In a time of heavy cuts to UNC’s budget, many student groups have seen their budgets trimmed as well.
However, clubs aiming to promote social justice could get financial help from the Campus Y’s YFund, which received a $10,000 grant last spring that campus groups can benefit from.
The YFund is a source of seed money for innovative social justice initiatives on campus that is run by students in the Campus Y Development Committee. While in prior years YFund money was available only to organizations operating out of the Campus Y, money from the $10,000 grant will be made available to any campus social justice group.
“We’re there with them throughout the steps of the project,” said Madhu Vulimiri, co-director of the YFund’s Development Committee. “It’s cool to see the project go from an idea to fleshed out and detailed.”
Established two years ago, the YFund typically ran on $6,000 available exclusively to Campus Y committees. Last March, UNC’s Parents Council presented the Campus Y with the grant.
In order to receive funding, groups must fill out a written application, make a pitch for their project and create a way to evaluate their progress.
The YFund gives the project half the money to start with, and the rest of the money is dispersed when the group has reached its goal.
Long-term projects that deal with social justice in any way — such as minority empowerment or gender equality — are eligible for a grant from the program.
A past project that has benefited from this grant is a tutoring program called “Bringing Back Fridays,” headed by UNC’s Helping Youth by Providing Enrichment.
