About
Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Fund is a program that supports faculty, staff, monastic, and student community members in the development of a project that will advance diversity and inclusion (see definitions below).
Purpose
To incentivize Saint Anselm College community-based initiatives that will speed campus improvement in the area of diversity and inclusion. Funds indicate a targeted, institutional investment designed to encourage cross-campus collaborations to improve diversity and inclusion for long-term community growth. Such investment and collaboration flow from our Catholic and Benedictine values.
At A Glance
- Eligibility: all faculty, staff, monastic, and student community members.
- Application deadlines: once per fall and spring semester.
- Duration: one semester or one academic year.
- Typical grants range from $500 to $2,500
- Upcoming information sessions:
- *Friday, March 3, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Jean Student Center.
- Thursday, March 9, from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. via Zoom.
- *Monday, March 13, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., Coffee Shop.
No RSVP necessary. View the DIIF Info Poster Below:
Administration and Selection
The funds are administered through the Office for Diversity and Inclusion. The review committee is appointed by the Chief Diversity Officer, chaired by a member of the President’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusivity (PCDI) and includes faculty, staff, monastic, and student community members. The Diversity Innovation Fund is awarded through a competitive grant application process. Not all projects will be funded.
Project Focus Areas
The committee places a high priority on projects and initiatives designed to assist the college realize its mission as a Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts institution with projects that work toward sustaining an intentionally inclusive environment. In addition, successful proposals will involve collaboration between or among groups within the campus community.
The selection committee invites proposals for funding in the following areas:
- Dialogue and civil discourse for social equity - Projects that promote dialogue and civil discourse about topics that are directly related to equity and social justice.
- Curricular/co-curricular collaborations - Projects that encourage collaborations between and among the campus’ wide range of constituencies including students, faculty, staff, the monastery, alumni, and the wider community. These include collaborations that enhance learning beyond the classroom.
- Integration of local/global diversity - The committee strongly supports proposals that integrate with underrepresented and historically marginalized groups.
- Faculty or staff research and teaching re: diversity - Projects that enhance teaching and scholarship including diversity-related curricular projects as well as support for diversity-related research.
The selection committee will evaluate each project proposal on the following criteria:
- Innovative/creativity
- Feasibility
- Level of collaboration
- Potential impact to foster a campus culture of belonging
Submission guidelines:
Submission guidelines:
The next deadline for submission is Friday, March 31, for fall 2023 awards. Announcement of recipients of the innovation funds will be made in May. Note: All student-initiated proposals need to be co-sponsored by an academic department or administrative office for fund disbursement purposes.
- Fall 2023 Request for Proposals (RFP):
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Document
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- Application deadline for fall 2023 proposals is Friday, March 31, 2023 by noon.
- Please provide estimate breakdown of how funds will be used.
- Please specify exactly how the proposal meets the criteria for funding project.
- Application Cover Sheet Form:
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Document
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- Submit proposals with the application cover sheet via email to Diversity & Inclusion Innovation Fund.
- Questions regarding submission details may be directed to Paro Pope at ppope@anselm.edu
- Questions regarding project consultation may be directed to Dr. Ande Diaz at adiaz@anselm.edu
Diversity – includes individual and group/social differences. [The Saint Anselm community is inclusive of individuals who reflect a broad range of social identities including the following: Socioeconomic Class, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Disability, Religion, Politics, National Origin, and First Generation]
Inclusion - The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity.

Anselmian Network for Racial Justice
"As an institution, we are guided by our Catholic and Benedictine mission and identity in which all human life is valued and all are worthy of the same dignity and respect. With this in mind, we have spoken with a collective voice in naming racism a social evil and embracing productive efforts to engage in positive change."