The Student Association is now taking applications for the SA Community Impact Fund, which will provide financial support for student-led initiatives that have direct and tangible impact on communities external to HBS. Applications for the Fall process are due on November 28.
In line with the Student Association’s mandate to support the interests of HBS students, the SA announced this month that they will be supporting the SA Community Impact Fund for its second straight year. Funded as part of the annual SA budget, the Fund will distribute up to $20,000 during the 2008 academic year to support HBS Students who undertake projects that positively impact the broader community.
“The Student Association is proud in helping students help others,” said Fred Smith, Co-President of the Student Association. “So many students have great ideas for outreach projects, and we want to use the fund to enable these initiatives to become reality. We believe it is within the SA’s mandate to provide support to students who want to make a positive impact on the broader community.”
In order to qualify for funding, at least one of the leaders on the proposed project must be a current HBS student. The Fund is looking to support initiatives with direct and tangible impact, where the primary beneficiary of the subsidy and/or service is external to the HBS community. Preferred are projects where the results materialize within six months of the award. In the past, the Fund supported student-led initiatives such as transportation costs for the New Orleans Trek, raw material support for a student-led project in Africa, and direct costs related to fundraising activities.
“We encourage students who have great ideas to apply, especially those where the lack of funding is a strong consideration,” said John Coleman (EC), a SA Senator and Chair of the Community Impact Fund Committee. “We know there are individuals and groups wanting to start new programs or expand current ones, and the SA wants to support them as much as possible.”
Applications for this Fall’s funding process are due to Senator John Coleman (jcoleman@mba2009.hbs.edu) by November 28, 2008. Applicants are encouraged to submit a detailed, one-page project proposal and make themselves available for a possible presentation to the Senate on December 2 (the Senate will decide on the proposal by majority vote shortly thereafter). The proposal should include:
1. A brief description of the project, including the timing and nature of the impact.
2. A complete list of participants (noting HBS students and partners explicitly), and the related contact information (including email and phone no).
3. A realistic, itemized account of the costs associated with the project, including specific details about costs to be covered by the fund.
4. Any alternative sources of funding.
We will be hosting an information session for the Community Impact Fund in the coming week- please ask your section senator for details. Also, feel free to contact Community Impact Fund Chairs Senator John Coleman (EC), Senator Jamie Chang (RC, jchang@mba2010.hbs.edu), and Senator Patrick Chun (RC, pchun@mba2010.hbs.edu) with any questions.
