Chapman and Innovation Grants
Get funding for larger community projects to support local non-profit organizations.
About the Grant
The Chapman and Innovation Grants (C&I) offer UBC students the opportunity to create and carry out a meaningful project in partnership with a local not-for-profit community organization. The C&I grants are designed to help students work with a community organization to test a new idea and take initiative in tackling an issue affecting underrepresented populations in their local communities.
The C&I grants strive to be a dynamic learning opportunity, challenging students to learn. This starts from the application process, through to when the project is completed, without fear of failing. In fact, the Chapman and Innovation grants are specifically designed for students and community organizations to think imaginatively, constructively and to push boundaries – without concern for everything going right. The best learning often comes from simply trying. Applicants can request funds between $1,500 to $10,000 CAD for their proposed project which must be completed within six (6) months of the grant being awarded.
Successful proposals promote the self-empowerment of communities, and foster strong, long-term partnerships between UBC and the community. Recipients are required to participate in a mid-project check-in with Centre for Community and Engaged Learning (CCEL) staff and to submit a brief final report.
Safety protocols for COVID-19
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all project proposals must follow UBC and BC Government public safety protocols. For more information, visit UBC’s Covid-19 Health Guidance page
What the grant can fund
Projects that have off-campus activities
Off-campus activities include workshops, community meetings, initiatives, community events, forums, education, health, environmental or cultural-based projects.
Projects with a community partner
Community partners must be a registered charity, society, cooperative, non-profit or public sector, community organization, First Nation, school, municipal, federal or provincial government office.
Eligibility requirements
Before applying, all students should read the Eligibility Guidelines (PDF) to confirm that CCEL can fund your project.
Writing a successful grant application
A strong grant application has 3 parts:
- A project idea that connects to a broader social issue with an achievable and measurable impact
- A community partnership with clearly outlined roles and responsibilities
- A project plan that includes goals, objectives, a timeline, and budget
Identifying a project idea
When you apply for a grant, you need to clearly describe your project idea, which includes the problem and solutions you plan to work on.
Review the Identifying a Project Idea guide (pdf) for tips on drafting a problem statement. You can also use the brainstorming matrix in the guide to develop a strong project idea.
Find your community partner
Community partners must be a registered charity, society, cooperative, non-profit or public sector, community organization, First Nation, school, municipal, federal, or provincial government office.
Partnerships are best built by fostering a relationship with the community organization.
Learn how to build a partnership with a community organization through the Reaching out to a Community Organization guide (pdf).
Build your project plan
Now that you have a project idea and a community partnership, it’s time to write your application.
The CCEL Grants Application Toolkit (pdf) provides a detailed guide for answering each question in the grant application and can support you in developing your project plan.
Seek advising
From developing a project idea to finding a community partner, to building a project plan, the Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) is available in person or online to support you and answer your questions.
Email community.learning@ubc.ca to book an advising session with CCEL staff and brainstorm your project idea or learn more about available grants.
Applying for the grant
If you’re interested in applying for a grant or curious to learn more, email the Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) at community.learning@ubc.ca to book an advising session with our staff to brainstorm your project idea.
For more tips on how to apply for CCEL grants, check out our page below:
Prepare your application
Before you apply, review these documents:
Chapman and Innovation Application Package (pdf) – Review the package to learn what details and supporting documents to include in your application.
CCEL Grant Application Toolkit (pdf)
CCEL Grants Partnership Agreement (pdf) – Use this document to establish project expectations, needs, and processes with your community partner.
We look forward to receiving grant applications again in November 2023 for projects beginning in April/May 2024
Application Timeline
Fall Applications
| Date | Description |
| November 6, 2023 | Application opens |
| February 4, 2024 | Application closes |
| Early April 2024 | Winners announced |
Previous Chapman & Innovation Grant Recipients
Check out past grant winners for more ideas and inspiration!
Christian San Juan – Learning Buddies Network
Christian works with the Learning Buddies Network to make tutoring accessible and affordable to children who attend Bella Bella Community School, an Indigenous school in Bella Bella, BC. They will provide children who attend the school with access to free, one-to-one online mentorship and tutoring.
Amarildo Ceka – EaglesLand Albanian Society of BC
Amarildo works with EaglesLand Albanian Society of BC to promote and empower the underrepresented Albanian community in BC. They will do this by:
- Creating informational workshops with a focus on health education/literacy, education, employment opportunities, and settlement information
- Launching the AlbMentor mentorship program to help match one youth with a successful mentor and a volunteer with a new resident of BC
- Creating an Albanian Business in BC directory
Yaksh Shah & Sohat Sharma – Pacific Community Resources Society & Melius Mentorship Network
Yaksh and Sohat work with Pacific Community Resources Society and Melius Mentorship Network to help refugee and immigrant youth in various youth programs navigate post-secondary and careers. They will do this by providing 6 interactive workshops that tackle topics related to post-secondary preparation for careers in healthcare, engineering, computer science, law, business and laboratory science. After completing these workshops, each newcomer youth will be paired with one UBC undergraduate and graduate student for one year of one-on-one mentorship.
Audrey Irvine Broque – West Moberly First Nations
Audrey works with West Moberly First Nations (WMFN) on Dancing with the Land (Nun ke’ Daahwéhsats), a project to advance understanding of how climate change impacts and policies will impact Indigenous self-determination as well as the cultural values/rights associated with terrestrial and aquatic environments. Their work researching climate-action plans and co-creating a research needs assessment for the WMFN will lead to a cooperative climate research agenda (CCRA) and a multi-year effort to collaboratively produce climate research and recommendations for WMFN’s environmental planning.
Raha Masoudi – Watari Counselling & Support Sevices Society
Raha works with Watari Counselling and Support Services Society to pilot a project to provide occupational health and safety training to agricultural migrant workers (AMWs) in British Columbia’s (BC) Lower Mainland and Okanagan region. By providing opportunities for AMWs to receive resources and services, they are able to work safer, deal with accidents or emergencies in an informed way, and feel self-empowered when asserting their rights.
Njamba Koffi – The Inclusion Project Society
Njamba was inspired by his participation in UBC CCEL’s Social Impact Lab to develop an online “Social Impact Initiatives Tracker” for marginalized communities. This wikipedia-style database will provide archival, in-progress, and developing social impact initiatives for interested changemakers to learn about local organizations that reflect their values, make new connections, and take action. They will do this by:
- collaborating with 6 students to research and build a wiki-based website;
- consulting at least 10 identified IBPOC communities to input information on 30 different initiatives;
- evaluating the feasibility of expanding the project’s scope to all self-identified marginalized populations in British Columbia.
Yahya Abdul Ghani – Spheres Of Influence
Yahya works with Spheres of Influence to create a monthly podcast series dedicated to connecting local Vancouver-based challenges with broader global issues, themes, and patterns. In each podcast episode, they will highlight a local issue and situate it in the broader global context. As the voices of youth and marginalized groups are repeatedly excluded from dominant discourses, this podcast will especially work to amplify marginalized voices in prominent media spaces.
Emilie Jia Wang – Pacific Immigrant Resources Society
Emilie works with the Pacific Immigrant Resources Society (PIRS) to organize in-community workshops for newcomer women on vaccine and health literacy in BC from a trauma-informed approach. The primary objectives of these workshops are to:
- Increase newcomers’ access to information;
- Build a lifelong understanding of vaccines;
- Enhance the safety of newcomer women and their children;
- Build invaluable trust between newcomers and the Canadian healthcare system.
Questions?
Contact the Centre for Community Engaged Learning about community-based learning opportunities, programs, and resources.