Kathryn W. Davis Projects for Peace Grant
Projects for Peace encourages student initiative, innovation, and entrepreneurship focusing on conflict prevention, resolution, or reconciliation.
With this grant, students or groups of students can apply for a $10,000 grant to support projects that promote peace and address the root causes of conflict among parties.
Grants are only available during the Spring semester. Apply by Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 8 a.m.
The application includes two parts (A) a proposal narrative and (B) a budget must be submitted by Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 8 a.m.
Part A. Proposal Narrative (2 pages single-spaced):
Please use this narrative proposal template that includes specifics on the font, spacing, header, and questions to guide your writing. Proposal narratives should:
- Describe the project (who, what, where, how) including expected outcomes and prospects for future impact.
- Clearly demonstrate how the project will address root causes grounded in community needs/data.
Part B. Proposal Budget:
Please use this required budget template that includes specific areas you should consider budgeting for to complete the project. Budgets should:
- Cover how all $10,000 requested will be spent.
- Descriptions of categories where you will spend. I.e., if you flying and taking other forms of transportation please add in the "Notes" section what those forms of transportation will be and the expected expense.
- Update the rates as needed. i.e., food (weekly/ biweekly/ monthly).
- A thoughtful, thorough, and well-researched budget helps us better understand how you will spend your grant.
Engaging in the project transformed my perspective on the world. Witnessing the positive impact of sustainable solutions on vulnerable individuals shifted my understanding of how lasting change can be achieved and made me understand that sustainable change takes time.
Explore Past Recipients' Projects
Divya Karki '27
Nepal | Summer 2024
By conducting workshops focused on health education, family planning, and income generation through agro-based activities, my project aimed to support marginalized women in the Chepang community of Chitwan, Nepal. Working with local partners, my work was built on an empowerment framework that involved local "chain-makers" — women from the community who would serve as role models and leaders for their peers. This structure allowed them to take responsibility for their own transformation, ensuring sustainability even after the project concluded. I learned that change must come from within the community, and the role of an outsider is to facilitate that change by providing support and resources. The women of the Chepang community inspired me with their resilience, and the project challenged my assumptions about what empowerment looks like in different cultural contexts.
Samuel Waithira '24: Growing Futures: Agricultural Empowerment for Hosanna Children's Home
Kenya | Summer 2023
The Growing Futures project sought to address the financial challenges of Hosanna Children's Home in Githunguri, Kenya, by establishing a sustainable pig farming initiative. Through the construction of a pig sty and breeding farming through training, the project aimed to generate income for the home while providing valuable agricultural education to the community, contributing to stability, poverty reduction, and youth engagement. Through the Growing Futures Peace Project, we've witnessed the transformative power of sustainable solutions in nurturing both economic stability and a sense of community.
This experience has taught me that by empowering individuals with skills and opportunities, we can truly sow the seeds of lasting peace and positive change. The grant allowed me to understand my community's challenges in a way I never envisioned before. A great thank you to the Projects for Peace program for the opportunity!
Kimberley Tanatswa Muchenje '22: Jekesa Remangwana (Futures Ignited)
Zimbabwe | Summer 2022
Jekesa Remangwana is the first step in a long-term effort to generate biotechnological solutions to Zimbabwe’s impending biomedical, agricultural, and industrial issues. I partnered with three other students from Zimbabwe to run a biotechnology boot camp during which we collaboratively taught biotechnology techniques and their applications to students in high school STEM programs.
In addition to showing them how biotechnology can be a tool to combat some of the issues at the heart of internal and external conflict, we provided mentorship and professional development opportunities to the students so they could see how one can advance in Biotechnology whilst in Zimbabwe. These students may someday develop crops that are resistant to pests, diseases, or adverse environmental conditions, reviving Zimbabwe’s declining agricultural industry, which serves as the country’s key source of income to alleviate food shortages and increase peace amongst people.
Frankline Edong’a '25: Amani Youth Project
Kenya | Summer 2022
The Amani Youth Project's primary objective is to empower young people to serve as peace ambassadors in Turkana and Baringo. Having formed a committee of twelve youths, six from each community, project participants participants received training, traveled to war-torn areas to preach peace, and provided communities with access to basic resources like water. We collaborated with local chiefs, community elders, teachers and security officers to listen to opinions about the conflict and the obstacles that prevented people from living in harmony. Additionally, we provided water storage facilities, channeled water closer to the communities, and repaired inefficient solar panels and water pumps to ensure people’s access to water.
