Whereas, the GPSA created the Special Grants Committee by passing Resolution 9: Special Committee for the Disbursement of Special Grant Funding in FY2024, whose charge was to solicit, review, and recommend funding for grants aimed towards advancing graduate and professional student interests at Cornell University.
Whereas, the Special Grants Committee solicited 58 grant submissions from relevant stakeholders that serve graduate and professional students, such as University departments, offices, graduate and professional student organizations, byline-funded organizations and community groups.
Whereas, the Special Grants Committee, through the collective efforts of its members, scored and reviewed all 58 received grants using the following criteria:
- Plan: How detailed is the timeline for implementing the proposed event(s)? Are the event(s) well-reasoned and supported by grant materials?
- Accountability: Does the grant clearly state who is responsible for implementing the proposed event(s)? Did the sponsor detail steps for grant supervision and implementation?
- Impact: Will the proposed event(s) meaningfully impact the well-being of graduate and professional students throughout Cornell?
- Need: Does the grant highlight a need, lack of support or otherwise unaddressed issues for graduate and professional students? And will the proposed event(s) address this need?
Whereas, the Special Grants Committee, through the majority agreement of its members, curated a list of reviewed grants which, when funded partially or in-full, would best improve graduate and professional student well-being at Cornell.
Whereas, grants from organizations such as the Indigenous Graduate Student Association (IGSA; grant #37) would address a critical lack of exposure to Indigenous cultures and the histories of Indigenous Nations whose lands graduate and professional students live and study on by hosting the first celebration of Indigenous culture at Cornell in over a decade.
Whereas, grants from organizations such as the Graduate Student Veterans Association (GSVA; grant #6) would recognize and celebrate the often-overlooked contributions of graduate and professional student parents at Cornell by hosting a distribution of a month’s worth of baby supplies and parenting resources.
Whereas, grants from organizations such as the Lindseth Climbing Center (LCC; grant #2) and Cornell Outdoor Education (COE; grant #11) would provide and subsidize graduate and professional student access to novel programming at the LCC indoor climbing wall and via COE skill clinics and courses.
Whereas, all other grant funding recommendations under the Novel Programming category from the Special Grants Committee provide novel programming that would improve well-being for graduate and professional students across Cornell.
Whereas, the Special Grants Committee completed its charge on January 26th 2026 by presenting a final recommendation of reviewed grants to fund, either partially or in-full, to the GPSA.
Be it therefore resolved, the GPSA Appropriations Committee earmark $156,813.29 from the GPSAFC reserve account for the purpose of supporting grants #2, #6, #8, #11, #14, #15, #17, #26, #31, #37, #50, #52, #56, and #57.
Be it further resolved, that the GPSA Appropriations Committee distribute $156,813.29 across fourteen organizations under the Novel Programming category as specified in the Special Grants Committee funding recommendations as follows:
- $50,000.00 dollars be distributed to the Indigenous Graduate Student Association (IGSA), grant #37, for the purpose of “Fund the Cornell Pow Wow at Cornell's campus over three years” under the conditions:
- Funding will be distributed as $25k in year 1, $15k in year 2, and $10k in year 3, conditional on continued operations over the next three years
- $17,146.00 dollars be distributed to the Cornell Negotiation Student Society (CNSS), grant #56, for the purpose of “Fund two annual competitions and an annually hosted summit for five years as well as fund a two-year negotiation learning hub” under the conditions:
- Do not fund a videographer / editor for the two-year negotiation learning hub
- $16,300.00 dollars be distributed to Cornell Outdoor Education (COE), grant #11, for the purpose of “Fund proposed initiatives at the lowest cost plan to support graduate and professional student access to COE events” under the conditions:
- Do not fund gift certificates for equipment rentals
- $15,200.00 dollars be distributed to the Graduate Student Veterans Association (GSVA), grant #6, for the purpose of “Fund organizing a scaled-down event to provide diapers and wipes for 100 families” under the conditions:
- Fund only diapers and wipes for 100 families
- $14,000.00 dollars be distributed to the Lindseth Climbing Center (LCC), grant #2, for the purpose of “Fund a pilot program of two adaptive climbing courses ($1.5k total), membership discounts ($10k) and climbing class discounts ($2.5k)” under the conditions:
- Funding provided for membership/class discounts upon receipt of confirmed graduate/professional student usage
- $13,000.00 dollars be distributed to the Biomedical & Biological Sciences Graduate Student Society (BBS GSS), grant #17, for the purpose of “Fund yoga/fitness, bi-monthly ‘tea time’, bi-monthly breakfasts, and cross-field social and professional recurring events”
- $8,267.00 dollars be distributed to Anabel's Grocery, grant #15, for the purpose of “Fund 1200 free meals to graduate and professional students over the Spring 2026 semester” under the conditions:
- Connect with Cornell offices for low-income students to collaborate on advertising food availability
- $6,200.00 dollars be distributed to the Women in Public Policy (WIPP), grant #50, for the purpose of “Fund the monthly power in policy series and food for leadership dinner” under the conditions:
- Fund three (3) semesters of programming with reuse of decor
- Do not fund conference travel or alumni gift cards
- $5,000.00 dollars be distributed to the Student Neurodiversity Alliance at Cornell (SNAC), grant #57, for the purpose of “Fund the hire of a neurodiversity consultant at the Graduate Writing Service over two years”
- $3,887.50 dollars be distributed to the Master of Public Health Student Advisory Committee (MPH SAC), grant #14, for the purpose of “Fund a lunch & learn series, guest lecture event, poetry pause and curriculum focus group” under the conditions:
- Do not fund speaker honorarium
- $3,600.00 dollars be distributed to the Anthropology Graduate Student Association (AGSA), grant #26, for the purpose of “Fund furniture for the graduate lounge, writing workshop series and movie nights” under the conditions:
- Additional funding ($600) has been provided on the condition of prolonging the writing workshop for an additional semester
- $2,412.79 dollars be distributed to the Cryosphere Community at Cornell (CryoCo), grant #52, for the purpose of “Fund educational outreach workshops”
- $1,300.00 dollars be distributed to the Graduates for Palestine (G4P), grant #31, for the purpose of “Fund monthly music sessions and a film screening of Jenin, Jenin“
- $500.00 dollars be distributed to the ILR Graduate Student Association (ILR GSA), grant #8, for the purpose of “Fund the UNITY in ILR event”
Be it further resolved that all grants funded herein must additionally comply with the following conditions:
- All promotional / advertisement / event materials, printed and digital, must bear the “Supported by GPSA” seal visibly.
- For each year of funding offered, a budget for planned activities must be submitted for review and approval by the GPSA Appropriations Committee in advance of disbursement.
- For each year of funding offered, an Impact and Visibility Report must be compiled and submitted to the GPSA Appropriations Committee detailing the use of Special Grant funding, the benefits conferred to the graduate student community (including photo documentation of the event / renovation / installation), and (if applicable) the feasibility of event implementation in future years under funding continuation. Reports must also contain all relevant receipts, detailed attendance at event(s) and any additional information requested by the GPSA Appropriations Committee. It is required that this report be submitted by the deadline set by the Appropriations Committee before any subsequent year(s) of funding may be offered. Designation of requirements for Impact and Visibility Reports and Report approval is charged to the GPSA Appropriations Committee.
Be it finally resolved, that funding is contingent on each grant applicant following the specified purpose and conditions laid out in this resolution as well as annual submission of the Impact and Visibility Report.
Respectfully Submitted,
Zander Lynch
Vice President for Operations
Jason Chobirko
Faculty Advising, Teaching, and Mentorship Awards Committee Chair
