Community Impact Pitch Challenge: Call for Proposals
Bridging Academic Expertise and Community Action
A pitch competition pairing faculty with community partners—backed by a $10,000 project budget—to drive tangible, meaningful progress on a pressing, local, community-identified issue within a one-year timeframe.
The Office of Engagement invites faculty from across the institution—with a special focus on junior faculty beginning new partnerships—to submit proposals for the Community Impact Pitch Competition. Designed as a low-barrier, highly collaborative initiative, this competition aims to spark faculty engagement, catalyze new faculty–nonprofit relationships, and build a sustainable community project pipeline.
Key Dates
| Call Opens: | October 21, 2026 |
| Submission Deadline: | January 1, 2027 |
| Project Period: | March 2027 – February 2028 |
Priority Applicants & Faculty Development
- Primary Focus (Junior Faculty): Priority funding and support are given to junior faculty to build their public-facing research communication skills, academic expertise translation, community partner relationships, and community engagement practices.
- Senior Faculty Engagement: Senior engaged faculty are integrated as mentors, proposal reviewers, and competition judges.
Community-Identified Focus Areas
Proposals must align with one or more of the three core issue areas already identified by our local nonprofit partners:
- To assist faculty in narrowing their focus, specific needs within each core issue area are supplied by local partners below – however, faculty are not limited to these more specific challenges.
- Proposals that intersect across multiple issue areas are not expected but are welcome.
1. Affordable Housing & Homelessness
- Including, but not limited to, addressing the growing crisis among unhoused seniors, housing supply shortages, housing for individuals with disabilities, affordable housing, filling gaps in transitional and recovery housing, and systemic prevention models.
- Informed by LTHC Homeless Services, Lafayette Urban Ministry, Pam’s Promise, The HIVE Recovery Hub, and other organizations.
2. Youth Development
- Including, but not limited to, solutions for high childcare costs impacting workforce participation, out-of-school youth programming, child hunger, and aligning high school graduation and apprenticeship pathways.
- Informed by Bauer Family Resources, Transformed Birth Services, Scouting America, Boys & Girls Clubs, Junior Achievement, and other organizations.
3. Mental Health, Trauma & Addiction Recovery
- Including, but not limited to, early emotional support interventions, loneliness reduction, trauma-informed systems, recovery housing and recovery support.
- Informed by Golden Heart Haven, Hope Springs Safe House, Mental Health America-Wabash Valley Region, Trinity Life Ministry, and other organizations.
Proposal Expectations & Guidelines
This initiative is designed to catalyze new projects and new partnerships (or, for faculty with existing partner relationships, a proposal must demonstrate a significant deeper dive and greater measurable impact).
Faculty proposals should discuss:
- Proposal/Concept: A concrete proposal for what can be achieved collaboratively with community partners. Note: To maximize meaningful impact, community partners have requested that proposals avoid short-term, low-impact deliverables such as standalone marketing assets, one-off events, or basic app development.
- Pitch to Partners: The level of expertise and passion you bring to the problem and the students, resources, or analytical tools you would bring to a partnership.
- Partner Preferences: Identify your first-choice partner(s), other possible partners, or indicate whether you’re open to meeting interested potential partners.
- Budget Summary: A brief summary outlining how the $10,000 project budget will be allocated across allowable expenses (such as salary, student support, participant compensation, travel, events, supplies, technology, and publishing).
Selection Process
| Stage | Key Activities |
|---|---|
| RFP & Faculty Proposals (Oct – Jan) | Submission of written faculty proposals pitching their partnership idea. |
| Review & Matchmaking (Jan – Feb) | Review: Nonprofit partner clusters review faculty proposals, identify their organization’s interest in partnering, and select finalists. Matchmaking Luncheon: Finalists and potential partners join a networking lunch to discuss proposals and receive live-pitch training. Faculty then select their preferred partner(s) and prepare for the pitch event. |
| Summit Pitch Event & Award (March & onward) | Live Pitch Event: Finalists present their ideas live onstage at Purdue’s Community Impact Summit March 2, 2027, to a panel of “celebrity” judges who ask clarifying questions and provide feedback. Awards & Funding: The winning proposal is selected to receive funding and recognized at the conclusion of the Summit. |
Proposals will be evaluated and finalists selected by a multidisciplinary committee comprising:
- Committed community partner collaborators for each respective issue area
- Senior engaged faculty members
- Office of Engagement (OOE) staff
Funding Contingencies & Engagement Best Practices
Selected projects will incorporate structure to ensure long-term, ethical, and effective community engagement:
- Faculty Mentorship: Guidance and mentorship provided by leadership (including Dr. Jason Ware or designated senior mentors).
- Partnership MOU: Development of a formal partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) establishing mutual goals, responsibilities, and accountability between Purdue and community partners.
Proposal Submission
Faculty interested in applying or seeking additional information should submit questions and completed proposals to Dr. Jason Ware (jaware@purdue.edu) and copy Giovanna Roberto (gvincir@purdue.edu) on or before January 1, 2027.