Lindenman, an assistant professor of English, used the funding for the CPI grant to support her Writing Grants course.
Heather Lindenman, assistant professor of English who teaches courses ranging from Writing: Argument and Inquiry to Writing Civic Action, was awarded a Community Partner Initiative (CPI) grant this year.
Lindenman has a passion for service and community engagement. She spent five years of her career teaching high school in low-income communities, beginning with Teach For America. At Elon, Lindenman encourages and supports her students to learn about the ways they can engage with their community, and how to put words into action.
In the spring 2022 semester, Lindenman incorporated the funding from the CPI grant into her class, Writing Grants. The course essentially mimics the actual process of grant writing and students are allowed to write a mock grant, referred to as the “Phoenix Foundation Grant.”
They were given the opportunity to write grant proposals to support the Mayco Bigelow Center, the African American Cultural Arts Center or the City Gate Dream Center, for programs and projects proposed by the community partners. This semester-long project allows students the opportunity to work with local partners in the Burlington community to mirror how the grant writing process works.
Lindenman explained that her most meaningful projects with students are those in which students are building relationships with community members and partners.
“The project is a very interesting opportunity for students to learn how an actual grant process works, because of the specificity and negotiation of the project,” Lindenman said.
The CPI grant is a program facilitated by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life that provides Elon faculty members funding for service projects. The faculty members who are awarded this grant utilize these funds and their resources for a dynamic project within the community.