Dr. William G. and Susan Gans McCarthy Endowment

Dr. McCarthy, who devoted his life to teaching, and Susan McCarthy, an advocate for the poor, join their resources to stimulate creativity and opportunity in order to reduce poverty and/or to increase literacy among children. Poverty is not just about low income. Many issues and realities impact whether and how someone can rise out of poverty or how teachers can improve the lives of children.

The endowment aspires to encourage any department of Indiana State University to request a grant. The grant would assist in the implementation of something new. The McCarthys' intent is to increase the literacy of children and/or to reduce poverty anywhere in the world. The intent of the grant is to encourage and assist faculty or administrators to innovate. The grant solicits new ideas to be implemented in a timely manner; actions not words, guaranteeing new pathways. Art, religion, politics, and community might well find a place in the proposal.

Examples for which the fund would grant money:

• An administrator might consider setting up a peer group to help disadvantaged students stay in college. (This kind of program has been tested and has shown to be effective.) The money could be used to pay a counselor for the group.
• Or an education professor might apply for grant money to help student teachers who are working with disadvantaged students by providing a luncheon or resources to support the students and to discuss their work.
• Or a professor might want to bring Title I students to the University that have never seen a college.
• Or are innovations to mentor students needed? For example, administration could provide an internship program between current students and incoming freshmen.
• Or could there be innovations to reduce pregnancy in women who will not be able to provide for a child such as a pregnancy prevention center.
• A grant could be used to assist in raising money for a larger project.
• An education professor could request a grant to fund methods, or programs, or to buy books and other materials he/she could use to improve literacy.
• Consider starting a health care advocate group to help persons navigate the health care system, or to encourage parents, particularly in poor areas, to vaccinate their children.
• Perhaps funds could be provided to secure an author for a speaking engagement in order to inspire and assist teachers.
• Or the business department might want funding to create or assist green, sustainable businesses that are owned and operated by people living in low-income neighborhoods.

Examples of initiatives for which the fund would not support:

• would not support an established program already operational
• would not provide money or goods directly to the poor or to an established ministry such as a food kitchen, Salvation Army, or United Way
• would not provide funds to write a paper or dissertation but would support the implementation of the thesis
• would not give loans or cash grants to private individuals for their own personal use
• would not fund mass media projects such as public radio or TV, would not contribute to an endowed chair
• would not fund libraries except for special initiatives following the stipulations herein put forth to reduce poverty or to improve the literacy of children.

Application Process

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 Scoring rubric used for the review process for the McCarthy grant applications.

Project Management

The maximum funding available per project is $1000. The applicant(s) must demonstrate that all salary and wages requested are necessary and directly related to project activities. Applicants must include deductions for FICA (7.65%) for all faculty, staff and student hires in their budget totals.

All ISU supported projects are administered in accordance with established University fiscal procedures and research policies. These include all travel regulations, policies relating to the protection of human subjects, and policies related to intellectual property rights. Equipment and computer software purchased through faculty development money become the property of the university, earmarked for the individual's use while at the institution during the time the project continues.

Final Report

A final report describing the project outcomes and detailing the number of students involved and their level of participation/benefit must be submitted to the Center for Community Engagement at the conclusion of the project. All publications and presentations based upon the funded project must acknowledge the assistance of the Dr. William G. and Susan Gans McCarthy Endowment and the Indiana State University Foundation.