CMU announces Go Grants Initiative

During his First 100 Days Reflection event today, Central Michigan University President Neil MacKinnon announced the launch of a new funding initiative to drive progress on the university’s strategic plan.

“Great work is already underway on CMU’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, but there are so many opportunities for our students, faculty and staff to help the university achieve its priorities,” MacKinnon said. “The Go Grants Initiative was established to encourage every member of our community to share creative ways to reach our SMART goals related to student and scholarly success, community engagement, organizational culture and sustainability.”

The Go Grants will be distributed as one-time funds in amounts ranging from $5,000 to $50,000, MacKinnon said, and are available to individual students, faculty and staff, and to campus teams and units. Interested applicants can share their ideas by completing an online submission form. 

In addition to sharing their project idea and its estimated cost, applicants will be asked to share information including how:

• The proposed project aligns with one or more strategic priority.
• The project will positively impact CMU, its stakeholders and/or the communities CMU serves.
• The recipients will assess the success of their project and measure its outcomes.

The window to apply for Go Grants opens Wednesday, February 12 and will close at 5 p.m. Friday, March 21, 2025.

Learn more about Go Grants!

Joe Garrison, university budget officer and assistant to the president for strategic initiatives, said interested applicants can also get guidance to ensure their proposal aligns with the strategic plan by emailing strategicplanning@cmich.edu. 

“There are working groups for each of the plan’s four priorities, and conveners of those groups can offer suggestions to help applicants develop their proposals,” Garrison said. 

Members of the strategic plan priority working groups will also play a role in selecting projects for funding, Garrison said. Along with members of the university’s Budget Priorities Committee, the conveners will review proposals for alignment with the plan priorities and SMART goals, potential positive impact, and expected return on investment, whether financial or mission-based.

With a total pool of $500,000 available to award, Garrison said the reviewers hope to have several winning projects for each of the four priorities. Selected proposals will be announced late in the Spring semester, he said, and funding will be available to the recipients shortly thereafter. 

“CMU’s students, faculty and staff are among the most creative, innovative, passionate and dedicated people I have encountered in my higher education journey,” MacKinnon said. “I can’t wait to watch their ideas for improving CMU come to life.”