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Impact Funding Award for Internships, Research & Creativity, Travel, and Service Learning

The Impact Funding Awards at Catawba College were established to support student engagement in internships, research & creativity, travel, and service learning opportunities. Funding awards range from $100-$3000. Catawba students are eligible to receive one (1) funding award per academic year (Fall / Winter / Spring / Summer) with a maximum of $3,000 while enrolled. All enrolled students at all levels and from all majors are eligible to apply.

Impact Funding Awards for Catawba students will be awarded by:

Internships
Awards for internships will be added to your financial aid package and a refund check for the amount will be provided by the Business Office.

Research & Creativity
Awards for research and creativity will be added to your financial aid package and a refund check for the amount will be provided by the Business Office.

Travel Program
Awards for travel will be deposited in the program account to pay expenses.

Service
Awards for service will be deposited into a program account to pay expenses.

Student Eligibility Requirements

Internships
Students must have secured an UNPAID internship for non-profits, government, education, arts, public service, or other organization that does not traditionally pay its interns. In some situations, a student with a paid internship may be eligible (consult internship director).

Research & Creativity
Students must have secured a mentor, advisor, or supervisor who will oversee this funded research or creative experience.

Travel Program

Student must be enrolled in a Catawba course with travel or participating in a travel experience approved by the Center for International Studies; and
Students must have applied for and exhausted funds from the International Study Scholarship.

Service
Students must have secured a mentor, advisor, or supervisor who will oversee this service project. Please contact Jonathan Boles for guidance at jcboles@catawba.edu. Read more about the criteria for service.

Additionally, students must:

Be a currently enrolled student (seniors graduating before the internship / research & creative begins are not eligible to apply);

Attend a mandatory workshop after funding awards are granted but before internship (professional development) and research & creativity (best practices);

Have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or above;

Participate in 1-2 activities (ex. events, programs, blogs, videos, etc.) during the academic year in order to share their stories about their internship or research & creativity experiences (REQUIRED); and

Submit a budget with their application and proof of expenses (receipts, rental agreements, etc.) after the experience to the appropriate Impact Director (REQUIRED).

Funding Criteria

Awards CAN be used for:

Required materials, equipment, and/or supplies needed to complete the internship or research & creativity experience
Travel (i.e. airline tickets) and transportation (i.e. public transportation) expenses directly associated with completing the impact experience
Lodging expenses while on location to complete the impact experience

Awards CANNOT be used for:

Supervisors stipends, salaries, etc.
Personal use (clothing, entertainment)
Conference Registration or Entry Fees

Application Directions

Applications should be submitted online at www.catawba.edu/impactapp. Students should be prepared to provide detailed information on the online application.
Submission deadlines are as following. No Impact Funding Awards will be considered after the deadline.

Required Application Materials	Semester/Term Needing Funding	Deadline	Funding Awards Granted
Student application Mentor/ supervisor/ advisor letter of support IRB approval – if needed	Winter/ Spring	October 16	November 16
	Summer/ Fall	April 1	May 1

A current Catawba College faculty member must write and submit a letter of support for student funding requests. The letter of support should address the following:

Describe how the student will be mentored/ supervised/ advised during the experience.
Describe the intended end product of the student’s experience.
State if and how the student’s experience and/or work will be evaluated.
Your assessment of the applicant’s motivation, abilities, experience, and/or interests that make him or her well suited for this award and able to complete the experience as proposed.
Your assessment of how this award and completing this experience might benefit the applicant.
Site mentors/advisors/supervisors (Catawba or non-Catawba affiliate) of grant recipients will receive an evaluation about the student’s performance to be completed and returned using an online portal.

Award Selection Rubric:

The following is used to rate student applications:

	Does not meet expectations	Somewhat meets expectations	Meets expectations
Funded Purpose	Does not meet funding criteria		Meets funding criteria
Budget Description	Vague description	Questionable description	Thorough description
Faculty Support	Poor support	Moderate support	Strong support
Project Description	Vague and/or weak description	Moderately clear description and/or has limitations	Clear and/or well-thought out description
Transformative Learning	No or limited connection to College mission	Moderately clear connection to College mission	Excellent connection to College mission

Apply for the Impact Funding Award