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Home Student Philanthropy and Grants Opportunities Student Impact Grant

Student Impact Grant

Student Impact Grants provide funding for a variety of University of Iowa undergraduate and graduate student activities outside the classroom, such as research, travel, and service projects. The goal is to enable students to pursue opportunities that might not otherwise be possible without financial assistance.

The President's Office has generously allocated $7,000 per semester to help enhance the student experience through these grants. The designated funds come from generous philanthropic gifts made by alumni and friends who have chosen to provide unrestricted support to the university.

Grants are awarded twice a year. Applications are typically accepted for the summer/fall semester beginning in January and for the winter/spring semester beginning in September.

Read the stories of previous recipients.

The grants are made possible by a partnership between the Office of the President and Student Advancement Network (SAN).

GRANT GUIDELINES

Award Application Process

Applications will be considered for funding based on the timeline below. An online form will be available for students and student groups to use when the application period opens. A maximum of $7,000 in total grants will be awarded. Grant amounts will range from $100-$1,000 awards.

Winter 2025 and Spring 2026 Semester Award Grant Cycle

  • September 2: Application opens
  • September 26: Application deadline (5 p.m.)
  • November 20: Grant recipients will be notified about funding requests for winter or spring semester.
  • December 3: Summer/Fall 2025 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant enhanced the recipient’s Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.
  • December 4: Signed recipient agreement form due
  • December 22: Award transfers/payments for summer projects
  • January 20: Award transfers/payments for fall projects
  • April 28: Winter 2025/Spring 2026 grant recipient presentations detailing how the funds were used and how the grant enhanced the recipient's Iowa experience. This event is open to the public.

Student Eligibility Requirements

  • Applicants must be enrolled full time as a University of Iowa undergraduate or graduate student for the fall 2025 semester and be in good standing as defined in the University of Iowa Code of Student Life.
  • Student groups or organizations must be recognized by the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership or by a University of Iowa department.
  • If your program is funded in full by other programs or funding methods your program is not eligible.
  • Program/experience must abide by all university guidelines. Grant funding does not permit activities that conflict with these guidelines.
  • Program/experience must abide by all university research guidelines. Grant funding does not permit activities that conflict with Institutional Review Board (IRB) guidelines. Funding does not provide IRB permission for the project.
  • Funding requests must be shown to improve or enhance the student experience and may not be used to reimburse research subjects. Recipients will share about this outcome during a biannual Student Impact Grant Presentation event.
  • Once a student receives a grant, they are not eligible for another University of Iowa Center for Advancement student grant within the next three years.
  • Grants are not renewable.
  • Recipients must present during the Winter/Spring grant recipient presentation detailing how the funds were used and how your Iowa experience was enhanced because of this award. Presentations will be held on April 28, 2026.
Apply Now

Review Process

Members of the University of Iowa Student Advancement Network will review all submissions and make a recommendation. A University of Iowa Center for Advancement employee will oversee the scoring and review process. After review, recommendations will be sent to the Office of the President, which will make the final decision on all grant awards.

Awardees will then be notified of their selection to receive a grant, and payment will be provided by the Office of the President through a transfer to the student's U-Bill or student organization's account. The University of Iowa Office of Student Financial Aid will be consulted to ensure that funding does not affect other financial aid that a student may receive.

If you have questions, please contact Hannah McClintock at hannah.mcclintock@foriowa.org.

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The Beat Goes On

Iowa alum?s love for the arts lives on through her generosity toward musicians at the University of Iowa School of Music. Submitted photo Margaret Waggoner spent more than three decades teaching physics, including at the University of Iowa. Margaret Waggoner (46BA, 48MS, 50PhD) loved music. She also had a passion for architecture, history, nuclear physics, teaching, and so much more. ?She was a Jane of all trades, and a master of all,? says Melanie Lamere, a friend of Waggoner?s for the past 20 years. ?She didn?t do anything halfway.? Submitted photo Margaret Waggoner Growing up near Centerville, Iowa, Waggoner was introduced to music in the fifth grade when she overheard the school band rehearsing in a nearby room. This exposure ultimately led her to join band and orchestra?playing saxophone and alto clarinet before picking up the bassoon. At age 16, Waggoner enrolled at the University of Iowa and continued her interest in music by joining several chamber ensembles and the university symphony under the direction of Himie Voxman (33BSChE, 34MA), for whom the School of Music building is named. Initially interested in architecture, Waggoner took an inspiring physics class that led her to change her major and pursue three degrees in nuclear physics from Iowa. ?She did well in school, but when she started applying for jobs?specifically teaching jobs?she was told, at the time, that it was against some schools? policies to hire women,? says good friend Bob Labrie. ?Margaret never forgot that, and she didn?t understand why that was even a policy. Growing up on a farm, her experience was if there was a job to do, you got it done.? After securing her first teaching job at Vassar College, Waggoner began a more than three-decade career in academia?teaching physics and pursuing research at Stanford University, the University of Maryland, and Iowa, before taking on leadership positions at Smith College, Wilson College, and Radcliffe College. Retiring eventually to Goshen, Massachusetts?where she met both Labrie and Lamere?Waggoner remained fiercely independent while still enjoying music through local music performances at the Marlboro School of Music and South Mountain Concert Series. Photo credit: Kate Metcalf Ben Coelho, professor of bassoon at the University of Iowa School of Music, takes a look at the late Margaret Waggoner?s more than eight-decades-old Heckel bassoon. ?Music was a passion, a hobby, and an event for Margaret,? says Lamere. ?She would not listen to music at home. Music was to be experienced in person?not just listened to casually. She wanted to watch and experience the relationship between instruments and performers, the facial expressions, and discover the story being told.? Waggoner died in 2021 at age 96, and she?s now helping young musicians pursue their passions through her estate plans. While she?s supporting aspiring musicians in Massachusetts, she?s also giving back to her alma mater?creating a music scholarship for undergraduate students, providing funds for the Rita Benton Music Library to secure new sheet music, arranging funds for students to purchase instruments, and donating her more than eight decades-old Heckel bassoon to the UI School of Music. ?Margaret wanted to help those who have a love for music, and she didn?t want them to worry about how to pay for it,? says Labrie. ?She specifically wanted to support undergraduate students because someone had helped her and gave her a scholarship when she went to Iowa. This was one way for her to pay it forward.? Labrie and Lamere, the administrators of Waggoner?s estate, have been inspired by her generosity and passion for the arts. ?Margaret has taken Melanie and me on a journey,? says Labrie. ?She was a strong, independent woman, and because she was also a shrewd investor, she?s going to be helping a lot of people, too.? Learn how you can make a difference at the University of Iowa by visiting our planned giving website, or contact Susan Hagan, JD, executive director for planned giving at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, at susan.hagan@foriowa.org or 319-335-3305.?

Alumni Band

Open to all former Hawkeye Marching Band members, the Alumni Band assists in the lifelong relationship between the university and band alumni.

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NOTICE: The University of Iowa Center for Advancement is an operational name for the State University of Iowa Foundation, an independent, Iowa nonprofit corporation organized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, publicly supported charitable entity that works to advance the University of Iowa. Please review its full disclosure statement.

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