Applications for the 2017 round of challenge grant funding will be accepted starting September 6, 2016!

Three challenge grants of up to $3,000 each will be awarded in December 2016 to support Let’s Talk About Water (LTAW) events in 2017. These funds are awarded on a 1-to-1 matching basis; that is, you must provide $1 for each $1 CUAHSI provides with a cap of $3,000 on CUAHSI’s support. You may, of course, provide more than $3,000. Past LTAW events have cost on average between $6,000 and $8,000.  LTAW events for this round of Challenge Grant funding must take place between January 1 and November 30, 2017.

Eligibility: Student groups or university faculty are eligible to apply for a Challenge Grant, but the grant must be awarded to a U.S. university, therefore the applicant must be affiliated with a university.

In addition to the matching funds, Challenge Grant recipients will receive film and program consultation from Program Director Linda Lilienfeld, who developed the LTAW format.  Linda has been a film researcher for thirty-five years and has screened over 300 water films and designed successful LTAW events all over the world.  Whenever possible, Linda (or another CUAHSI staff member) travels to the event to provide support on site. More information about the LTAW program formula can be found in this EOS article.

Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee and are evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Evidence of availability of matching funds and ability to cover complete cost of event (40%)
• Clarity of program objectives and target audience (25%)
• Approach for attracting the target audience (20%)
• Potential to contribute to the legacy for the LTAW program (resource materials, regular event) (15%)

There is no preference for any particular objective or audience; however, there should be a clear rationale for how the specific program objectives you have are appropriate for your chosen target audience.

View programs from previous LTAW Challenge Grant recipients here or on the Let’s Talk About Water website. Other common questions are addressed on the LTAW FAQs.

Applicants will be notified of the status of their proposal in December 2016. 

Want to host an LTAW event but not sure where to begin? Check out some of our Ideas and Resources for hosting an LTAW event to get you started! 

Fall 2015 Challenge Grant Winners

• Central Michigan University
• Ohio State University
• University of Nevada Las Vegas
• Utah State University

A complete list of Challenge Grant Awardees can be viewed at: https://www.cuahsi.org/LTAWArchive

Congratulations to the winners of the Spring 2015 Challenge Grant program, who will host LTAW events in the Fall of 2015:

• Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana (September 24, 2015)
• Saint Leo University, St. Leo, Florida (October 17, 2015)
• University of Nevada Reno

CUAHSI and the Johnson Family Foundation received the largest number of Challenge Grant applications in 2014—the third year of the program— with proposals for many high-caliber water and film events. The selection committee awarded Let’s Talk About Water Challenge Grants to the following four universities for the 2015 academic year:

• Duke University (January 29, 2015)
• North Carolina State University (February 20, 2015)
• Oregon State University (April 27, 2015)
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign