We fund projects in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri that involve Tribal Nations, farmers, or landowners and align with one of our identified priority areas of interest. Projects should improve resilience to weather-related events and build partnerships among communities and the COLEARN team and within communities.

You can read abstracts of funded projects here.

We can’t fund any permanent infrastructure, such as land improvements, permanent water or energy infrastructure, or building projects. We can’t fund equipment greater than $5000, such as agricultural equipment, or implements. We do not fund projects outside the scope of our five identified priority areas or projects that do not have a goal of increasing community-level resilience. See “What costs are allowable or not” for more budget-related details.

We accept applications on a rolling basis, so you can submit anytime. We will provide a decision on funding within six weeks. You can also reach out to us at any time to discuss a potential application. Email Sarah-helmer@uiowa.edu to connect with us.

Applications are reviewed by the COLEARN leadership team, guided by this decision rubric.

All projects must follow rules for federal grants:

Allowable Expenses:

• Personnel effort for staff to conduct the project
• Travel costs associated with data collection, outreach, education, and dissemination
• Speaker fees
• Participant stipends—This cost may be a flat amount per participant and would be provided to cover costs associated with participating in your activity or event. Examples of expenses included in participant stipends are travel costs, childcare, and other related expenses that help defray costs incurred to participate.
• Advertisement costs

• Indirect costs/F&A is limited to 10% unless the organization has a federally negotiated rate
• Supplies or equipment up to $5,000. Please contact us to discuss if you require equipment costs greater than $5,000.

Not allowable:

• Costs associated with Land Improvements
• Entertainment costs or social activities
• SWAG or give-away branded materials
• Honorarium or incentive payments 
• General office supplies (this would be considered an F&A cost)
• Books or journals
• Dues, subscriptions, or membership fees
• Building acquisition, construction costs, capital expenditures for improvements to land 
• Generally, food is NOT an allowed expense. However, there are specific circumstances where food may be allowable, such as part of an organized meeting, workshop, or conference that shares technical or educational information. Including food in your budget may be subject to review by the funding agency and could delay project approval. Costs must be fully justified, and the intent clearly defined. You will be required to provide a tentative agenda as part of your justification, with the finalized agenda provided once available. Food costs for social events will not be covered.

If your project is funded, we will ask you or your organization to fill out an application to become a University of Iowa vendor. Having a vendor account will provide the University of Iowa with the necessary contact and financial information to provide payment for your grant activities. When your vendor account is set up, we will create a Purchase Order (PO) that includes a number assigned specifically to your project. You will receive detailed instructions about how to submit invoices to receive payment. Invoices should be only include costs incurred, we cannot pre-pay you for anticipated costs. For example, if you are requesting speaker fees for an event, you would invoice us for those fees after the event has occurred. Payments for invoices are typically deposited within 30 days of invoice submission.