Ford Community Corps Partnership

Ford Community Corps Partnership

The Institute for Leadership and Service seeks bold and creative ways to use the many resources of University of Detroit Mercy to serve our community. The Ford Motor Company Fund  has provided financial support to assist the Institute in fostering the strategic partnerships, which form the centerpiece of this new program.



Objectives

The primary goal of this program is to support faculty and students interested in developing a service-learning project to meet the needs of an agency or target population in metropolitan Detroit. The objectives of the program are to:

  • Enhance student leadership skills development through practical experiences of serving those in need.
  • Broaden students’ classroom learning through direct community engagement.
  • Improve the capacity of community-based, human service organizations by creating partnerships between these organizations, Ford Motor Company Fund and Detroit Mercy.
  • Increase the students’ awareness of service opportunities in the community and Ford Motor Company Fund’s commitment to community engagement.
  • Assist faculty in identifying and using best practices in service learning.

Gear Chart

Grant Information

  • Financial support is available for faculty and students willing to perform the required tasks. Check out the awards and requirements below.
  • The faculty member and student leader must submit a joint proposal of a service-learning project to obtain the grant. Apply below.
  • The proposal will be evaluated by the Curriculum of Service Sub-committee of the Institute. Please contact theinstitute@udmercy.edu if you have further questions.

Past Grant Winners

Resources

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    How to Apply

    If you are interested in the Ford Community Corps Partnerships, please review the steps outlined below:

    1. Form your project idea. The Institute, in partnership with Ford, is interested in supporting project proposals that will be implemented during a winter service-learning course. More specifically, we want to support projects in which the students in those courses apply the knowledge gained in that course to help a nonprofit organization. If you are interested and seeking suggestions for potential nonprofit or community partners, The Institute staff has identified a list of potential agencies and is happy to assist interested faculty and student leaders to collaborate and identify agency partners.

    2. Review the Evaluation Criteria. 

    3. Submit a Proposal - Deadline is September 30, 2020.

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    Awards and Requirements

    Students

    Awards

    An award package is given to each participating student leader for completing the specific criteria while contributing to the overall project. The award includes a stipend for coordinating the project, usually in the Winter term of the grant year.

    In Fall of the grant year, student leaders will attend the FCCP leadership course (3 credits). All students will conduct community assessments and develop an action plan. Students will not have to pay anything extra for this course.

    Note: Students will not have to pay any extra for LEAD 4000 or LEAD 2000. If a student is not paying the flat rate tuition, or if they are not getting scholarship that covers the LEAD courses, the Institute will arrange for tuition remission. 

    Requirements

    • Enrolling and completing coursework for LEAD 2000 (Winter/Spring 2019) and LEAD 4000 (Fall 2019) courses;
    • Assessing the needs and assets of the target population being served by the proposed project;
    • Coordinating and monitoring the work of the students enrolled in the Winter 2020 service-learning course;
    • Assisting the faculty member to complete the project with surveys, reports, correspondence, etc. as needed for the project.

    NOTE: The student leader will not be enrolled in the service-learning course in which the proposal is implemented; rather they will serve as a teaching assistant and/or project coordinator. Ideally the student leader will have been previously enrolled in the course, or at have some familiarity with the course material.

    Faculty and Staff

    Awards

    • A $500 stipend to each participating faculty member for their work in integrating the service project into a course for the Winter term of grant year. This course will be designated as a service-learning course for that term.

    Requirements

    • Providing support and mentoring to the student leader in the project coordination, as well as the student leader’s knowledge and skills development related to accomplishing the service project;
    • Teaching the Winter term service-learning course;
    • Assisting the student to complete the project with surveys, reports, correspondence, etc. as needed for the project.

    Click here to download the program structure chart and timeline.