Request for Proposals

Projects must demonstrate a commitment to the complementary value of humanistic thinking in college-community partnerships and seek to counter the narrative that the liberal arts, especially in humanistic fields, are exclusive, disengaged from the public sphere, and are poor preparation for employment.

This program seeks solutions to Holland’s most “wicked problems,” such as inclusion, housing, healthcare, the environment, technology, infrastructure, education, incarceration, employment, social mobility, entrepreneurship, economic development, and civic culture. These issues directly relate to Holland’s and Hope College’s demographic data:

• Hope College’s student population does not mirror that of our community, specifically for Hispanic/Latino and African American populations.
• Holland’s median household income lags behind both Ottawa County and the United States.
• With 13.2% of people in Holland living below the poverty line, it is greater than Ottawa County (8.2%) and the national average (11.8%).
• For educational attainment, the number of Holland residents without high school diplomas (12.4%) is greater than Ottawa County and the State of Michigan (7.8% and 9.8%, respectively).

These are only a few characteristics which demonstrate the divisions between Hope College and our surrounding community. This program seeks to expand diversity and inclusion activities for our faculty, staff, and students by connecting them with community partners to demonstrate the power of the humanities to transform the lives of others.

Humanities Engagement

What humanistic concepts, methods and/or topics are addressed by the project? Be specific. What constitutes the “humanities”? The “definition” of the humanities can be broad and transcend departments and disciplines, and can be defined in terms of subject, methods and/or impact. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports projects to sharpen “critical thinking to create a generation who can help steer a more engaged, multivocal and truly democratic society.” Applicants are encouraged to carefully consider and communicate in the Proposal what humanistic concepts are the foundation for their work, and to explain how their project creates “spaces where the ideas that enrich our understanding of a complex world are created and elevated,” which aligns with the goals of the Foundation’s Higher Learning Program. 

Project and Principal Investigator Eligibility

This program will support projects at a variety of stages, including proof of concept projects and implementation grants. These projects are defined as:

• Proof of concept grants are made to a team which has little to no history of collaboration. Grants may be used to convene organizations or individuals for exploration, strategize further project implementation, or run a small pilot project to acquire additional data.
• Implementation grants will be provided to groups with a history of collaboration, have a well-developed project plan with demonstrated need and evaluation metrics, and need funding to support implementation, management, and evaluation. Projects are expected to be beyond the proof of concept or pilot phase and have sufficient data to demonstrate need and the proposed approach is appropriate.

For any category, proposers are expected to clearly articulate the “wicked” challenge their project seeks to address, with a corresponding need statement. Additional details on the required content of the application follow in the “Application Requirements” section.

Proposals must have a Hope College Principal Investigator (PI) and a community partner Co-Principal Investigator. The Hope College PI must be:

• From an arts, humanities, or humanistic social-sciences discipline; and
• Tenured, tenure-track, or a professor of instruction with a multi-year appointment.
• Hope College partners with a different status may be considered under certain circumstances.

Eligible community partners should be:

• A 501(c)(3) non-profit;
• A local or state government agency, including a local public school or school district;
• A for-profit organization, although such a partner may not receive grant funds. Please see the “Eligible Expenses” section for additional details.

Ineligible community partners include:

• Individual community members without an organizational affiliation;
• Organizations which have been debarred or suspended from receiving federal or state funds.

Levels of Support

Three levels of support are offered under this program. A description of each of these levels follow below.

For multi-year projects, applicants will be expected to submit annual progress reports to outline their key milestones accomplished during the preceding 12 month period. Annual progress reports will be reviewed by the Mellon Community Partnership Leadership Team for approval for the next year’s funds—funding is not guaranteed without sufficient progress towards the original project’s milestones.

Eligible Expenses

Proposers may include a variety of costs in their submissions including:

• Salaries and wages;
• Fringe benefits;
• Travel for purposes of project planning, implementation, or management;
• Materials and supplies; or
• Consultants.

Funds may NOT be used for:

• Travel to conferences or meetings not directly related to project planning, implementation, or management;
• Occupancy costs, such as utilities, space rental, and other associated costs; and
• Indirect costs.

All project budgets must allocate 50% or more of the budget to the community partner. The Hope College Office of Sponsored Research and Programs will be responsible for issuing and managing subcontracts under this program; the decision to award a fixed-price or cost-reimbursable subcontract under this program resides with OSRP and under the requirements of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation contracting guidelines.

If a project proposes a for-profit community partner, the entity may NOT receive any grant program funds. The for-profit partner must contribute cost-share (either in-kind or cash) towards the project at a level commensurate with their role in the overall project. Cost-share from the community-partner may include:

• Value of the for-profit partner’s own staff in the project;
• Value of services or property contributed to the project; and/or
• Providing space or other resources towards project execution.

The amount, type, and value of these contributions will vary by project and the list above is not intended to be exhaustive. Proposers will need to provide documentation of the commitment from for-profit partners in the proposal.

Expected Beneficiaries

As with all community partnership programs, community members are expected to benefit from projects emanating from this program. While Hope faculty, staff, and students may benefit from the program, the primary beneficiaries are expected to be the community at large. Projects without a substantial benefit to the community will not be competitive.

Applicants will need to identify their expected beneficiaries during the proposal process. Applicants should provide the context of their selected audience within the “wicked” challenges identified above.

For partnerships involving for-profit partners, the primary beneficiaries should be low-income individuals. For purposes of this program, “low-income” is defined as those whose annual income is 150% of the U.S. poverty rate for a family of four (two adults and two children). This amounts to an average income of $38,198.

Preproposal/Proposal/Award Deadlines

Please note: The latest possible end date for any project is June 30, 2023.

Proposal Scoring and Review Process

This program will solicit awards via a two stage process. Applicants must submit a brief online pre-proposal. Pre-proposals will be reviewed by the Director and Associate Director in consultation with the Mellon Community Partnerships Leadership Team to determine which projects will be invited for a full proposal.

Requested full proposals will be reviewed by the leadership committee according to the following criteria:

Contact

Questions about the program may be directed to Annie Dandavati, professor and interim director of the initiative or Marsely Kehoe, assistant director.