Johns Hopkins Suicide Prevention Awareness, Response and Coordination (JH-SPARC) Small Grant Program

In response to student request, we are extending the application deadline by one week. APPLICATIONS ARE NOW DUE BY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27TH. If you have questions, please email Susanna Lewis at slewis49@jhu.edu

Suicide is a leading cause of death for college and university students in the United States, and is a serious concern within our own Hopkins community. In 2016, The Johns Hopkins President’s Task Force on Mental Health and Well-being conducted a survey finding that 11% of JHU students had seriously considered suicide while at Hopkins.

This grant was created to support individuals and student groups who want to organize programs and events on campus to promote mental health awareness, offer support to students, reduce mental health stigma, and educate the Hopkins community about mental health and well-being. The ultimate goal of this small grant program is to reduce or prevent suicide at Johns Hopkins.

Grant Guidelines

  • These grants are available to any JHU student or student group.
  • Applicants may apply for up to $500, $1,000 and $2,000 grant amounts.
  • Applications are due by December 27, 2019, and awards will be announced by February 3, 2020.
  • If awarded a grant, funds must be used no later than September 30, 2020.
  • There will be an end of year celebration and networking event for grantees, where students will have the opportunity to meet and discuss their projects.

What kinds of projects are eligible?

We are looking to fund projects whose explicit purpose is to promote mental health and wellbeing for Hopkins students. We are looking for applications that propose a creative use of funds (we are unlikely to award projects whose only expense is food, for example, though it is okay for food to be a partial expense).

Examples of eligible projects:

  • Organizing an event with mental health experts or people who can speak about personal experiences with mental health challenges or suicide.
  • Screening a movie or documentary related to mental health.
  • Promoting mental health awareness or resource collaboration between Hopkins and other colleges and universities.
  • Providing psychoeducational materials and content to students or groups who may not have easy access to that information.

To Apply

Please email Susanna Lewis at slewis49@jhu.edu if you have any questions about this small grant program, whether your project is eligible, or about the application process.