UK Office of Business Engagement launches Mini Grant program to boost community, industry partnerships
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 16, 2026) — The University of Kentucky Office of Business Engagement is accepting applications for its new pilot Mini Grant program, which offers up to $500 awards toward business engagement activities.
The program is designed to promote a culture of business engagement across the university by supporting projects that connect UK faculty, staff and students with outside industry and community partners.
The application period will run through Nov. 20. Applications will be reviewed and awarded on a rolling basis until available funds are exhausted. All funded projects must be completed by May 1, 2027.
“We know some of the most meaningful partnerships start small: a conversation over lunch, a site visit, a guest lecture that sparks a new collaboration,” said Kim Kluemper, director of the Office of Business Engagement. “The Mini Grant program gives our faculty and staff resources toward pursuing those opportunities and build lasting connections with the businesses we serve.”
Eligible applicants include current University of Kentucky full-time and part-time faculty, staff members and graduate students serving in instructional or engagement roles.
Examples of business engagement activities include (but are not limited to):
- Lunch-and-learn sessions with industry partners
- Company site visits and facility tours
- Guest lectures or panels featuring business professionals
- Capstone projects
- Networking events connecting students or faculty with local businesses
- Workshops or training sessions co-hosted with community organizations
- Collaborative research showcases or industry roundtables
To qualify, proposed projects must:
- Involve a partner business or organization outside the University of Kentucky
- Support meaningful engagement aligned with the university’s goals of community and economic development
- Be completed no later than May 1, 2027
- List the Office of Business Engagement as a co-sponsor on all relevant announcements and marketing materials
- Designate a unit budget officer to facilitate award payment processing
The Mini Grant program is intended to create a pipeline of impactful engagement projects that strengthen university partnerships, support faculty and staff engagement efforts, and demonstrate measurable value for the University of Kentucky and its external partners.
Faculty, staff and eligible graduate students interested in applying can do so online.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and healthcare. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $1.02 billion research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.