The Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics is happy to reintroduce our annual Project Grant program through which we provide funding to support events and activities related to the Center’s theme of inquiry. The program is open to community organizations, statewide nonprofits, and University of Oregon faculty, departments, programs, and student groups. Past projects include lectures, conferences, organizing and education on pressing issues, performances, a mobile lending-library of tools for unhoused Eugenians, film festivals, research resulting in policy recommendations, and much more.
In 2024-2025, we welcome proposals related to our current theme of inquiry, Defending Democracy, in which we explore the crisis of democracy in the United States by reckoning with problems and considering solutions. Our goal with the Project Grant program is to help fund efforts that protect and promote a healthy, inclusive democracy, including at the local and state level. We envision projects that advance meaningful and effective civic engagement, expand access to the ballot box, foster civil dialogue, uphold the rule of law, and make our civic institutions more equitable and just. The theme is broad and is intended to include topics and issues from many community perspectives and academic disciplines, including the arts. Individuals and communities will have different perspectives on what a healthy, inclusive democracy looks like.
Proposals are due on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at noon for the grant year that begins July 1, 2024, and ends June 30, 2025. The selection committee will inform applicants of its decisions on or about June 6, 2024. Awarded funds will be available at the beginning of August 2024. Funded activities must be completed by June 30, 2025.