Awards & Scholarships

SPIF Award

The SCELC Project Initiatives Fund (SPIF) advances the consortium's strategic initiatives by funding Member institution and committee proposals to plan, create, and implement projects that will have an impact on SCELC libraries and librarians. SCELC also offers an optional subcategory: SPIF DEI Awards, with additional application requirements in order to access funding set aside specifically for DEI-related initiatives within the SCELC community.

Criteria for Awards

The following criteria are used by the SCELC Board of Directors to grant awards:

• Clearly defined support for specific SCELC Strategic Plan objectives
• Promoting inter-library collaboration and cooperation between at two or more SCELC Member institutions
• Statement on how the project, program, or provide initial funding for a new event meets the standard of promoting collaboration through the sharing of a new concept or idea
• For proposals to fund recurring events such as a conference:
   
  • Full funding of the event may be awarded initially, but full funding will not be repeated
  • Should the event recur at a SCELC Member institution, partial funding may be considered

In addition to all of the above requirements, applicants who select the DEI Proposal option for their SPIF Application must also:

• Implement strategies for enhancing collection diversity, promoting new DEI-focused professional development strategies, community building efforts, or other DEI-focused projects
• Receive sponsorship from a SCELC Advisory Committee in order to identify projects with the greatest potential for broad consortial impact
  • Applicants will select a requested sponsoring committee in their application, and SCELC Staff will assist in finalizing the committee sponsorship before proposals are reviewed

Application Form and Timeline

Apply using the form below.

Proposals may be submitted from the link below to the SCELC Executive Director.

Timeline: Proposals are reviewed quarterly at the SCELC Board of Directors meetings. The SCELC Executive Director will review all proposals submitted up to 30 days prior to their next scheduled meeting.

Applicants will be notified of award decisions after the next scheduled Board Meeting after proposal submission, unless otherwise stated by SCELC Staff. Award decisions are decided by the SCELC Board of Directors, and funding is at the discretion of SCELC's available budget.

For approved projects, progress reports will be requested by the SCELC Executive Director prior to the next scheduled SCELC Board meeting.

If you have any questions about the application process or your submitted application, please contact SCELC.