History of the Voices Fund
The Voices Career Development Fund was created by staff, for staff to help them achieve their career development and continuing education goals. The idea for the fund came from Voices of the Staff alumni while they were brainstorming ways to celebrate the university's bicentennial. The following information documents the history of the Voices Career Development Fund.
Give 200 to Celebrate 200
The concept was to ask staff to donate as little as two dollars (200 pennies) to help bridge a funding gap that so many staff experience. Fundraising began in 2015, with the first awards distributed in December 2017, the year of the U-M bicentennial.
$1,000 Grants
The fund aimed to support staff in enhancing their professional experience at the university by offering grants of up to $1,000 to fund:
- Career development—by enabling participation in seminars, workshops, or apprenticeships
- Learning and educational enrichment—by providing financial assistance for continuing education and/or degree or certification or costs of equipment or supplies related to these pursuits (such as textbooks or computer equipment)
General Eligibility and Expectations
- All regular U-M staff members in good standing with one or more years of service were eligible to apply.
- Submissions were reviewed by the Voices of the Staff Program Management Team.
- Participants were required to submit proof of participation in the career development activity for which grant funding is provided within one year of the date that grant funding is received.
