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Fall 2026 Political Engagement Fund grant cycle now open: Apply today!

About the Political Engagement Fund

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½’s Political Engagement Fund (PEF) offers funding support to students interested in engaging in the electoral process. ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ undergraduate students can apply for project support in one of the following areas:

• Voter registration 

• Issues advocacy

• Local or national campaigns

ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ has a long history of supporting student civic engagement and recognizes this moment’s unique opportunity for learning through engagement with the public sphere. We are pleased to welcome applications for the Fall 2026 PEF cycle on a rolling basis through Sunday, October 4 (11:59pm).

• Fall 2026 cycle at a glance: 
  • Grants of up to $1,000 to support proposals taking place in Fall 2026
  • Rolling awards
  • Final deadline: Sunday, October 4 (11:59pm) 
  • Apply here:

Projects and Proposal

To be awarded, proposed projects must fall substantially within at least one of the three outlined funding areas: Voter registration, Issues advocacy, and/or Local or national campaigns. Students are responsible for finding and securing their own opportunities. Please note that proposals will not be evaluated on the political nature of specific causes, which are chosen and pursued wholly according to the interests of individual participants. For reference, you can refer to the application here. 

Please note that if you are organizing a project with a group, that each participating student needs to submit an application on their own behalf.

See examples of previously funded projects at our and in the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Connection (Recent cycles include: Fall 2025, Summer 2025, Summer 2024).

If you have questions or want to further workshop your ideas, please contact Sonya Hadley at shadley@wesleyan.edu.

Budgeting and Expenses

Fall 2026 Political Engagement Fund grants are capped at $1,000 per applicant. PEF grants provide funding to help alleviate costs in the following areas:

• Lodging expenses
• Food expenses (related to engagement)
• Travel expenses: Airfare, Train Tickets, Bus Fare/Tickets, Subway/Metro Fare, Mileage (72.5 cents per mile)
• Program Expenses: Tuition (non-ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½), Supplies (i.e. notebooks, books, pens)

Political Engagement Fund grants may not be used for any of the following: 

• Payment/wages to applicant or others
• Personal expenses deemed non essential to the project 
• Other discretionary expenses deemed unrelated to the proposed project  
• Tuition at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ 
• Purchasing or leasing a vehicle 
• Equipment that will be retained by student or host organization (i.e. cameras, lighting equipment, laptops, etc.)

All applicants are required to submit a , detailing the funding request. All items included in your budget must be directly related to your proposal. Based on the information you provide and available funds, an amount may be awarded to you equal to or less than your request. Please note that you are expected to communicate if you are accepting funding from another university source for a project and/or opportunity that is the same or similar, and/or within the same or overlapping time period(s). This may impact your eligibility for the fund and/or the amount awarded.

Additional Political Engagement Fund requirements

Award recipients are required to:

• Attend an orientation
• Enroll in CSPL 494 (Elections Internship)
• Submit a final report 
• Share their experience at select Allbritton Center events and in select university communications

Fall 2026 application cycle timeline

• Applications reviewed on a rolling basis. Please note that due to the rolling deadline, projects may be waitlisted until all applications are reviewed depending on the relative strength of the application.
• Sunday, October 4 (11:59pm): Final submission deadline
• Tuesday, October 20: PEF Orientation (tentative, subject to change)

How to access the Political Engagement Fund application

The application is hosted on Submittable, a social impact platform being used by ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½'s Gordon Career Center. 

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Additional Information

For more information, read through the PEF application and refer to our . If you have questions or want to further workshop your ideas, please contact Sonya Hadley at shadley@wesleyan.edu.