The Wilmington Partnership, a place-based collaboration of the University of Delaware and the City of Wilmington, has awarded four mini-grants for the 2025-2026 academic year to support research partnerships between UD faculty, staff and students and community organizations. These mini-grant awards are funded each year with support from UD’s Community Engagement Initiative (CEI).

Projects are community driven, committed to a mutually beneficial relationship with the local partner, and advance equity for historically marginalized communities.

“We received an overwhelming number of strong proposals this year,” said Ann M. Aviles, associate professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, who leads the Wilmington Partnership. “It’s an indicator that faculty and their respective partners are interested in generating impactful, responsive, and rigorous community-engaged research that serves to meet the needs of the larger Wilmington community.”

Awarded up to $5,000, projects represent a range of issues, from educational outreach to Wilmington school children to providing a voice for the city’s displaced and unhoused communities.

“We are proud to support this collaborative research happening in Wilmington,” said Michael Vaughan, the University’s chief community engagement officer and faculty director of the Community Engagement Initiative. “Community voice is central to each of the selected projects, establishing and reinforcing relationships that are foundational for future research, outreach and impact.”

To learn more about the selected projects, read the announcement on the CEI website.