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CCA@CCA Faculty Grants Program

Last updated on Nov 18, 2025

How do we cultivate hope to fight the paralysis created by fear? We invite you to consider hope as the first step toward movement. How can we use the act of hoping–from imagining to physically moving–to envision and create different futures? Apply now to receive up to $1000 in grant support for your Spring 2026 course efforts connected to creative activism and civic engagement.

May pole 2025

DEADLINE: December 15, 2025

AWARDED BY: December 19, 2025

AMOUNTS: Up to $1000 (Between $500–1000 based on proposed budget is typical)

FUNDING AVAILABLE: $5000

APPLY NOW

Theme + Connecting Events

In spring 2026, we are looking for projects that are related to the 2026 CCA@CCA theme: Hope As Movement. How can we use the act of hoping–from imagining to physically moving–to envision and create different futures?

Faculty are also invited to connect to the upcoming CCA@CCA sponsored exhibition, Under the Guard Tower: The Watercolors of Chikaji Kawakami that will be on view at the CCA Campus Gallery from April 1 - May 15, 2026. The exhibition is curated by CCA@CCA Faculty Coordinator Lydia Nakashima Degarrod and consists of 45 paintings made by Kawakami during his incarceration at Tanforan and Topaz Internment camps during WWII.

The work of artist Chikaji Kawakami is an example of hope as action. Instead of being paralyzed by fear, he chose to respond to his unjust incarceration by using art to portray himself and his fellow Japanese and Japanese-American inmates with dignity and to find beauty and peace in nature. Kawakami’s response is what South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Hal defines as hope, not as merely optimism, but the ability of imagining and moving towards something deeper and profound, the opposite of fear that paralyzed you. Instructional materials will be available in January 2026 and presentation opportunities could be possible at the April 2026 CCA@CCA Symposium.

Objectives

Faculty Grants, funded via Creative Citizens in Action at CCA (CCA@CCA), are designed to support course efforts tied to civic and democratic engagement by CCA faculty. The goal of this program is to support the implementation of small-scale, immediate, public-facing events, projects, or activations that connect to the CCA@CCA annual theme and aim to improve the learning experience of students and provide opportunities for students to practice creative activism. Projects require a public outcome that can be featured in the Creative Citizens Program Series as well as social media and online platforms.

Archived events from past semesters are posted here. In addition to public events, grant funds have supported a number of books, zine, website, workshop, social media, and printing projects. Grant funds are not available for private class visits or programs that do not have a public outcome. Public outcomes can include course outcomes such as lectures, exhibitions, workshops, websites, performances, zines and printed materials, events, and more.

Please e-mail exhibitions@cca.edu with any questions. We are happy to discuss proposals that are still in the working stage. The application fields are purposely brief. We expect that projects will evolve, and are just asking for just enough detail to give us a sense of your course and the proposed project.

Eligibility

All faculty who are actively teaching at CCA in spring 2026 are invited to request funds. Faculty who have previously received CCA@CCA grants are eligible to apply again, but priority will be given to new applicants. Faculty are welcome to collaborate on a grant application and share the awarded funds between their classes. We invite faculty from all four academic divisions to apply.

Funds

In spring 2026, we have up to $5000 of grant funding available to support 5-10 grants of $500-$1000 each. Funds can be used for printing, materials purchases, and/or Speaker Fees that are part of your course-related public-facing project. Projects are expected to be completed within the spring 2026 semester, including the public-facing outcome.

Based on an evaluation of past grant cycles, we recommend focusing funding support on the following budget categories:

  1. Speaker Fees. Funds can be used to compensate a guest speaker/artist/participant for a lecture, workshop, event, project, etc. Please note that your budget must include any additional costs associated with taxes, wiring fees, etc. Speaker fees must be $100 or higher.
  2. Printing. CCA Exhibitions can arrange for printing via a CCA approved vendor or a limited number of online vendors such as blurb.com.
  3. Materials. Purchases from amazon.com, ARCH, Blick, or another CCA approved vendor. Past materials purchases have included paper, printed t-shirts, postcards, website domains, and art-making supplies.
  4. Organizer stipend. Adjunct Faculty may include a stipend based on an hourly rate for additional work that is above and beyond regular course preparations related to the grant project. Stipend will need approval from Divisional Dean and may not comprise more than half of the total grant amount. Ranked faculty may count their hours toward college-wide service. Exceptions or adjustments based on individual contracts may apply, we are happy to talk through any questions you have. The goal is to recognize and compensate faculty labor.

Please note that students are not eligible to receive direct payments or shipped materials. Purchases must be processed by CCA Exhibitions, we cannot reimburse expenditures. If you have specific funding questions, please contact exhibitions@cca.edu.

Application

Applicants are asked to address the following components via brief responses in the Submittable application. The application fields are purposely brief. We expect that projects will evolve, and are just asking for just enough detail to give us a sense of your course and the proposed project.

  1. Project Description – Describe your idea for your course-based project, event, or activation and how you anticipate it will improve the student learning experience within your course. A brief synopsis of your vision is fine. (Up to 300 words)
  2. Public Outcome – What is the public-facing outcome of your project? i.e. website, artist talk, student-led roundtable event, printed publication, workshop, etc. Who would participate?
  3. Connection to CCA@CCA theme Hope As Movement (or the exhibition Under the Guard Tower: Watercolors by Chikaji Kuwakami) – How does your proposed project increase student learning and participation related to creative activism and civic/democratic engagement? (Up to 200 words)
  4. Budget – Please craft and upload a budget for an amount between $500 - $1000 including expense categories, and short explanation. All expenses must follow college guidelines, reach out to exhibitions@cca.edu with any questions. Please estimate where exact amounts are unable to be calculated.

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Creative Citizens in Action at CCA (CCA@CCA) is a college-wide initiative that promotes creative activism and democratic engagement through public programs, exhibitions, and curriculum connections. This grant opportunity is funded by an endowment gift to support The Deborah and Kenneth Novack Creative Citizens Series, an annual series of public programs focused on creative activism that spans the disciplines of art, design, architecture, and writing. A list of past awardees is available here.

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