The application period is now closed. Please see below for additional timeline details.
Please see the following reports:
Year 2 CoVAC Mini-Grant Recipients
Congratulations to the recipients of our Year 2 CoVAC Initiative Mini-Grants!
Our mini-grant recipients are located in 28 states plus the District of Columbia and include private and public institutions, community and two-year colleges, historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, military-affiliated institutions, and faith-based institutions.
These schools each received $3,000 to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence on their campuses in the fall using various peer-to-peer marketing and communication strategies, including implementing the Campus Vaccine Confidence Toolkit.
A list of recipients of Year 1 Mini-Grants can be found here.
Alabama
Alabama A&M University
Arkansas
Arkansas Tech University
California
Ohlone College
Pacific Union College
Porterville College
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Riverside
University of San Francisco
Connecticut
Southern Connecticut State University
District of Columbia
The University of the District of Columbia
Florida
Florida A&M University
Georgia
Kennesaw State University
Wesleyan College
Illinois
Benedictine University
Illinois Valley Community College
Indiana
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Kansas
Wichita State University
Kentucky
The University of Kentucky
Louisiana
Grambling State University
Maryland
Notre Dame of Maryland University
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Michigan
Madonna University
Oakland University
Minnesota
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Missouri
Westminster College
William Woods University
New Jersey
Felician University
New Mexico
The University of New Mexico
New York
Le Moyne College
Pratt Institute
State University of New York at Albany
State University of New York at Fredonia
North Carolina
Elizabeth City State University
Davidson-Davie Community College
North Carolina Central University
Queens University of Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Wingate University
Ohio
Mount St. Joseph University
The University of Akron
University of Toledo
Oklahoma
Southern Nazarene University
Pennsylvania
Alvernia University
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Holy Family University
Juniata College
East Stroudsburg
University of Pennsylvania
South Carolina
University of South Carolina Beaufort
University of South Carolina Upstate
Tennessee
Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Texas
Tarleton State University
Virginia
Mary Baldwin University
Shenandoah University
Old Dominion University
West Virginia
Concord University
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
About
The Campus COVID-19 Vaccination and Mitigation (CoVAC) Initiative Mini-Grant Program is a unique opportunity for campus leaders, including faculty, staff, and students, to address challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in support of healthy and thriving campus communities. The Mini-Grant Program aims to support institutions in need of resources to develop, implement, and maintain effective and innovative COVID-19 prevention and management strategies.
Based on our learnings from earlier mini-grant cycles, we encourage applicants to:
- Engage campus communities, particularly students and staff, who may face specific challenges accessing vaccination or other COVID-19 related services (e.g. people who work second and third shift, people who are parenting or caring for family members, people without insurance, people without primary care providers or access to regular medical care, people for whom English is not their primary language, people with unclear immigration status, etc.)
- Focus on communicating evidence-based information and education about COVID-19 prevention and response. While social norming and incentivizing risk mitigation and vaccination behaviors continues to be important, future efforts should focus on communicating COVID-19 information clearly and accurately while addressing misinformation in the community.
- Ensure they understand their institution’s administrative processes and timelines related to grant funding.
Successful applicants will:
- Receive a mini-grant of $3,000 for use in the spring of 2022 to implement or maintain effective, equitable, inclusive, and layered prevention strategies and reduce COVID-19 transmission on college campuses and in their surrounding communities.
- Join a learning community of institutions of higher education and college health professionals, sharing experiences, knowledge, challenges, and successes in addressing COVID-19.
Mini-Grant Eligibility Requirements
- Be part of a two- or four-year degree granting, not-for-profit institution of higher education (IHE) located within the United States and its Territories.
- Agree to advance the mission and objectives of the CoVAC Initiative.
- Secure the approval of an administrator (e.g., dean of students) to apply to the mini-grant program. If your program is selected, this administrator will be asked to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA).
- Disclose whether allowable administrative or overhead costs will be included in the budget proposal.
- Agree to complete their work before May 15, 2022. IHEs on a quarter system may request a deferral until June 10, 2022.
- Commit to finding creative solutions to meet the needs of your campus while grounding efforts in scientific evidence and public health theory.
Funding Requirements
Grantees must:
- Review the CoVAC Initiative Health Equity Statement.
- Submit a W-9 form and an invoice to receive payment. No funding will be given directly to individuals. Grantees will be given 50% of the mini-grant funding at the beginning of the project and 50% at the conclusion of the project and upon receipt of the summary report.
- Attend one required training session in January 2022.
- Agree to use the mini-grant funds for permitted uses only.
- Complete a summary report by May 15, 2022, or June 10, 2022, if deferral is requested.
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PERMITTED USES
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- Hire employees/staff/student ambassadors to implement project
- Pay for technology or services that support project communications (e.g. SMS/ texting service)
- Purchase items in recognition of program participant efforts
- Campaign design and creation costs
- Purchase advertising on social media, campus newspapers, etc.
- Purchase visibility items or print materials (e.g., posters, handouts, banners, signage, buttons, stickers, etc.)
- Procure services and non-food items to create a fun atmosphere at vaccination sites or outreach events
- Purchase items to give away as part of program activities, e.g. parking or bus passes, event tickets, laptop stickers, water bottles, t-shirts or other apparel
- Pay overhead costs directly supporting the activity funded by the mini-grant, within institutional limits
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NOT PERMITTED
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- Food or drink purchases
- Items to be raffled
- Gift cards or gift certificates
- Overhead costs not directly supporting the activity funded by the mini-grant
- Purchase of clinical items including testing or vaccination supplies
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Application Timeline
October 27, 2021: Mini-grant application posted
November 17, 2021: Deadline to submit application 8 pm ET/5 pm PT
December 10, 2021: Mini-grant recipient notifications begin
January 2022: Required training session
January - May 2022: Monthly technical support meetings and implementation of programs
May 15, 2022: Summary reports due unless deferral requested
Questions?
For questions please contact:
Aisha Ali (for invoices and other mini-grant administrative matters)
Special Projects Coordinator
aali@acha.org
Sara Couppas (mini-grantee support)
Student Engagement Program Manager, CoVAC Initiative
scouppas@acha.org
Heather Zesiger (mini-grantee support)
Deputy Project Director, CoVAC Initiative
hzesiger@acha.org
Claudia Trevor-Wright, MA, JD, MCHES (mini-grantee support)
Project Director, CoVAC Initiative
claudiatw@acha.org