Kathryn W. Davis Projects for Peace Grant

Projects for Peace encourages student initiative, innovation, and entrepreneurship focusing on conflict prevention, resolution, or reconciliation.

With this grant, students or groups of students can apply for a $10,000 grant to support projects that promote peace and address the root causes of conflict among parties.

Grants are only available during the Spring semester. Apply by Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 8 a.m.

The  includes two parts (A) a proposal narrative and (B) a budget must be submitted by Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 8 a.m.

Part A. Proposal Narrative (2 pages single-spaced):

Please use this  that includes specifics on the font, spacing, header, and questions to guide your writing. Proposal narratives should:

  • Describe the project (who, what, where, how) including expected outcomes and prospects for future impact. 
  • Clearly demonstrate how the project will address root causes grounded in community needs/data.

Part B. Proposal Budget: 

Please use this required  that includes specific areas you should consider budgeting for to complete the project. Budgets should:

  • Cover how all $10,000 requested will be spent. 
  • Descriptions of categories where you will spend. I.e., if you flying and taking other forms of transportation please add in the "Notes" section what those forms of transportation will be and the expected expense. 
  • Update the rates as needed. i.e., food (weekly/ biweekly/ monthly).
  • A thoughtful, thorough, and well-researched budget helps us better understand how you will spend your grant. 

Sam Waithira

Engaging in the project transformed my perspective on the world. Witnessing the positive impact of sustainable solutions on vulnerable individuals shifted my understanding of how lasting change can be achieved and made me understand that sustainable change takes time.

Samuel Waithira '24

Explore Past Recipients' Projects

Frankline Edongʳɫ¹ÙÍø™a '25: Amani Youth Project 

a group of people sitting together in the outdoors

Kenya | Summer 2022

The Amani Youth Project's primary objective is to empower young people to serve as peace ambassadors in Turkana and Baringo. Having formed a committee of twelve youths, six from each community, project participants participants received training, traveled to war-torn areas to preach peace, and provided communities with access to basic resources like water. We collaborated with local chiefs, community elders, teachers and security officers to listen to opinions about the conflict and the obstacles that prevented people from living in harmony. Additionally, we provided water storage facilities, channeled water closer to the communities, and repaired inefficient solar panels and water pumps to ensure peopleʳɫ¹ÙÍø™s access to water. 

Kimberley Tanatswa Muchenje '22: Jekesa Remangwana (Futures Ignited)

a group of young Black people holding certificates outdoors

Zimbabwe | Summer 2022

Jekesa Remangwana is the first step in a long-term effort to generate biotechnological solutions to Zimbabweʳɫ¹ÙÍø™s impending biomedical, agricultural, and industrial issues. I partnered with three other students from Zimbabwe to run a biotechnology boot camp during which we collaboratively taught biotechnology techniques and their applications to students in high school STEM programs. In addition to showing them how biotechnology can be a tool to combat some of the issues at the heart of internal and external conflict, we provided mentorship and professional development opportunities to the students so they could see how one can advance in Biotechnology whilst in Zimbabwe. These students may someday develop crops that are resistant to pests, diseases, or adverse environmental conditions, reviving Zimbabweʳɫ¹ÙÍø™s declining agricultural industry, which serves as the countryʳɫ¹ÙÍø™s key source of income to alleviate food shortages and increase peace amongst people.

Samuel Waithira '24: Growing Futures: Agricultural Empowerment for Hosanna Children's Home

a young Black man holds up scissors as part of a ribbon cutting with two older people

Kenya | Summer 2023

The Growing Futures project sought to address the financial challenges of Hosanna Children's Home in Githunguri, Kenya, by establishing a sustainable pig farming initiative. Through the construction of a pig sty and breeding farming through training, the project aimed to generate income for the home while providing valuable agricultural education to the community, contributing to stability, poverty reduction, and youth engagement. Through the Growing Futures Peace Project, we've witnessed the transformative power of sustainable solutions in nurturing both economic stability and a sense of community.  This experience has taught me that by empowering individuals with skills and opportunities, we can truly sow the seeds of lasting peace and positive change. The grant allowed me to understand my community's challenges in a way I never envisioned before. A great thank you to the Projects for Peace program for the opportunity! 

a group of young Black people stand in a grassy opening surrounded by treees
a group of young Black people in orange t-shirts stand together smiling
scenes of a structure being built in Africa
a group of young Black people stand together smiling