Funding Guidelines

Awards Overview

The Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies is a collaboration between the AnthropologyDepartment and the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. The Center is named for Dr. Alfonso Ortiz, the late UNM Professor of Anthropology, MacArthur Fellow, and citizen of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. Dr. Ortiz believed that academic knowledge should be relevant, useful, and accountable to the University and to communities beyond campus. Today, the Ortiz Center seeks to support his vision by serving as a site and resource for the pursuit ofknowledge through equitable partnerships between communities and UNM.

We invite faculty members, staff, curators, and graduate students to apply for funding to support collaborative initiatives in the arts, humanities and social sciences that bridge academia and the wider community. Priority will be given to proposals that include members of the Anthropology Department and/or the Maxwell Museum as project directors, collaborators, or consultants. Faculty, staff, and graduate students from other programs on campus may apply for awards up to $5,000 for the Spring 2025 call for proposals. Ortiz will provide matching funds for projects, to establish and solidify partnerships and research priorities, to complete a project already in place, or to initiate a longer-term project.

Examples include but are not limited to lectures, museum exhibits, creative works, workshops, and research projectsthat focus on material culture and oral history, environment and climate change, education, language use and reclamation, food and health, or any other topic of interest to people in your community or communities with which you collaborate.

How to apply: Spring 2025

Calls for proposal and application submission deadlines

For best consideration in the spring, apply by March 14th, 5:00 pm.

  • We invite faculty members, staff, curators, and graduate students to apply for funding to support collaborative initiatives in the arts, humanities and social sciences that bridge academia and the wider community. Priority will be given to proposals that include members of the Anthropology Department and/or the Maxwell Museum as project directors, collaborators, or consultants.
  • Faculty and staff from other programs on campus that do not include individuals from the Anthropology or Maxwell Museum as members may apply for awards up to $5,000 for the Spring 2025 call for proposals from the Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies. Ortiz will provide matching funds for projects, to establish and solidify partnerships and research priorities, to complete a project already in place, or to initiate a longer-term project.

You may wish to contact the Director of the Ortiz Center, Michael Graves (mwgraves@unm.edu), before submitting your request.

You will find the Ortiz Center Funding among the listed programs on the homepage. When you click on the Ortizprogram title you will be directed to the Ortiz Center application guidelines with information about the types of awardsfunded by the Ortiz Center. If you wish to apply, click on the tab at the bottom of the page. Projects may extend overmultiple years. Multi-year funding is contingent on progress as documented in the annual report.

Application Instructions

To complete the application you must complete all sections:  Cover Sheet, Project Description, Statement of Relevance, Budget and Justification. Please include a copy of a Curriculum Vitae or Resume for yourself, co-PIs, and any formal collaborators. Please organize (i.e., combine) your documents as a single pdf with a file name that includes your last name, and date of proposal is submitted (e.g., Smith, 3/12/25, Ortiz Proposal).

Cover Sheet and Personal Details:

Please provide your name (including contact information) and that of collaborating individuals and/or organizations. Applicants must include at least one UNM-affiliated person (faculty, staff, or graduate students) and one person with affiliations beyond applicants’ home departments and/or UNM.

Project Description:

One to two-page description addressing what the collaborators want to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to doit, and how they will know if they succeed. The description should include:

  1. Project goals/objectives
  2. Work-plan and activities: provide a clear statement of the work to be undertaken, including the design and inclusion of activities, and, where appropriate, a clear

description of methods and procedures

  1. Broader Impacts of the project to communities in New Mexico and beyond
  2. Please indicate matching (or in-kind) funds or other awards that can be used to support the proposed project
  3. Deliverables and outcomes, including any educational materials, public outreach, presentations,performances, publications, and museum or community exhibit aspects of the project
  4. A plan or outline of how you will evaluate the successful outcomes of your
  5. Attachments may include letters of support from sponsors and the community, commitments formatching or in-kind funds or other materials pertinent to your

Statement of Relevance to the Ortiz Center Mission: (300-350 words)

Provide a brief statement addressing how the project will serve the Ortiz Center mission, specifically how it creates orenhances collaborative or partnership-based connections between UNM and a broader community or public beyondUNM’s campus. The statement should include the anticipated impacts of the proposed project on UNM and non-UNM communities.

Budget and Budget Justification:

A line-item list of how much money the proposer is requesting, by category. The budget justification provides a moredetailed breakdown of proposed spending in each category as well as a justification supporting the numbers provided ineach budget category. Please use the UNM Banner categories for the budget: 1. salary, including fringe; 2. Supplies or materials; 3. Food or meals; 4. Travel, both in state and out; 5. costs related to the production and/or dissemination of the products such as printing, duplication, media services; and 6. honoraria, consultant, professional, technical fees or services. Include any matching or in-kind funds that will support the project and identify budget categories it will support.

Curriculum Vitae and/or Resume:

Please include a curriculum vitae or resume of applicant(s) and primary collaborating partners.

Review of Award Requests:

The Ortiz Advisory Committee reviews all proposals, and you should be notified regarding your application within one month of the closing date of the call for proposals.

Acknowledgements:

If you are approved for funding, please acknowledge the contribution of the center on publicity materials,printed matter such as brochures and exhibition labels, publications, etc., using the full name: Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies, University of New Mexico and/or the Ortiz Center logo.

Reporting:

If you are approved for an award, you must provide a report on the project within 12 months, or on the completion of the project, whichever comes first. Multi-year projects must submit progress reports at the end of each year of funding and a final report upon completion of the project. Information gleaned fromthese reports is posted to the Ortiz Center website to inform the public of the types of activities that the Center supports.