Colleges, universities encouraged to apply for grants to help reduce campus sexual assaults

In an ongoing effort to help reduce sexual assaults on campuses across Michigan, the Campus Sexual Assault Grant Program (CSAGP) is accepting grant applications for Fiscal Year 2017 from public and non-public Michigan colleges and universities.

This is the second round of grants after First Lady Sue Snyder and Michigan State Police Director Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue announced the program in June 2015 following the First Lady’s “Inform. Empower. Prevent. Let’s End Campus Sexual Assault” summit. Governor Snyder recommended and the Michigan Legislature appropriated $500,000 from the FY 2016 General Fund to support the grant program, and the funding has been renewed again this year.

Last year, 22 awards were made for projects that included enhancing online training programs for students and faculty, developing student-driven training videos, providing trauma-informed sexual assault training to first responders and creating sexual assault networks for colleges to use to share resources and innovative programs.

On Sept. 30, the First Lady will host the second “Inform. Empower. Prevent. Let’s End Campus Sexual Assault” summit at the University of Michigan. The event will highlight some of last year’s grant recipients and the programs made possible by the CSAGP funding.

The grant application is at www.michigan.gov/CJgrants. Applications will be accepted until noon on Thursday, Oct. 13.

Eligible applicants are permitted to submit up to two applications for projects in five program areas: education, awareness, prevention, reporting and bystander innovation. Applicants are encouraged to research and develop their projects with state and national sexual assault experts, as well as model their proposals after evidence-based sexual assault programs. To be considered for funding all applicants must:

• Submit a detailed and complete application with all required information by noon on Oct. 13.

• Be a public or non-public university, college or community college where students attend classes on a physical campus in the state of Michigan.

• Provide a project overview that includes project title, goals and objectives, proposed start and completion dates, estimated cost, grant amount requested and additional partners participating in the project.

• Have a project that starts after Dec. 1 and completes prior to Nov. 30, 2017.

• Submit no more than two applications per college/university.

Grant applications will be reviewed by a committee that includes representatives from the Michigan State Police, Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, and the Executive Office of the Governor.

For questions regarding the grant program or to submit an application, email msp-csagrant@michigan.gov.

For additional background and videos regarding the “Inform. Empower. Prevent. Let’s End Campus Sexual Assault” summit, visit www.endcampussexualassault.com.