Student Organization Partnership Program

The Student Organization Partnership Program (SOPP) seeks to meet the needs of both UW–Madison students wanting to engage in community-based work through Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) and community partner organizations seeking to build long-term partnerships with these RSOs. The goal is to better connect the RSOs with the Morgridge Center for Public Service to enhance the quality and quantity of community-based work, a key aspect of UW–Madison’s Civic Action Plan.

SOPP supports RSOs and community partners in building sustained and mutually beneficial relationships through workshops, individual meetings and reflection sessions. In addition to community engagement workshops and support, RSOs a part of SOPP will have access to:

  • $500 of mini-grant funding for a sustained community project
  • Transportation to community sites
  • Meeting space, free printing and office supplies
  • Dual affiliation with the Morgridge Center for Public Service
  • Community building events (with free food!) 

The application cycle for the 2024-2025 school year will begin in February/March 2024. If you have any questions or are interested in other ways the Morgridge Center supports RSOs, please contact the Student Organization Preparation Interns at studentorg@morgridge.wisc.edu or make an appointment via YouCanBookMe.

As a part of the campus-wide Civic Action Plan, the Morgridge Center for Public Service has identified the need to better prepare students to do community-engaged work and to build partnerships that are sustained, culturally sensitive and aware, and collaborative and mutually beneficial with community partners.

Through the Morgridge Center’s new Student Organization Partnership Program, student organizations on campus are provided the tools to start engaging in this work while learning to recognize differences in power and privilege between the University and the Madison community. These Mini-Grants will be awarded to assist projects designed to further this mission as well as the Morgridge Center mission of connecting campus and community through service and learning. See sample budget sheet.

See below for more information, and check out some of our past award recipients.

Email the Student Organization Preparation team at studentorg@morgridge.wisc.edu or contact SOPP Interns Claudia Liverseed and Keiana James. Make an appointment with the SOPP Interns via YouCanBookMe.

RSOs currently partnered with SOPP are listed below. Click through the tabs below to read bios for each RSO.

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A Moment of Magic

Hello! We are A Moment of Magic, a national nonprofit organization with a chapter at UW-Madison. We are on a mission to improve the quality of life for medically vulnerable and underserved children and inspire them to be brave, strong and fearless through fun and engaging social wellness activities. Our volunteers raise awareness for families affected by pediatric cancer, children with disabilities and other medically vulnerable and underserved populations by volunteering on visits at hospitals, fundraisers and in home visits with notable partners such as AFCH, Make a Wish, Gilda’s Club and more! Some of volunteers dress up as the children’s favorite superheroes, princesses and fairies on visits, while others in the organization accompany as what we like to call our magic makers who are also engaging and making a difference in the lives of children.

Contacts:

nedzielak@wisc.edu aesimpson3@wisc.edu 

Alpha Phi Alpha

Alpha Phi Alpha is the first intercollegiate black Greek letter organization (Dec. 4, 1906) and it has strong legacy of developing leaders, promoting academic excellence while providing services and advocacy for their communities. Gamma Epsilon Chapter has been holding up the light of alpha since Dec. 7, 1946.

Contacts:

tjake@wisc.edu edbrown5@wisc.edu

Badgers Against Hunger

At Badgers Against Hunger, we host competitive tournaments (such as volleyball and basketball) that allow UW students to collectively compete and raise money to fight against childhood hunger in the local Madison area. After raising money from the hosted tourneys, we donate to The Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County, with the intention that the funds raised be spent on providing routine meals for the members of the Boys and Girls Clubs. In addition to funding, we also host volunteer events throughout the fall that allow our members to serve the community through the dedication of their time. We look forward to the coming semester, and we hope to learn a lot from the Morgridge Center!

Contacts:

mcmussehl@wisc.edu lpbailey@wisc.edu

Care for a Cause

Care for a Cause is a student organization that aims to address the financial burden of parenthood through volunteer work. We host several events throughout the year including a Christmas gift collection for families experiencing financial distress, a supply collection drive in local neighborhoods and a free Easter egg hunt. CFAC also volunteers at a local diaper bank/resource center and organizes fundraising events with proceeds going to affordable childcare centers and other related charities.

Contacts:

brschuelke@wisc.edu esawicki@wisc.edu

Community Health Volunteers of Madison

Community Health Volunteers of Madison is a healthcare based volunteer student organization. The Community Health Volunteers of Madison strives to help its members understand the medical, political and social underpinnings of health, and to engage directly in combating the pervasive health disparities within these institutions to promote positive health outcomes for those in our community both now and the future.

