provides the resources to reduce the timeline for discovery,? said UI President Bruce Harreld. ?The Institute for Vision Research, leveraging interdisciplinary research across four colleges and eight departments, is committed to finding answers that will help patients suffering from blinding eye diseases.? The Butlers' gift will benefit the UI?s clinical stem cell transplantation program and its goal to restore useful vision to people with advanced stages of retinal degenerations?ranging from common conditions like age-related macular degeneration to rare genetic forms of retinitis pigmentosa. The program seeks to use stem cells derived from the patient?s own tissue, correct gene mutations, and transplant them into the patient?s retina to restore vision. The gift will also support new research, including the effects of retinal degeneration on the ability of patients to drive safely. ?The loss of vision has a significant impact on a person?s life, and many of the conditions that cause vision loss are genetic. Being able to help identify and perfect a solution to prevent this from happening to people is incredibly impactful and meaningful to us,? said Alice Butler. Dr. Brooks Jackson, UI vice president for medical affairs and dean of the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, emphasized the impact the Butlers? gift will have on vision-related research and treatments at Iowa. ?Philanthropic support is in many ways a vote of confidence,? he said. ?This generous gift commitment from the Butler family is a testament to the expertise of our scientists and clinicians who are poised to advance discoveries and treatments for both common vision problems and rare eye diseases.? ?The Butlers' generous gift will support the state-of-the-art equipment and very talented people needed to move our gene- and stem-cell based treatments forward, which will ultimately allow us to restore vision to patients who have lost it,? said Dr. Edwin Stone, UI Institute for Vision Research director. Alice and John Butler have given their time and resources to countless organizations in their hometown of Dubuque and beyond. In 2011, the couple was awarded the Dubuque Telegraph Herald First Citizen Award in recognition of their contributions to the community. John Butler is the fourth generation in his family to lead Dubuque-based Cottingham and Butler, Inc., the fifth largest privately held insurance broker in the US and the 28th largest insurance brokerage firm in the U.S. Support?the Institute for Vision Research today.

Support. Inclusion. Acceptance. The University of Iowa Center for Advancement has established a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) affinity group that serves as a supportive and professional network for allied alumni.

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Statement unless you have disabled them in your browser.