EXCEL Lab Funding

EXCEL has funded a wide variety of projects and ventures. Find information on past EXCELerator Fellows, explore some recently-funded Enterprise Fund projects, and check out past recipients of the annual EXCEL Prize. Proposals that clearly and concisely address the fund’s criteria in concrete detail are typically most successful.

View a list of the organizations that have hosted internships supported by the EXCEL Internship Fund.

Successful applications must fully address the specific fund criteria and adhere to the relevant submission requirements. Generally, an EXCEL project or venture funding application should also speak to 1) the quality and goals of the project, 2) its relevance to the applicant’s (or team’s) professional development, and 3) the specific ways the project catalyzes community impact (whether on campus, in a local community, or to the field-at-large). It is also imperative to clarify how the requested funds will be used to implement the proposed project or venture. Applications that do not include a budget and/or show indications that the requested funding may be used for items that are beyond our criteria will not be funded. Check out EXCEL’s Grant Writing and Project Management module for examples of successful applications.

Yes. Enterprise Fund, EXCELerator, and EXCEL Prize awards WILL NOT typically fund attendance and/or travel expenses for conferences, festivals, competitions, conventions, apprenticeships, internships, or routine costs associated with curricular study abroad activities.

EXCEL project or venture funding should not be used to pay students for their creative work. For example, we will not award funding for the purposes of paying peers who are members of a project team (e.g. chamber musicians, dancers, theatre troupe team members, etc.) for their labor. However, other expenses that are critical to the proposed project (e.g. production costs, supplies, materials, advertising, fees to non-UM professional collaborators, etc.) will be considered. Similarly, we will not provide Internship Fund awards to compensate students for their internship work hours. Rather, those funds must be used to cover costs associated with the internship (e.g. travel, lodging, food, general living expenses during the internship, etc.), and proposals should clearly indicate these needs.

We also typically do not fund recurring, annual activities that are hosted by U-M student organizations (e.g. annual fundraising events, performances, or other regular programs, etc.), as the aim of these funds are to catalyze activities that stretch professional development skills and enhance, expand, or create new learning opportunities that would not otherwise occur.

Similarly, we generally do not fund “typical and ordinary” costs for curricular activities. For example, we will not award funding to cover the basic costs of a senior recital or performance (e.g. the fee for a collaborative pianist, instrument or parts rental, recording/documentation costs, reception food, etc.) and typically do not award funding for the purposes of compensating U-M students involved in such activities. Costs that go beyond the “typical and ordinary” expenses of a curricular project, enhancing it in a significant way with regard to professional development and community impact, may be considered. For example, Enterprise Fund proposals that request funding to cover the costs associated with taking a senior recital on tour, collaborating with an external organization to host a special research project, or engaging other collaborators or resources to broaden the scope and impact of a performing arts project might be considered. Similarly, funding requests that maximize the criteria of the EXCELerator and EXCEL Prize criteria will have the greatest potential for success.

Many of the applicants who have been successful in their funding applications have received advance feedback on their proposal from a member of the EXCEL team one-on-one or in a workshop. You can schedule a 1:1 appointment with a member of the EXCEL team through Calendly.

SMTD students can register for 1:1 meetings with an EXCEL representative via Calendly. We also periodically offer free funding workshops designed to help potential funding applicants prepare their materials for our various funding options. Also check out our Grant Writing and Project Management Module for guidance, tips, and tricks on applications.

Check out EXCEL’s Funding Resources sheet, which includes links to both U-M and external funding resources! Another source is the Arts Initiative’s Student Funding page, a searchable list of potential campus funding sources.

All of the funding deadlines are listed on the Enterprise Fund, EXCELerator, EXCEL Prize, and EXCEL Internship Fund pages.

All notification dates are listed on the Enterprise Fund, EXCELerator, EXCEL Prize, and EXCEL Internship Fund webpages. Generally notification occurs 7-14 days after the application deadline.

Each academic year EXCEL typically funds between 60-70 Enterprise Fund projects, 4 EXCELerator teams, 1 EXCEL Prize, and 10-20 Internship Fund applications.

Note: EXCEL cannot guarantee space availability in U-M facilities, and any project funded by EXCEL must request space usage according to SMTD scheduling guidelines. All requests from funded projects for SMTD instrument usage must be approved by respective faculty supervisors.