Educating Character Initiative: Building Capacity & Community at U.S. Colleges and Universities

Overview

The Educating Character Initiative aims to equip a wide range of public and private institutions of higher education, including but not limited to major research universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, military academies, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, religiously affiliated colleges, single-gender colleges, and tribal colleges—with the resources, funding, and support needed to integrate character education into their distinctive institutional contexts, curricula, and cultures. The broader aspiration is to foster a robust network that recognizes the value of educating character within higher education.

In addition to organizing workshops, conferences, and convenings and developing resources for faculty and staff, the Educating Character Initiative will award grants to both individuals and institutions. In 2024, funding for institutions will include up to 10 Institutional Impact Grants of between $100,000 and $1,000,000, as well as 20 Capacity-Building Grants of up to $50,000. Successful grantees will be teams of faculty, staff, and administrators at U.S. colleges and universities with outstanding proposals for developing the moral, civic, and/or intellectual character and capacity of faculty, staff, and students. 

Funding for individuals is available through Teacher-Scholar Grants (up to $15,000 each), which may be used to support research on character or character education in undergraduates, or to develop resources aimed at strengthening the capacity to educate character effectively at the grantee’s institution or in the larger network. Professional Development Grants (up to $5,000) will help faculty and staff to become educators of character or lead efforts to educate character at their institutions.

•    Institutional Limitation: Colleges and universities may apply for an Institutional Impact Grant or Capacity-Building Grant, but not both. 
•    Individual/ PI Limitation: Individuals may not apply for a Teacher-Scholar or Professional Development Grant if they are part of a team applying for an Institutional Impact or Capacity-Building Grant

DEADLINES:
GRANTS FOR INSTITUTIONS
Institutional Impact Grant (Initial Application/Letter of Inquiry): February 29, 2024
Capacity Building Grants: February 29, 2024
If you are interested in applying for either the Institutional Impact Grant or Capacity-Building Grant, an internal limited submission application is required. Please submit your application through ASU's InfoReady website.

GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUALS
Teacher-Scholar Grants: January 29, 2024
Professional Development Grants: January 29, 2024
If you are interested in applying for either the Teacher-Scholar Grant or Professional Development Grant, please work with your departmental Research Advancement team to complete all the sponsor requirements before the deadline.

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FUNDING AMOUNTS

GRANTS FOR INSTITUTIONS
In this grant cycle, we anticipate awarding up to 10 Institutional Impact Grants of between $100,000 and $1,000,000, as well as 20 Capacity-Building Grants of up to $50,000. Successful grantees will be teams of faculty, staff, and administrators at U.S. colleges and universities with outstanding proposals for developing the moral, civic, and/or intellectual character and capacity of faculty, staff, and students

GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUALS
In addition to grants to institutions, we will award 5 Teacher-Scholar Grants of up to $15,000 and 10 Professional Development Grants of up to $5,000 to individuals who wish to research character education in higher education, deepen our collective understanding of character, and/or expand their capacity to educate character in their contexts. We welcome applications from individuals at all U.S. colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, or higher education organizations, including those whose institutions may not yet be part of the wider network. Project leaders and co-leaders of Institutional Impact or Capacity-Building Grants may not apply for these individual grants, though other faculty and staff at the same institution who are not part of the proposed institutional project may do so.