The Anteater Grant Initiative
The Anteater Grant Initiative (AGI) is a signature effort of the Parent Executive Board dedicated to advancing student success at UC Irvine. Established in 2018, this grant helps sustain, enhance, and pilot programs that directly benefit students across campus. The grant’s success is celebrated annually in May with an awardee reveal, spotlighting the programs chosen for funding. Open to contributions from friends and advocates of student success, this fund offers a meaningful opportunity for the entire Anteater community to create a lasting impact on programs supporting students.
Since its inception, the Anteater Grant Initiative has awarded over $200,000 to departments and programs across campus that directly support student success. At our most recent showcase in May 2025, we proudly announced $62,000 in funding to the following recipients:
2025 AGI Awardees
UCI CARE- $7500 Cultivating a Community of CARE -Supporting peer educators in expanding their reach across campus through innovative and responsive outreach and programming.
UCI Lifted- $8500 Scholars Unbound Symposium – UCI LIFTED is the first University of California bachelor’s degree program for incarcerated students, this program will fund the establishment a bi-annual research symposium at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, where students will present research posters and coursework from their Research Methods, Capstone, or Honors courses.
Veterans Services Center $9000- Transition from Military Service to Student Life: Supporting the Foundation for Success Among Military-Connected Students- this program serve our deserving military connected students with much-needed programs and services to support their outreach, retention, and graduation.
Division of Career Pathways $10,000- Student Support Through Career Pathways Peer Program ( The Peer Educator Program provides career advising through individual drop-in meetings, workshops, and outreach to support Anteaters with their career goals.
LARC- $12,000 LARC Subject Expert Mentors- LARC Subject Expert Mentors are experienced undergraduate tutors and group learning leaders who will enhance their leadership skills by mentoring new tutor trainees at LARC and other STEM-focused campus programs. The main goal is to improve tutoring for every student while providing opportunities for transferable skills growth for Subject Expert Mentors, recruited from underrepresented groups in STEM majors.
Basic Needs Center- $15,000 Basic Needs Emergency Resources: Short-Term Grocery Card Support Program & Short-Term Transportation Support Program (In response to basic needs challenges such as food insecurity and accessibility/transportation barriers, the Short-Term Grocery Card Support Program and the Short-Term Transportation Support Program were created to support students facing financial challenges affecting their basic needs with an immediate solution to address their challenges and decrease socioeconomic stress.
Funding Criteria
The funding request of an organization seeking support must reside under at least one of six categories representing the needs and interests of undergraduate students:
Academic Support
Community Outreach
Division of Undergraduate Education
Leadership Initiatives
Student Health & Wellness
Student Support
Application Process
Complete an online application with the funding amount requested, project overview, impact on students and fund information. This is part 1 of the submission process. For your application to be considered, you also need to complete step 2.
Create a short video proposal (no longer than 5 minutes) as a visual testimonial which should showcase the value of your proposal. The video may be recorded through Zoom or other video recording equipment that is readily available to you and the program or project that you are representing.
Your video must include a brief overview of your program, a written or spoken statement covering your business plan, the amount requested, and the timeline of your program or project. You may also include potential student impact, and any other compelling details you believe the board should see or hear. (This could be showing a physical space that would be transformed, a student interview, or statistics you believe shows the greatest need). These are just a few examples, and we encourage your creativity!
Both the online application and required short video submission deadline will be Friday, March 7, 2025. Please email your submission to parentengagement@uci.edu.
A status update of your submission will be sent Friday, March 28, 2025. If selected, awardees will be invited to an AGI awardee reveal event happening Friday, May 23, 2025. Parent Engagement staff will follow up via email outlining the next steps in detail. Organizations are competing with others for Anteater Grant Initiative funding and are not guaranteed selection.
*The Board can elect to fund a portion or all the requested amount. Those selected to receive funding will be notified Friday, April 4, 2025.
We look forward to your submissions and wish you the best of luck!
Important dates:
- Submission opens – February 3, 2025
- Submission deadline (written and video) – March 7, 2025
- Status update – March 28, 2025
- Awardees notified – April 4, 2025
- AGI Awardee Reveal Event – May 23, 2025
Past AGI Recipients:
