CSL Grant Program

CSL Mini & Midi Grants

Call for Applications:  Community Service Learning (CSL) Projects
Spring deadline is March 27, 2024

Priority will be given to interprofessional projects representing two or more professions.

Applications must be submitted through ENGAGED

UT Health San Antonio’s mission is to enhance community health awareness, education and practices thereby improving the wellness of the citizenry.  An effective method to accomplish this mission is through community service learning (CSL) defined as a structured learning experience that combines community service with mentored preparation and reflection.  Students provide service in response to community-identified concerns and learn about the context in which service is provided, the connection between their service and their academic coursework, and their roles as citizens and professionals.  The Cheever Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics believes CSL serves as the bridge between ethics education and the development of empathy and humanitarian values in the health care providers we train. In order to support and encourage CSL involvement by Health Science Center students, we are offering mini-grants and midi-grants to defray project expenses.

Eligible Projects

All projects must have one designated student leader, a UTHSA faculty mentor, and a community partner. We are especially interested in CSL projects that document and address health disparities in San Antonio and Bexar County, the surrounding counties, and South Texas. Review prioritized areas of highest need at:  www.texahumanities.org/CSL

 Priority will be given to: 

  • Interprofessional projects that involve students from more than one school
  • Projects that occur in the counties surrounding San Antonio (Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, Wilson).  All projects must have one designated student leader, a UTHSA faculty mentor, and a community partner.

What We Provide

  • Mini-Grants of $500 to help defray the cost of CSL project expenses, such as supplies, printing, and mileage.
  • Midi-Grants of $2,000-$4,000 for projects that have demonstrated initial success, have extensive mentor involvement, have a clear plan for sustainability, and include a scholarship aspect.

Deadline

5:00 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Additional Information & How to Apply

Applications must be submitted through ENGAGED.

For detailed information about the application process, review CSL Funding Request for Application (RFA) below.

NOTE: Applicants are required to attend a virtual CSL Funding Information Session prior to submitting an application. During this session, you will go over the grant application in detail and be able to ask questions. You can attend on Wed. February 21 or on Tue. February 27.  Both sessions are at noon via zoom.  Registration is required.  Names of attendees will be recorded.  If you have a conflict with both session dates, you will need to send another student leader of your project on your behalf and notify CSL@uthscsa.edu that you are doing so. 

Contact

For inquiries please contact Melanie Stone at csl@uthscsa.edu or 210-567-0523

Community Service Learning (CSL) Funding

Request for Application (RFA)

We are interested in CSL projects that document and address health disparities in San Antonio and Bexar County, the surrounding counties, and South Texas.

Priority will be given to these two focus areas:

  • Interprofessional projects that involve students from more than one school
  • Projects that occur in the counties surrounding San Antonio  (Atascosa, Bandera, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, Wilson)

Examples of project topics are listed below and include addressing social determinants of health, access to care and health literacy.

Two types of grants are available.  On the application, check whether you are applying for a CSL Mini-Grant or Midi-Grant.  If your application does not get selected for a midi-grant, it will automatically be considered for a mini-grant.

CSL Mini-Grants, $500

The Cheever Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics is accepting proposals from mentored students at UT Health San Antonio to develop and implement community service learning (CSL) projects that provide innovative approaches for health solutions.   Mini-grant awards are for $500 and are for specific project use as outlined in the budget section of the application.

CSL Midi-Grants, $2,000-$4,000

The Cheever Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics offers funding for a limited number of in-depth projects that document and address health disparities in San Antonio and Bexar County, the surrounding counties, and South Texas and have demonstrated success in the pilot phase, have extensive mentor involvement, have a clear plan for sustainability, and include a scholarship aspect.

The scholarship component may be the following: plans to present at a conference outside of the Health Science Center, submit an article for publication, and/or be part a larger research study.

Midi-grant awards are for 2,000-$4,000 and are for specific project use as outlined in the budget section of the application.

The scholarship component may be the following: plans to present at a conference outside of the Health Science Center, submit an article for publication, and/or be part a larger research study.

Priority project topics include, but are not limited to:

  • addressing social determinants of health
  • access to care / telehealth
  • health literacy / digital literacy
  • rural health in counties surrounding Bexar

More topic examples include: 

  • mental health
  • environmental health
  • oral health
  • geriatrics
  • teen pregnancy prevention

The grant awards are for specific project use as outlined in the budget section of the application.

