The BCAP (BAMIT Community Advancement Program) Fund is sponsored by the Black Alumni of MIT (BAMIT) and offers financial support for community service projects that uplift under-served communities of color in ways that address disparities in areas such as architecture, cultural awareness, education, environment, health, STE(A)M, and urban planning. In addition to providing financial support, the BCAP program provides mentoring/coaching opportunities with BAMIT members working with MIT students to address the needs of these under-served communities. Recipients of project funding from BCAP are known as BCAP Fellows.
BCAP projects must be connected to a Community Partner -- typically, though not always, an employee of a nonprofit organization -- that BCAP Fellows interview to help scope and ensure their project is of importance to the constituents it will impact. The context gained from this Community Partner interview must be included as part of the mid-project report submitted by BCAP Fellows.
About the Community Partner interviews: Please be sure to include the name, address, phone, and email address of the Community Partner Organization and the representative that you conduct the interview with. An interview of this nature should take no more than 15-20 minutes, but could be longer. Share your project intent and goals and ask questions that would help you confirm that these goals are on target or if they need to be modified in some way. You should certainly find out if the representative believes that the target audience would benefit from your project, and in what ways. If they recommend any changes or modifications to your project, you should include those in your report and articulate why you did or did not choose to explore those recommendations. If they refer you to other organizations or representatives, please include those organizations/representatives in your report as well. Let us know if you chose to follow-up with them and how and if those follow-up conversations were helpful. We anticipate one interview will suffice. The goal is for Fellows to get some preliminary guidance on the direction of their project. If you feel the need to follow-up with the organization in some way, please detail your plans in that regard in your report.
Project funding is provided in two disbursements: half at the time of award, and the remaining half after receipt of the mid-project report. Fellows are to submit itemized receipts with their final project report and any unspent funding is required to be returned to MIT by check.
BCAP is open to currently enrolled MIT undergraduate and graduate students who have an interest in helping under-served communities of color. Student organizations with a focus on diversity and inclusion are also encouraged to apply.
Application Requirements/Components:
- General applicant information
- Project description addressing the points of the BCAP Fund Project Focus:
- How will this project address needs of an under-served community of color?
- How will this project address a problem of disparity in areas such as architecture, cultural awareness, education, environment, health, STE(A)M, urban planning?
- How will this project create measurable positive impact on the under-served community?
- How will this project provide direct help to community members via a new program, or provide support or infrastructure within an established program?
- What are your learning outcomes?
- How will you assess the success of your project?
- What areas of expertise do you feel are critical for your assigned BAMIT mentor/coach?
- Detailed budget (budget must include any additional funds, either secured or applied for, that you expect to receive in support of your project outside of BCAP)
- Current resume
Questions? Email bcap@mit.edu
BAMIT Community Advancement Project (BCAP) Fund
The BCAP (BAMIT Community Advancement Program) Fund is sponsored by the Black Alumni of MIT (BAMIT) and offers financial support for community service projects that uplift under-served communities of color in ways that address disparities in areas such as architecture, cultural awareness, education, environment, health, STE(A)M, and urban planning. In addition to providing financial support, the BCAP program provides mentoring/coaching opportunities with BAMIT members working with MIT students to address the needs of these under-served communities. Recipients of project funding from BCAP are known as BCAP Fellows.
BCAP projects must be connected to a Community Partner -- typically, though not always, an employee of a nonprofit organization -- that BCAP Fellows interview to help scope and ensure their project is of importance to the constituents it will impact. The context gained from this Community Partner interview must be included as part of the mid-project report submitted by BCAP Fellows.
About the Community Partner interviews: Please be sure to include the name, address, phone, and email address of the Community Partner Organization and the representative that you conduct the interview with. An interview of this nature should take no more than 15-20 minutes, but could be longer. Share your project intent and goals and ask questions that would help you confirm that these goals are on target or if they need to be modified in some way. You should certainly find out if the representative believes that the target audience would benefit from your project, and in what ways. If they recommend any changes or modifications to your project, you should include those in your report and articulate why you did or did not choose to explore those recommendations. If they refer you to other organizations or representatives, please include those organizations/representatives in your report as well. Let us know if you chose to follow-up with them and how and if those follow-up conversations were helpful. We anticipate one interview will suffice. The goal is for Fellows to get some preliminary guidance on the direction of their project. If you feel the need to follow-up with the organization in some way, please detail your plans in that regard in your report.
Project funding is provided in two disbursements: half at the time of award, and the remaining half after receipt of the mid-project report. Fellows are to submit itemized receipts with their final project report and any unspent funding is required to be returned to MIT by check.
BCAP is open to currently enrolled MIT undergraduate and graduate students who have an interest in helping under-served communities of color. Student organizations with a focus on diversity and inclusion are also encouraged to apply.
Application Requirements/Components:
- General applicant information
- Project description addressing the points of the BCAP Fund Project Focus:
- How will this project address needs of an under-served community of color?
- How will this project address a problem of disparity in areas such as architecture, cultural awareness, education, environment, health, STE(A)M, urban planning?
- How will this project create measurable positive impact on the under-served community?
- How will this project provide direct help to community members via a new program, or provide support or infrastructure within an established program?
- What are your learning outcomes?
- How will you assess the success of your project?
- What areas of expertise do you feel are critical for your assigned BAMIT mentor/coach?
- Detailed budget (budget must include any additional funds, either secured or applied for, that you expect to receive in support of your project outside of BCAP)
- Current resume
Questions? Email bcap@mit.edu