ALICE KAPLAN INSTITUTE FOR THE HUMANITIES

Apply for Co-Sponsorship Funds

The Kaplan Institute aims to support a broad range of humanities conversations on campus, and we invite Northwestern faculty and graduate students to apply for funding for humanities-related programming that benefits the Northwestern community. 

Deadlines

• Fall: October 15, 2024 (Tuesday)
• Winter: January 16, 2025 (Thursday)
• Spring: April 3, 2025 (Thursday)

Criteria for Kaplan co-sponsorship

We are interested in supporting proposals that engage participants from different spheres (i.e., students and faculty; multiple departments and disciplines). We are also interested in 1) interdisciplinary events that would likely not receive enough funding in a single department or program; or 2) very high-impact disciplinary events that will strengthen the humanities in general.

• Events must engage a range of audiences, units, and disciplines; those programs that exclusively appeal to a single department or discipline are not recommended for Kaplan co-sponsorship
• A strong proposal will clearly articulate the projected impact on the targeted populations
• Travel to conferences and student trips abroad are not eligible for funding
• We will not consider applications for events that are looking for the Kaplan Institute to fund the entire budget
  

NOTE: Co-sponsorship funding is awarded by Kaplan to the grantee's home department or program via chartstring; Kaplan does not manage administration or payments for co-sponsored events.

Timing your co-sponsorship application

Funding decisions are generally provided within three weeks of the application deadline; thus, depending on the timing of your event, you may be able to apply for funding within the same quarter in which the event is scheduled. Otherwise, submitting your proposal a quarter or two in advance is an appropriate timeframe. For events that occur in early fall quarter, you are encouraged to apply for co-sponsorship in spring quarter of the previous year.

Undergraduates

We have limited funds available for humanities events spearheaded by undergraduate students who are affiliated with the Kaplan Humanities Institute. Please contact Jill Mannor if you are an affiliated undergraduate interested in applying for event co-sponsorship.

Application instructions

To apply for Kaplan co-sponsorship, please prepare the items listed below into a single document:

• Project overview/request —no more than one page—including:
  • Description of event/series (include date/s if confirmed) 
  • Event conveners 
  • Confirmed speakers (one-line bios or links) 
  • Expected audience (size and participants) and an assessment of the event's impact on the humanities at Northwestern 
  • PLEASE NOTE: The one-page narrative limit is firm. We will return submissions that are longer than one page and request edits.
• Proposed event budget, including specific amount requested from Kaplan and amounts requested/secured from other units
• IF APPLICANT IS A GRAD STUDENT: A brief email confirming the support of the faculty who will oversee the grad student committee is also required. This does not need to be a recommendation letter, but simply a note of endorsement.

Please send the completed application document to Jill Mannor, Communications Coordinator (jill.mannor@northwestern.edu).

Promotion

The Kaplan Institute will help promote co-sponsored events. Thus, grantees are expected to include Kaplan's logo or name on promotional materials (e.g., posters, social media graphics, etc.) and provide them to the Institute in advance of the event. Co-sponsored events must also be listed on Northwestern's Planit Purple events calendar.