Travel funding
Though there are limited funds available to support student travel to the 2009 UAEM Fall Conference, we strongly encourage all attendees to look for local resources which can usually easily provide for the airfare required to attend the conference. After registering for the conference, you can apply for travel funding, but please let us know if you are successful in finding other funding sources.
Below are a number of resources, including a sample proposal, to help you in applying for travel funding from your university.
Typical Campus Funding Sources
Dean of Students Office
This is usually the first place to go when seeking funding for student proposals. The Dean of Students office has usually set aside funds to be used to pay for student proposals and projects developed over the course of the year that are not covered in the student organizations’ operating budgets. The Dean of Students Office also might be very helpful at identifying other funding sources on campus.
Student Government/Student Activities Committee
Student governments generally allocate annual funding among various student groups as early as the spring of the previous year. Depending on the school, the student government may also have access to sources of additional funding throughout the year. If possible, you should check with your student government to see if they have money set aside for individual student projects.
Academic Departments/Academic Programs/Research Centers
Some UAEM members have been able to get funding from their academic department, academic program, or research center (e.g., the Department of Global Health and Population, the MD/PHD program, or the X Center for Health Law Policy). If any member of your chapter is planning on writing a student paper or conducting graduate-level research related to access to medicine issues, there is a good chance the department will be able to fund travel to the conference as part of that research.
Specialized Grants
Campuses may have specialized funds applicable as conference travel grants. Check with your Dean of Students Office and ask your friends whether they have been successful at receiving funding for their projects from specialized sources.
Tips for Writing a Proposal
–Research your itinerary before hand and create a budget
This allows you be accurate in your requests and insures you will not be getting too much or too little funding for your trip (running over or under-budget can hurt an organization the next time it applies for funds). It also shows funders that you have thought through your proposal and will spend their money wisely.
Check out Orbitz.com or statravel.com to get the current lowest rates on flights. Also think about how you will travel once you reach the conference (e.g. public transit, taxi).
–Explain that you have applied for funding elsewhere
Funders are especially willing to fund projects where students have received partial funding from elsewhere. Obtaining other funding shows initiative and commitment to making the project happen, and lets the funder know that the project is worthwhile.
–Explain why your visit to the campus will accomplish the goals of the funding source
If you are applying to the Dean of Students Office, for example, you will want to stress how your trip will benefit the student body by allowing you to bring ideas home from the conference to fuel other campus activities, and how it is a vital educational experience for the student’s who participate. Mention the events your chapter has organized, events you plan to organize, and ways in which your work ties in with other work being carried out on campus. If you are applying for departmental funding, by contrast, it will be important to show how the conference will benefit your research.
–If you will be putting on a presentation at the conference, say so
On some campuses, it is much easier for students to get funding if they inform their funders that they are traveling to the conference not just to listen, but to present their own work.
How will it all look? View this Sample Proposal for some ideas.