Contacts:

rhendrickso3@wisc.edu sepatton@wisc.edu

EmBark

EmBark UW is the flagship chapter of the national nonprofit EmBark Foundation. Our mission is to provide support and services to survivors of trauma and their furry friends. We fulfill this mission by providing funds for the adoption of a rescue animal and assuring ongoing support and care for both survivors and their furry friends. This includes volunteering at Shelter From the Storm and fundraising to cover the adoption fees of shelter animals, vet bills and ESA certifications! We meet monthly and are aiming to volunteer 3-4 times a month

Contacts:

mfuchs3@wisc.edu jasegar@wisc.edu

Food Recovery Network

Gamma Alpha Omega

The Chi Chapter of Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority Incorporated, we are a service-based, Latina-founded sorority. We were founded in 1993 on the campus of ASU to increase the number of women with a college education and advanced degrees. Our main philanthropy is mentorship and first-generation education. Many of our sxsters are first-generation students and you can often find them in leadership roles around campus that reflect our passion for helping other first-gen students. You may know one of our sxsters, that we are very proud of, Bertha Gonzalez. Our secondary philanthropy is HIV/AIDS awareness. We host a month-long campaign in December where we fundraise for AIDS Foundation Chicago as well as host educational events to fight stigmas surrounding HIV/AIDS. We received help from SOPP last year and we can’t wait to work with the Morgridge Center again!

Contacts:

chi@gammaalphaomega.com hparedes@wisc.edu

Global Health Alliance

Kappa Delta Chi

The Alpha Kappa Chapter of Kappa Delta Chi is a latina founded but not latina exclusive organization. We were founded on April 6th, 1987 at Texas Tech University by our four founders who sought to uphold our four pillars of Unity, Honesty, Integrity, and Leadership of its members. We established the Alpha Kappa Chapter here at UW–Madison on November 12th, 2005. Ever since, we have been upholding our academic and service based organization to high standards and seek to continue providing back to the local Madison and UW–Madison community. Within KDChi, we have currently been planning fundraisers, LHM events with our most recent one being a “Dancing with the Greeks” event! We hope to host an external service event for everyone to come sometimes this upcoming month or in November.

Contacts:

alphakappa.president@kappadeltachi.org alphakappa.vp@kappadeltachi.org

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at UW (LLS@UW) is a student-run organization that works to fulfill the LLS mission of curing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families, through student involvement in volunteering, patient access, our annual Light the Night fundraising walk and annual Dodge the Dark fundraising event and professional development. Our pillars of involvement include service, research, advocacy and awareness, as well as social engagement and community. We fulfill these pillars through recruitment of speakers from the blood cancer realm, organization of volunteer events such as creating tie blankets or care packages for cancer patients, development of an annual research panel sharing breakthrough research and patient experiences and social events such as support animal sessions, trivia nights and more. We are always looking for creative and unique ways to engage our cancer community more and support cancer patients and families to a greater extent! We welcome all who are passionate about the mission and ready to join the generation to cure cancer!

Contacts:

probelsky@wisc.edu isking@wisc.edu 

MSF/ Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders is an international NGO that delivers emergency medical aid to those in need. Our Student Chapter aims to engage students in global medical crises, expose them to professionals in the field and spread awareness for Global and Public Health campus. Our club is also pre-health oriented and provides outlets for shadowing, research and patient care to prepare our members for future healthcare careers. We host weekly global health/medicine-focused speakers, frequent pre-health events and socials to create a welcoming, resourceful community.

Contacts:

lheathcock@wisc.edu jpan88@wisc.edu 

Music Therapy Association

The Music Therapy Association (MTA) of UW–Madison includes a group of students interested in the discipline of music therapy, which includes subtopics such as music, psychology and biology. Although these subtopics are most related to the field, our organization includes members from a wide range of majors, including business, biomedical engineering and computer science. MTA has both an informational and a performance-based component. First, to learn more about music therapy and how music can be applied in education and healthcare, we get together several times a year for informational guest speaker presentations from music therapists and related professionals. Our goal is that each of our members understands what music therapy is, how it works and to bring awareness to the music therapy profession. The performance-based aspect of our group involves organizing and participating in musical performances for patients and residents in various healthcare facilities. Our past performances have taken place at hospitals, nursing homes and specialized health clinics! If performing is not your thing, we also love when our members come along to these music programs to interact with the residents and really engage them in the music. If you like listening to or making music, we would love to have you in our organization!

Contacts:

lyen7@wisc.edu ktyranski@wisc.edu

Perfect Pair

Perfect Pair fosters one-on-one, intergenerational connections between older adults and college students. We strive to reinforce a mutual sense of community and purpose for our pairs: a goal that underlies our efforts to combat loneliness and improve overall health and wellbeing. We achieve this by ensuring that our pair connections are personalized: based on shared background and interests. Simultaneously, we encourage pairs to re-engage with their passions by offering individualized and accessible programming. We hope for older adults and students to feel that their life perspective and quality of life have been meaningfully enhanced by their experience in our program.

