Student Impact Grant


Student Impact Grants provide funding for a variety of University of Iowa undergraduate and graduate student activities outside the classroom, such as research, travel, and service projects. The goal is to enable students to pursue opportunities that might not otherwise be possible without financial assistance.

The President's Office has generously allocated $7,000 per semester to help enhance the student experience through these grants. The designated funds come from generous philanthropic gifts made by alumni and friends who have chosen to provide unrestricted support to the university.

Grants are awarded twice a year. Applications are typically accepted for the summer/fall semester beginning in January and for the winter/spring semester beginning in September.

The grants are made possible by a partnership between the Office of the President and Student Advancement Network (SAN).

GRANT GUIDELINES

Award Application Process

Applications will be considered for funding based on the timeline below. An online form will be available for students and student groups to use when the application period opens. A maximum of $7,000 in total grants will be awarded. Grant amounts will range from $100-$1,000 awards.

Summer and Fall 2025 Semester Award Grant Cycle

  • January 27: Application opens
  • February 21: Application deadline (5 p.m.)
  • April 11: Grant recipients will be notified about funding requests for winter or spring semester.
  • April 21: Signed recipient agreement form due
  • April 29: Winter/Spring 2024 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant enhanced the recipient’s Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.
  • May 19: Award transfers/payments for summer projects
  • August 25: Award transfers/payments for fall projects
  • December 2: Summer/Fall 2025 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant enhanced the recipient's Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.

Student Eligibility Requirements

  • Applicants must be enrolled full time as a University of Iowa undergraduate or graduate student for the fall 2025 semester and be in good standing as defined in the University of Iowa Code of Student Life.
  • Student groups or organizations must be recognized by the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership or by a University of Iowa department.
  • If your program is funded in full by other programs or funding methods your program is not eligible.
  • Program/experience must abide by all university guidelines. Grant funding does not permit activities that conflict with these guidelines.
  • Program/experience must abide by all university research guidelines. Grant funding does not permit activities that conflict with Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines. Funding does not provide IRB permission for the project.
  • Funding requests must be shown to improve or enhance the student experience and may not be used to reimburse research subjects. Recipients will share about this outcome during a biannual Student Impact Grant Presentation event.
  • Once a student receives a grant, they are not eligible for another University of Iowa Center for Advancement student grant within the next three years.
  • Grants are not renewable.
  • Recipients must present during the Summer/Fall grant recipient presentation detailing how the funds were used and how your Iowa experience was enhanced because of this award. Presentations will be held on Dec. 2, 2025.

Review Process

Members of the University of Iowa Student Advancement Network will review all submissions and make a recommendation. A University of Iowa Center for Advancement employee will oversee the scoring and review process. After review, recommendations will be sent to the Office of the President, which will make the final decision on all grant awards.

Awardees will then be notified of their selection to receive a grant, and payment will be provided by the Office of the President through a transfer to the student's U-Bill or student organization's account. The University of Iowa Office of Student Financial Aid will be consulted to ensure that funding does not affect other financial aid that a student may receive.

If you have questions, please contact Hannah McClintock at hannah.mcclintock@foriowa.org.

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After an unsuccessful cornea transplant, Donna Johnson entrusted the University of Iowa with her vision care. Now, with renewed sight, she's giving back to advance cornea research. It was supposed to be a quick, relatively simple, and painless procedure for Donna Johnson. Instead, a cornea transplant in her hometown of Peoria, Illinois, went horribly wrong and left Donna with no vision in her left eye. "When my left eye started to heal, I had a retina detach," says Donna, who has lived with Fuchs' dystrophy, an eye disease in which cells lining the inner surface of the cornea slowly die off, since the 1980s. "I went to the hospital to have it repaired, and the retina detached again. There was so much trauma to my left eye that there was nothing else they could do." As the years passed, Donna struggled with vision issues?including double vision and a lack of depth perception. When she started to have troubles with her right eye and lost her driver's license, her son suggested she seek care from doctors at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. When Donna had a cornea transplant in 2013, the procedure?completed by Mark Greiner, MD?was a success. "I've been so tremendously happy with the care I've received?and continue to receive?in Iowa City," says Donna, who was able to regain her driver's license in 2015 and still has nearly 20/20 vision in her right eye. Because of the vision-saving care she received at University of Iowa Health Care, as well as the care she continues to receive, Donna makes annual gifts to the UI Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and the Iowa Lions Eye Bank?which provided the new cornea for her right eye. Through a bequest in her estate plans, Donna also will support vision research at Iowa through the creation of the Donna M. Johnson Cornea Research Fund. "The research the University of Iowa is doing is so tremendous," says Donna. "Since they're always doing research and looking for new cures, I'm hoping my gift can help them find a cure for the issues I've had with my left eye. "It seems like they can do just about anything." Learn how you can make a difference at the University of Iowa by visiting our planned giving website, or contact Susan J. Hagan, JD at susan.hagan@foriowa.org or 800-648-6973 or 319-335-3305.

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