Funding Application Process

  • Applicants are required to attend a grant info session prior to submitting an application.  You can attend on Wed. February 21 or on Tue. February 27.  Both sessions are at noon via zoom. Registration is required for these sessions.  Names of attendees will be recorded. If you have a conflict with both session dates, you will need to send another student leader of your project on your behalf and notify CSL@uthscsa.edu that you are doing so. You will be able to view the presentation online. You will need to attest in the application that you attended or viewed the info session.
  • Applications must be submitted through ENGAGED. When you click on this link, you will be prompted to first log in to the site with your UTHSA credentials.
  • The project must have a faculty mentor employed by UT Health San Antonio, and the faculty must be part of the CSL Mentor subgroup in ENGAGED. The mentor’s letter of support is required at or before the time of application submission and should be uploaded to the online application.
  • The project must have a community partner.  The community partner’s letter of support is required at or before the time of application submission and should be uploaded to the online application.
  • Proposals will be reviewed by the Health Science Center’s CSL Review Committee.
  • Award decisions will be sent by email.

Deadlines

Applications are due by 5:00 pm on March 27, 2024.  Late applications will not be accepted.

Decisions will be announced no later than April 19. 

Proposal Considerations

Projects must have a designated student leader, a faculty mentor, and a community partner.  Students and faculty may be from any of the six schools of UT Health San Antonio.

Institutional Review Board (IRB)

If the proposed project involves human subjects research, or you plan to publish your findings, it is the responsibility of the student applicant and faculty mentor to obtain approval from the Office of the Institutional Review Board (IRB).  It is suggested you contact the IRB office before starting your project to clarify status. 

Community Partner

A community organization must be identified in the proposal as the community partner.  A community organization is considered to be a community center, non-profit organization, church, or another place where clients are receptive to health-related services.  Preference will be given to community-based organizations over hospitals and clinics. The community partner should have considerable input into the proposal, and there should be evidence that the proposal clearly meets a specific community expressed need.  A letter of support from the community partner is a requirement of the proposal.

Outcomes & Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation strategies for the outcomes of your intervention should be clearly stated in the proposal.  Your overall project goal should be aligned with a Healthy People 2030 goal. Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans.  You can read about the Healthy People 2030 goals online.

Your objectives must be written in the SMART format.  Click here to learn how to write a SMART objective.

Presentation / Dissemination

Under mentor guidance, the student leader will be expected to create and present a poster for the UT Health Science Center’s Annual CSL Conference in February 2025. The poster abstract and the poster submission will be due January 2025. Presentation at the CSL Conference is a mandatory condition for receipt of the award. Students are also encouraged to present their projects outside of the Health Science Center.

Timeline

The project timeline should be clearly stated in the proposal and include time for preparation, evaluation, and reflection. Please note that projects must be completed in time for presentation at the Annual CSL Conference (described above), in February 2025.

Budget

Mini-Grants

The creation of a budget up to $500 for the project is mandatory for the proposal.  Include itemized costs and justification. Allowable expenses include project supplies, printing, and mileage reimbursement to the project site (calculated to and from the Health Science Center at the current reimbursement rate).  Food items are allowed only if specifically used as a teaching activity. Incentives and gift cards are not allowed. Grant funds cannot be used for capital expenditures or purchasing major equipment. Equipment rental is allowed.

Midi-Grants

The creation of a budget of $2,000-$4,000 for the project is mandatory for the proposal.  Include itemized costs and justification. Allowable expenses include project supplies, printing, and mileage reimbursement to the project site (calculated to and from the Health Science Center at the current reimbursement rate).  Midi-grant expenses may include conference registration fee and associated travel costs if presenting the project at another conference. No more than 15% of the total budget should be designated for conference expenses. Food items are allowed only if specifically used as a teaching activity.  Incentives and gift cards are not allowed. Grant funds cannot be used for capital expenditures or purchasing major equipment. Equipment rental is allowed.

Award Considerations

Required Orientation for Awardees

Upon the grant award, the student leader and mentor will be required to have a meeting with the Assistant Director of CSL at the Cheever Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics, to discuss outcomes reporting and grant management requirements. Details of the orientation will be provided at the time of award decision.

Funds Disbursement

Upon award, grant funds will be transferred to the faculty mentor’s departmental account.  The mentor will be responsible for disbursing funds to the student leader for the items outlined in the project’s budget.  If changes need to be made to the budget during the course of the project, both the mentor and Melanie Stone, Assistant Director of CSL, must be notified for prior approval.

Application and project-related inquiries can be directed to:

Melanie Stone, DrPH, MEd
Assistant Professor of Family & Community Medicine
Assistant Director, Community Service Learning
Cheever Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics
(210) 567-0523
csl@uthscsa.edu

While it was required to attend an Info Session prior to submitting a grant application, we understand that extenuating circumstances prevented some of you from attending.  If that is the case for you, please send an email to CSL@uthscsa.edu explaining why you could not attend and attest that you have watched the whole video.  If you have any questions about the grant application process, please email CSL@uthscsa.edu