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Tier 1 grants fund technical assistance and public scholarship events (e.g., workshops for external community audiences, lectures or panels, K-12 classroom demonstrations, etc.) and expenses related to community partnership development activities (travel, food, gift cards, etc.).  

Tier 2 grants fund community-engaged research, teaching/learning, and creative work projects. Eligible projects are developed with or for external community partners and result in tangible deliverables for both community and campus partners.  

Tier 3 and 4 grants (formerly named ¾«Æ·SMÔÚÏßӰƬ Outreach Awards) fund faculty-led public and community-engaged scholarship that connects their research, teaching and creative work with the expressed needs, interests or activities of external constituents and be aligned with the campus definition of outreach and engagement. 

PACES grants are intentionally scaffolded to accommodate each phase of a community-engaged scholarship project. For example, you might apply for a Tier 1 grant to fund meetings in which you and a community partner co-design a research project that will advance your scholarship and meet an identified community need. You might then apply for a Tier 2 grant to implement the project. Some faculty have applied for a Tier 2 to establish work with their community partners before applying for a Tier 3 or 4 grant.  

In these situations, we advise teams to first apply for Tier 1 grants if considerable support is needed for planning and partnership development.

The review process for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 grants takes three to four weeks.  

Tier 3 and 4 grants are reviewed and selected by the PACES grants committee. The proposal deadline is during the spring semester. Applicants are notified of the funding decisions in early June.  Funds become available in August after grantees have completed all requirements listed in the funding agreement.

PACES grants can only be transferred to a Fund 29 speedtype. If you are working on a tight timeline, it will significantly speed up the process if you have a Fund 29 speedtype set up at the time you apply for a Tier 1 or 2 grant. You may indicate your speedtype on your application or, if your grant is funded, on your funding agreement. 

When you are notified of your grant award, you will receive a link to your funding agreement. When you have signed the agreement and submitted a speedtype, PACES will initiate the grant transfer and alert you and your fiscal manager. It typically takes up to two weeks for the funds to show up in your speedtype. 

For Tier 3 and 4 grants, your fiscal manager will need to work with the Continuing Education accounting department to establish a new Fund 29 speedtype. Funds will be transferred in August once the funding requirements have been completed.  

Please note that it is your responsibility to work with your fiscal manager to access the funds once they have been transferred. PACES grant funds must be spent in accordance with all university fiscal policies and as outlined in the grant proposal budget. It is the department’s responsibility to cover any deficit balance over the grant amount.

Funds for Tier 1 and 2 grants must be spent within 12 months of the date you sign your funding agreement. 

Tier 3 and 4 funding must be spent within 18 months of receiving the grant notification.  

Yes, so long as you do not apply for both in the same semester.  

Yes, but each proposal must be for a distinct, substantially different project.  

No.

You may apply for additional Tier 2 funding if you are significantly expanding or iterating the project. Tier 2 funds are not designed to sustain a project over multiple years. 

Faculty can apply for continuing funding for a Tier 3 or 4 grant but must demonstrate a clear and compelling rationale for continued funding through details about growth of the project over time and impact to date.

No.

Perhaps. Our intent in each academic year is to share resources equitably across campus. Due to the limited amount of funding available, multiple applicants from the same department may be less likely to all receive funding during an academic year.

We define external communities as groups comprised of people who are not ¾«Æ·SMÔÚÏßӰƬ faculty, staff, or students. 

The roles of the external community members may vary by project type. Examples include project collaborators, stakeholders, partners, participants, and event attendees.

No. PACES defines community partners as 1) individuals who are not faculty, staff, or students and/or 2) nonprofit or grassroots organizations, government entities, and K-12 schools that are external to campus.  

Maybe. If you are undertaking a traditional research project with a faculty member at another institution, you may not apply for PACES funding. Faculty, staff, and students at other institutions may be partners in undertaking community-engaged scholarship activities. On occasion, other higher education institutions may also be beneficiaries. For example, if your partner is a community college or regional public university, and the project’s intent is to benefit students or stakeholders at that institution, your project would be eligible for PACES funding.

No. Funds cannot be used to pay or reimburse expenses to outside speakers, performers, or experts to present at a CU-sponsored event.

Yes, but you must explain why you are not employing the talents or expertise of ¾«Æ·SMÔÚÏßӰƬ faculty, staff and students.  

Yes. Funding may be used to cover travel expenses, scholarships for workshop attendance, or honorariums for participation by community partners in your project. 

Not at this time.

No. If, however, you are interested in scholarship opportunities to support attendance at community-engaged scholarship conferences (e.g., Campus Compact, Engagement Scholarship Consortium), please email us at engagedscholarship@colorado.edu.

No.

While all funding tiers support ongoing relationship development with known community partners, Tier 1 grants explicitly fund expenses related can be used to pay for expenses related to partnership development with prospective partners including travel for CU-affiliated individuals and prospective partners.

In addition to the application requirements, prior to drafting your proposal:  

• Review the selection criteria and rubric found on the guidelines webpage for each grant Tier. 
• Write your proposal so that it is clear to anyone reviewing it who might not be from your discipline. Spell out acronyms and provide definitions for technical terms.  
• Check your word count. The online system will cut off information that exceeds the limit.  
• For the Tier 3 and 4 grants, each faculty PI needs to upload a letter of support from their chair or director. Do not leave this to the last minute!  
• Please reach out and ask if you are not sure if an expense is allowable.