Holding Harm, Grief, Imagination & Stories

Mutual Aid Project Micro-Grants

Scope and intent

Introduced in July 2024, these Mutual Aid Project Grants are for University of Alberta groups, units and informal collectives to support them and the communities of which they are a part, in their experiences of trauma, harm and grief. This includes addressing the needs of those most affected and harmed by the university’s responses to the encampment and Palestine activism. These grants seek to support projects oriented to imagining and learning about other ways together and to inspire diverse and community-specific approaches to individual, adjacent and collective grieving practices as part of collective holding toward care and conflict resolution.

While individually focused approaches to accessing support are available, these mutual aid project micro-grants will aim to animate collective practices for holding harm and grief while encouraging diverse university communities to share their stories, learnings, imaginations and strategies towards mutual flourishing.

This grant opportunity grew from community conversations and commitments.

Projects might include:

• Telling, witnessing, holding and sharing stories (eg. sharing circles, digital storytelling): this includes storying experiences of harm, mutual aid, resilience and the processes of moving through this moment collectively.
• Movement-based and embodied practices (e.g., yoga, cultural dances).
• Creative practices (e.g., making zines, photovoice, creating tools or practices).
• Practices of imagination: genuinely inviting campus members to imagine what could have happened, what might happen going forward and what we might need to do to support alternative ways through and forward.
• Collective learning: supporting imagination and skill building through learning about alternative ways of being and doing together (e.g., multi-cultural and multi-religious teach-ins moving through conflict, mutual aid for transformation).
• Cultivating practices for emergent needs (e.g., collective meals, supporting the transition of displaced and newcomer students).

Interested applicants are encouraged to review the event guide, which offers considerations for organizers in terms of space bookings, accessibility and other matters.

Guiding principles

The projects supported by this grant will have at least one of the following aims:

• support those experiencing harm
• activate collective imagination around how we might coexist with reduced harm
• focus on mutuality and reciprocity in actions and outcomes
• commit to collective learning and sharing among communities with the intent of spanning differences
• center learning, discovery and citizenship to build more creative and resilient communities

Eligibility

• While the projects can involve or engage those (individuals and/or community partners) outside of the U of A, they must be led or co-led by at least one of the following:
  • a registered student group
  • a department, unit or team of the U of A
  • a formal or informal collective consisting of at least three U of A members (student, faculty, or staff)
• Projects must be designed to serve the U of A community, but can reach beyond. For example, projects may be held at U of A but be open to the public. Projects can also be designed to serve a specific subset of the UofA community (e.g., students only; those directly impacted by the encampment clearing).
• All projects and spending plans must abide by U of A policies, including the Discrimination and Harassment Policy and the Space Management Policy.

How to apply

• Applications will be made through this Google form, or answers to the questions on the form can be emailed in text or video format to vpedi@ualberta.ca. If any of these processes are a barrier to applying, please contact vpedi@ualberta.ca and we will find a way forward together. Questions about the overarching initiative can also be directed to vpedi@ualberta.ca.
• Different grant levels require different information for the application and end-of-grant accountability. Money must be spent and activities or projects held before March 31, 2025.
• Submissions will be accepted beginning July 18, 2024 and continue until funds are exhausted.
• Applicants (or their designated contact) will normally be contacted within 10 working days of the date the submission was received.

Project Facilitation and Confirmation of Funding

Once we receive your application, a dedicated grant facilitator will reach out to begin conversations. The facilitator will have the initial discussion with the project contact person and (if appropriate) collaborators, to determine if and how they can support the project. They will work with each consenting applicant team to help them to realize their project. Possible supports include booking spaces, administering funds, sharing communications, supporting access practices, identifying connections across projects and supporting post-project accountability reporting.

All funding of projects will be confirmed on the basis of alignment with micro-grant principles and eligibility; in the case of grants upwards of $1000, specifics with respect to budget items and documentation, etc. may be needed. This will be clarified in conversations with the grant facilitator.

Project funding will be confirmed by consensus by a panel consisting of:

• Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (or designate)
• Vice-Provost and Dean of Students (or designate)
• Undergraduate student (selected or affirmed by University of Alberta Students’ Union)
• Graduate student (selected or affirmed by University of Alberta Graduate Students' Association)
• Up to two academic staff members (selected from the Integrating Equity Group and/or the EDI Leads Network)
• Up to two support staff members (selected from the Integrating Equity Group and/or the EDI Leads Network)
• Member of the Moving through Conflict project team (selected by Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)
• Mutual Aid Project Micro-Grant facilitator

Additional members may be added following discussion and consensus with the panel.

Community reporting and accountability

• At the end of the grant period, project collaborators will be asked to share a bit about how the project went and what they learned. The purpose of this is to help better support future projects and to increase knowledge among the U of A leadership and community more broadly.
• Grants larger than $2500 may require basic financial reporting. This can be discussed with the grant facilitator.
• At the end of the fiscal year, the Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) will prepare and issue a report to the U of A community outlining the overarching use of funds and detailing the outcomes of the granting work. Any specifics on activities or outcomes will only be shared with the consent of project collaborators.

More information

Contact the Office of the Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) at vpedi@ualberta.ca.

Holding Harm, Grief, Imagination & Stories recognizes that all experiences can serve as catalysts for change towards mutual flourishing. Collectively developed skills, policies, learnings, relationships and imagination create alternative ways of engaging with conflict, safety, inequity and injustice.