Amherst College students are among a select group of undergraduates eligible to receive funding from the 100 Projects for Peace Grant for student-initiated independent grassroots projects. Only 76 colleges and universities around the country have been selected to participate in the program. Recipients of the grant are tasked with designing their own grassroots project to be implemented during the summer of 2007. Each approved project will receive $10,000.

The grant is funded by a $1 million donation to the Davis Foundation by Kathryn Wasserman Davis in celebration of her 100th birthday.

"I want to use my 100th birthday to help young people launch some immediate initiatives-things that they can do during the summer of 2007-that will bring new thinking to the prospects of peace in the world," Mrs. Davis wrote on the project's website, www.kwd100projectsforpeace.org.

Associate Dean of Students and Davis Foundation representative at the College Frances Tuleja described Mrs. Davis as "an extraordinarily accomplished person." Mrs. Davis received her B.A. from Wellesley College, M.A. from Columbia University and Ph.D. from the University of Geneva, and is a successful internationalist and philanthropist.

Last Thursday, Dean Tuleja and Assistant Director of the Career Center Dean Bekki Lee convened a well-attended, hour-long informational meeting about the grant. They spoke about the Davis Foundation's history, the application process for the grant and on advice for students regarding project design.

The Davis Foundation is linked with the Davis United World College (UWC) Scholars Program, founded in 1998 and funded by Mr. Shelby Moore Cullom Davis, the son of Mrs. Davis. The Davis UWC Scholars Program involves a series of institutions which were founded by Mr. Davis in various countries around the world.

UWC schools accept students for a rigorous two-year-long program based on the International Baccalaureate.The UWC Scholars Program then finances scholarships for UWC graduates who are accepted at college and universities in the U.S. that participate in the program.

The 76 colleges and universities participating in 100 Projects for Peace are affiliated with the UWC Scholars Program. However, the project grants are not limited to UWC graduates; all undergraduates attending the participating institutions are free to apply.

According to Tuleja, projects are expected to be "worldwide in scope and impact." Although there is a distinct international emphasis, projects set in the U.S. are also acceptable. Besides this, the definition of a project is very broad-and intentionally so. According to the project Web site, acceptable projects should encourage creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. Tuleja added that the grant hopes to "tap into the creativity of youth."

The application process is competitive. Because there are 76 participating schools, only one to two student projects will be accepted from any given institution. Amherst students are to design a grassroots project independently, and should submit their proposal to Tuleja's office by Jan. 15.

Each school will in turn nominate one student proposal, and two to three alternatives, which they will submit to the Davis UWC Scholars Program office. The foundation will then determine which proposals to finance. The expectation is that there will be at least one project funded from each school.

The student proposal should comprise of a one-page budget description and a two-page written statement explaining who, what, where and how the project will run, and should detail the goals and expected outcome. Dean Lee offered tips on project design. She advised students to seek advice and mentoring from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other charitable groups. She emphasized that students "should not try to reinvent the wheel." There are numerous projects already existing that students can either work with or design their own projects after.

The Web site explained that winning proposals would be both promising and "do-able." Lee affirmed this, advising students to "think big but also realistically." Also, although the grant is $10,000, students are encouraged to seek out funding from third parties to expand their project budgets.

According to Lee, even if the proposals are not nominated for this specific program, students can apply to College fellowships, such as the Tom Gerety Fellowship for Action, for funding.

Winning proposals will be determined by March 15, with grant payment letters due on March 30. The project should take place during the summer of 2007. Students are also expected to write a final report, which is due to the Davis UWC Scholars office by Sept. 15.