Contacts:

mgarvaglia@wisc.edu brschuelke@wisc.edu

Pre-Dental Education and Community Service

The Pre-Dental Education and Community Service organization is a student organization dedicated to serving the underprivileged in Dane County. PEACS strives to be a valuable resource to all pre-professional students with an emphasis on the pre-dental community. Each semester there will be 25 students who will be able to make a weekly volunteer commitment at More Smiles Wisconsin. More Smiles WI is a non-profit community dental clinic that serves individuals in Dane County and other nearby Wisconsin counties. More Smiles WI is a wonderful opportunity for pre-professional students alike to get hands-on healthcare experience. PEACS was formed in association with the More Smiles Wisconsin clinic to provide students with volunteering and clinical experience.

Contacts:

jmfeest@wisc.edu

Re-Wear It

Vietnam Health Project

Women in Scientific Education and Research

RSO Mini Grant Award Information

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What is the Mini-Grant Program?

Mini-Grants of up to $500 are awarded to assist projects that further community-engaged work and build partnerships that are sustained, culturally sensitive and aware, and collaborative and mutually beneficial with community partners. The project must also fit the Morgridge Center’s mission of connecting campus and community through service and learning.

This year, we have enough funding to grant an award to each organization in the Student Organization Partnership Program who properly completes the application process.

Who is eligible?

  • Must be a student organization in the Student Organization Partnership Program through the Morgridge Center for Public Service
    • The organization must submit all items listed in the application to be considered, as well as complete a reflection piece within the academic year of the project
  • Projects must include a partnership with a community organization, which seeks to address recommendations in the UW Civic Action Plan, or demonstrate evidence of furthering high quality community-engaged work and partnership
  • Preference will be given to established projects and partnerships or new initiatives that have a potential to be sustained over time
  • Proposals are encouraged for projects that seek to address a community-identified need and projects for capacity building
  • Examples of partners could include:
    • A public agency, including governmental agencies and K-12 schools
    • A private, nonprofit organization
    • A private business or trade organization working on issues such as hunger, poverty, health care, the arts, criminal justice, the environment, community development and economic development

How to Apply

Apply for the Mini-Grant

The application can also be found here and on our website here.

  • Applications are on a rolling basis with a deadline to submit by the end of each month
  • There must be a minimum three-week period from the application to the start of the project
  • It is highly encouraged to submit applications as far in advance as possible

Your application must include:

  • Contact information
    • Name of two points of contact within the organization
      • Role in RSO/Project
      • Email
    • RSO name
    • If applicable:
      • Community Partner Name
      • Community Partner Contact Name
      • Community Partner Contact Email or Phone Number
    • Project title and description demonstrating how project aligns with the goals of the SOPP and MCPS
    • Budget breakdown demonstrating purpose for grant
      • Justification
    • An example budget
    • Timeline
    • Reflection piece required at the end of the year

What can the mini-grants be used for?

Permissible

  • Supplies/equipment
  • Guest speakers/community partners for virtual events
  • Training materials/registration

Not Permissible

  • Transportation
  • Salaries
  • Social events
  • Food

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What are some important things to consider?

Here are some tips about questions to consider and answer in your application:

  • What does this organization do in the community? How do they do it?
  • What issue does this organization aim to address? Why is this an issue?
  • Who/what does this organization serve?
  • To what community does this organization belong?
  • How have volunteers efficiently contributed in the past?

What does reflection and follow-up look like?

  • Upon completion of the project, a reflection piece must be created and submitted within the academic year
    • Questions to think about:
      • How did entering this organization/community feel?
      • Were there any feelings of discomfort? If yes, why is this the case?
      • What did group members do/contribute well?
      • How can group members improve for the next direct service activity?
      • Did anything surprise you?
      • What were some challenges, and how did you deal with them?
      • How could this program be improved?

Additional FAQ

  1. Who can apply?
    • Only student organizations that are part of the Student Organization Partnership Program through the Morgridge Center for Public Service
  2. Can the funds be used for food or for a social event for my organization?
    • The funds can only be used to support a specific project/event/community-identified need. How the grant will be used should be outlined in the proposal budget, which the review board will take into consideration when distributing awards.
  3. What types of things can the money be used for?
    • Examples could be supplies or equipment, but it could go to a variety of things that are necessary for the project and community partner.
  4. Can I use the grant for transportation?
    • Funding will not be awarded to cover transportation costs as the Morgridge Center already provides transportation support.
    • Student organizations interested in transportation should contact the Transportation Intern at transportationMCPS@office365.wisc.edu.
  5. Can I use the grant to pay volunteers/members of my student organization?
    • Funds will not be awarded for salaries.
    • Funds can be used to pay community partners for a service provided (e.g. guest speaker, facilitator, consultant).
  6. Does this grant have to establish a new partnership or a new program?
    • No, the grant could be awarded to further already established programs/events and campus-community partnerships.
  7. I’d like to apply for a grant, but I’m not sure where to start, who to partner with and what kind of project to do. Who can I talk to?