Student Grants, Awards + Stipends

Students use the same application and process to apply for both awards. Applicants will be asked to provide the following:

1. Resume
2. Unofficial copy of transcript
3. Description of accomplishments (described in guidelines below)
4. One letter from a person who knows your accomplishments very well because they have supervised or observed your work directly. This person may be a faculty member or staff member, or they may be a leader in the organization or community in which you worked and not affiliated with Cornell. The recommender may not be a student. See the Letters of Recommendation Instructions section.
5. A second letter from a Cornell faculty or staff member who knows you well and can speak to your general qualifications for this award including your personal attributes, leadership skills and service orientation. See the Letters of Recommendation Instructions section.

Items 1-3 should be submitted online to the student application. Letters of recommendation should be uploaded to the letter of recommendation submission form. 

Description of accomplishments

Describe your accomplishments in a coherent narrative no longer than 1,000 words. The essay should be well-written and include sufficient detail about your accomplishments to explain why they are worthy of recognition. Answer the following questions as you describe your project, but do not organize your description by question number. Provide additional information as needed.

1. In what community was your work conducted?
2. What community needs did your work address? How did you know about these needs?
3. What were the specific objectives of your work?
4. How was your work designed to meet these objectives?
5. To what extent did you begin this project from scratch or build upon an existing effort?
6. Who else (persons or organizations) was involved in the development and project activities?
7. How was your work carried out?
8. What resources were involved and where did these come from?
9. How has this work impacted the people it was intended to serve? How do you know this?
10. How innovative is this work in addressing the needs of the community? Why do you think so?
11. In what ways might this work become a model for other settings?
12. Will this work be sustained after your involvement? If yes, how will this happen?
13. Explain your specific contributions to this effort. How did your efforts, skills and personal attributes make a difference in this community?
14. What were your biggest challenges and how did you overcome these hurdles?
15. Describe your biggest leadership lessons during this project? How have you passed these lessons on to the project’s future leaders?
16. Describe any funding, academic credit, or credit toward a service requirement for this work that you received for this work.

Students are asked to provide two letters of recommendation to complete their application:

1. One letter from a person who knows your accomplishments very well because they have supervised or observed your work directly. This person may be a faculty member or staff member, or they may be a leader in the organization or community in which you worked and not affiliated with Cornell. The recommender may not be a student.
2. One letter from a Cornell faculty or staff member who knows you well and can speak to your general qualifications for this award including your personal attributes, leadership skills, and service-orientation.

Recommenders should upload their letters of recommendation to the letter of recommendation submission form.

We expect that the student’s accomplishments have involved engaging with the community to understand the issues, develop ideas for appropriate solutions, and then work effectively with others in implementing the approach. Award winners may be recognized for accomplishments that have been particularly creative and innovative. However, award winners may also be recognized for their important leadership accomplishments in revitalizing, expanding, strengthening, or evaluating programs so that they are more effective and sustainable.

The student’s leadership accomplishments may have occurred through a small self-initiated project or as part of a large team project. For students who have worked as team members, the student should have been engaged in a substantial way in the overall project, held critical responsibilities for one or more parts, and made important, identifiable contributions to the project and its outcomes. Examples of particularly important contributions might be one or more of the following:

1. creative ideas for design, implementation, or problem-solving;
2. original work contributing to the development of project materials or methods;
3. leadership in building project teams and collaboration with communities so that project can succeed; or
4. original work in designing or conducting needs assessment and evaluation.

Instructions for recommender who has directly observed the applicant’s accomplishments

Please provide us with a confidential evaluation of this student’s responsibilities and contributions to the well being of persons within or beyond Cornell University through supervised community service, fieldwork or outreach. Please provide the following information in your letter.

1. What are your position, role, and relationship to this student’s accomplishments in fieldwork or community service? How familiar are you with the student’s work?
2. To what extent has the student received academic credit or funding for this work?
3. How much responsibility and initiative has the student demonstrated in this work?
4. What have been the student’s particular contributions? How have these benefited the people served?
5. How innovative and important are the student’s accomplishments compared to other Cornell students you have observed in supervised fieldwork or community service?
6. What other information about this student would help us understand why they are deserving of this award?

Please include your contact information in the letter. If your organization is not affiliated with Cornell, please include the contact information for your organization.

Instructions for recommendation from Cornell faculty or staff member who knows the student well

We need your evaluation of this student even if you did not directly observe this student’s work. Please provide us with a confidential evaluation of this student’s responsibilities and contributions to the well being of persons beyond Cornell University through supervised fieldwork or community service. Please answer the following questions in your letter:

1. What are your position, role, and relationship to this student? How do you know about this student’s leadership accomplishments?
2. To what extent has the student received academic credit or funding for this work?
3. How much responsibility and initiative has the student demonstrated in this work?
4. How innovative and important are the student’s accomplishments compared to other Cornell students you have observed in supervised fieldwork or community service?
5. What other information about this student would help us understand why he or she is deserving of this award? For example, please comment on this student’s personal attributes, overall commitment to the well-being of communities, and leadership skills.

Contact the Office of Student and Career Development at 607-255-5471. 

• Make sure to clearly describe the expected outcomes of your project.
• Proofread your application thoroughly and make sure that it is well-written, clear, and concise.
• Include a detailed summary of your intended project.
• If your project is associated with a service trip, make sure to identify the expected outcomes of the trip: What will you learn? What will you give back? How will your project benefit others?
• Focus on the core mission of your project, and emphasize how your contribution will make an impact on the field of interest.
• Ensure your faculty/advisor recommendation form is completed by the deadline.

If selected for grant funding, you must attend a mandatory session explaining next steps for accessing and spending your funds. Receipts are required for any purchases and must be submitted within 60 days of the date of purchase. A final report of your project is required upon completion. All funds must be expended within one year from the date the grant was funded.

If a grant is awarded but the project/event is postponed or drastically changed, funding may be retracted. Please contact CHE Alumni Affairs at heaad [at] cornell.edu.

For any questions about the grant application, please contact Deborah Surine, the grant coordinator, at dc97 [at] cornell.edu or 607-255-7802.