Important points to remember
1. Demonstrate what your needs are and how IFW can be expected to meet them.
2. Take this application (and yourself) seriously.
3. Detail your budget and expenses as much as possible. Don't "pad"
or exaggerate your budget--the Awards Committee will know!
4. Fill out every every line. Type your application. Be sure to proofread it
carefully! (See How to Assemble Your Application for more details.)
5. IFW funds applicants associated with the University (often to do with educational
goals).
6. These awards are not entitlements! They are very competitive. The IFW Awards
Committee is looking for the strongest, most diverse
applicants who meet the criteria.
Awards Criteria
Most important are the two-page statement of purpose letter (stating who you
are, what you are doing, and why you are asking IFW for money), and your budget.
Other considerations include your two reference letters and your résumé.
Both your needs and your qualifications are important. Note: You MUST be connected/affiliated
with the University after you receive the award for the following academic year.
Budget
IFW needs to be able to help you (awards range from $500-$1,000; if your project
is going to cost $5,000 and you have no idea where you're going to get the rest
of the money, this may not be a realistic project to fund)
How does IFW contribute to the larger need? (What do you need the money for?)
Be sure that this is a viable application. (Can it really work? Can IFW really
help you?) In your budget narrative, explain.expenses that you have, what expenses
you can/are already absorbing by yourself or through other sources, thorough
explanation of what you want the money for, what (if any) other money you have
acquired
Be as exact with your budget as possible. For example, if you were applying for funding to purchase art supplies, make your budget as exact as possible (6 yards of gold ribbon @ $10 a yard, 4 cans of paint @ $4.25 each, etc.) The Awards Committee is not necessarily looking for a financial statement. However, some circumstances require you to be more specific. If you're asking for tuition costs, you will need to provide more information about your budget (whether or not you're receiving certain types of aid, if you have a tuition waver, what's the balance or remainder after you receive financial aid, what costs are you absorbing yourself). If you are applying for funding for a project, you only need to include information about the project budget (information that's relevant to what you're asking for).
Financial need is a necessary, but not a sufficient reason for an award.
NOTE: money is not available until July 1st, the start of the University fiscal year (if you need the money for the semester in which you are applying [Spring], you can be reimbursed for the expenses after July 1st)
Funding for Groups
1. Organized groups (i.e., the Institute for Research on Women or the Clerical
Council)
2. Less formal groups of faculty, students or staff members who want to do a
certain project (i.e., the collaboration of the University Libraries and the
Departments of English and Women's Studies to purchase and create a video series
entitled, "Seeing Women Transnationally.")
Goals of IFW
Fundamental principle: to really make a difference in a woman's life or to help
a woman overcome an obstacle
Absolute musts: good grades and good scholarship (for faculty)
Preference for people doing non-traditional things (defined broadly)
Examples:
All of the awards come through IFW. If you apply for, but don't get, a named award your application goes back into the general pool of applications for IFW awards.
IFW Application Process
1. Fill out the application
2. Return completed application to Affirmative Action, AD 301, by the deadline
3. Two to three members of the Awards Committee will read the application; each
individual rates the application, and then the sub-groups get together to compare
and discuss any significant differences in the ratings and come to an agreement.
*Committee members avoid conflicts of interest: if a committee member knows
an applicant very well, they abstain from voting on that particular application
in order to be as objective and unbiased as possible.
4. Entire Awards Committee meets to compare subcommittee finalists and settle
agreements or any disagreements regarding the IFWapplications
5. Awards Committee's choices are ratified by the entire IFW committee
Decisions are made by mid-April; Committee approval is made by late April; winners are notified in May. There is an informal get-together held for all IFW recipients during the summer, and a fund-raising dinner in November. Normally, IFW receives 50-60 applications every year. Depending on the year and how much money is raised, 15 to 30 applicants are funded at varying levels.