Three Voices Grant Program

Awards for Research, Teaching, or Service

About the Three Voices Grant

The Emeritus Center encourages you to remain active. In support of that goal, you are invited to apply for a Three Voices Grant. Designed to assist your professional endeavors post-retirement, any activity to promote research, teaching, or service is eligible for funding. This year a total of up to $15,000 is available to fund up to 10 awards.

Application

You can submit your Three Voices Grant application online using your albany.edu email account, or you can send your application materials, with your name, address and contact information, to [email protected]. Please format materials as a Word document wherever possible.

  • Project Title  
  • Project Description (five pages or less)
  • Itemized Budget of Amount and Purpose of Funds Requested
  • Your CV or Resume 
  • Any supplementary materials

You can also submit your application using our Three Voices Grant application Word template. If you have any questions about the application process, please email us at [email protected].

Proposals will be welcomed on an ongoing basis through March 31, 2024, but a two-month lead time for review is recommended. Applications received with completion dates beyond June 30, 2024 may be deferred to the following fiscal year, with a completion date of June 30, 2025. 

If your proposal is approved, you are expected to file a final report for each funded project no later than 30 days following the end of the grant.

Three Voices Grant Eligibility

All UAlbany Emeriti are eligible to apply, including faculty, administrators, and professional staff. Any activity that promotes research, including artistic endeavors, teaching, or service is eligible for funding.

Evaluation of Grant Proposals

Proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee appointed by the President of the Emeritus Center Board. The committee is appointed to include members of as wide a range as possible of the University’s disciplines and professional areas to provide for an informed and fair review of each application.

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Specific Aims – What are the aims or objectives of your proposal?
  • Significance – Why are these aims or objectives important? How do they advance our knowledge or help address a major problem?
  • Innovation – How is your proposal new or novel?
  • Approach – What methods will you use to accomplish your aims or objectives? Why are they likely to succeed?
  • Budget – An itemized budget is required, along with a justification as to why each item is needed.
Use of Grant Funds

Uses of research funds may include costs of travel, consumable supplies, and stipends for education. Service funds may be utilized for community projects, events, or activities. 

Additional Funding Opportunities

Through an expansion of the Three Voices Grant Program, the Emeritus Center is pleased to provide funds to awardees other than emeriti.

This additional funding will be awarded to University at Albany units administering programs that may be of interest and value to UAlbany Emeriti, including lecture series, panel discussions, community outreach programs or exhibitions. Individual awards will be issued up to a maximum of $1,000 each.

To apply, you can fill out the Additional Funding application online using an albany.edu email account, or you can send your application materials, with your name, address and contact information, to [email protected]. Please format materials in a word document wherever possible.

  • Project Title  
  • Project Description (Please keep description to five pages or less and be sure to identify how emeriti will be involved in the development of the program, or how the program will be of interest or benefit to University emeriti.)
  • Description of Unit Requesting Funds, Including Experience and Capability Relevant to Project  
  • Itemized Budget of Amount and Purpose of Funds Requested
  • Any supplementary materials

You can also submit your application using our Additional Funding application Word template. If you have any questions about the application process, please email us at [email protected].

Proposals will be accepted on an ongoing basis, but a two-month lead time for review is recommended. Awards are for events between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. Applications received with completion dates beyond June 30, 2024 may be deferred to the following fiscal year, with a completion date of June 30, 2025. 

AdditionalFunding
Additional Funding Eligibility

To request an award, your entity must be a recognized academic or administrative unit of the University at Albany or any associated institution. Your program, event, or function must illustrate a potential benefit to the emeriti.

While emeritus sponsorship is not required, emeritus involvement and support will add strength to the proposal.

In-person events must take place at the University at Albany or within the local Capital District community. For virtual events, you may use additional technology to best administer or stream your event.

Evaluation of Funding Requests

Each year a committee appointed by the President of the Emeritus Center Board will review the applications and approve up to three awards.

The evaluation criteria are as follows:

  • Specific Aims – What are the aims or objectives of your proposal?
  • Significance – Why are these aims or objectives important to the emeriti, the University at Albany, and the greater Capital District community?
  • Approach – What methods will you use to accomplish your aims or objectives?
  • Qualifications – Does your entity have the experience and capability needed to successfully complete the project?
  • Budget – An itemized budget is required, along with a justification as to why each item is needed. Allowable costs include honoraria, travel, consumable supplies, advertising, and acquiring or creating documents, videos, or exhibits.
Additional Funds Reporting

Any awardees must submit a final report to the Emeritus Center within three months of the end of the activity. The report should include:

  • A description of the activities supported by the award
  • The number of participants, including emeriti
  • The impact of the award on the emeriti, University, and Capital District community
  • An itemized budget summarizing how the funds were spent

Endowment

The Three Voices Grant Program is made possible by an endowment provided by Dr. William L. Reese, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Philosophy and Founding President of the Emeritus Center Board of Directors. The Awards Program, now in its seventh year, seeks to advance Dr. Reese’s “Three-Voices” vision for the Emeritus Center by providing competitive small grants to support activities conducted by emeritus faculty, administrators and professional staff of the University at Albany.

Grant funds are disbursed in accordance with the policies and procedures of the University at Albany Foundation, the endowment custodian.