Maximum Award: $1,000
Applications are invited for Flash Grants, the Baker-Nord Institute's funding mechanism to support greater participation in and connection with Baker-Nord Institute's fall themed programming and the 2026 Cleveland Humanities Festival.
These grants are designed to encourage curiosity, innovation, experimentation, collaboration and engagement.
Funding projects may be featured in Baker-Nord Institute materials and on the Baker-Nord Institute website.
Click HERE to see previous Flash Grant recipients.
FLASH GRANTS FOR FALL 2025 -
The Baker-Nord Institute’s fall programming explores “encounters.” Moments of contact, conflict and connection shape human experience. Hostile encounters can undermine a sense of self, community and national sovereignty. Encounters that welcome new ways of understanding self, others, and the natural world build resilience and community. From cross-cultural exchanges and historical collisions to artistic collaborations and philosophical dialogues, we’ll explore how encounters challenge assumptions, generate new meanings, and transform individuals and societies. Invited guests and the ϳԹ community will explore this theme with a focus on opportunities for fruitful engagement.
Please explore the fall program HERE.
Faculty and postdoctoral fellows can apply for up to $1000 to support research and/or projects that relate to the fall theme of ‘encounters’. This could include but is not limited to:
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beginning new research (or creative inquiry) or advancing current work that involves the concept of encounters in some way. Monies can be used for travel, books and materials, the hiring of a research assistant, etc.
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curriculum design: incorporating work of writers and scholars of fall 2025 BNI program into the fall (or spring) classroom and creating a student assignment around those or other texts
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inviting a guest speaker into the classroom to give a talk related to the theme of encounters for fall 2025/spring 2026
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engaging students with themes of speculation that involve a meal, class trip, enhanced learning opportunity, and/or experiences outside the classroom
We especially encourage projects that involve students as mentees, collaborators, research assistants. All projects should conclude by February 28, 2026.
Eligibility:
Grants are available to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and full-time faculty in the arts and humanities within the College of Arts and Sciences including lecturers, instructors, and visiting faculty.
Application Deadline:
Rolling through February 1, 2026
To Apply:
Please send a 500 word narrative proposal along with a detailed budget to bakernord@case.edu. Proposal should include clear objective(s), a project timeline, and the names and departments of all collaborators.
Policies and Expectations:
Within one month of the completion of the project, recipients are required to submit the online . Some aspects of the final report may be used in future BNC's external communication materials.
FLASH GRANTS FOR 2026 CLEVELAND HUMANITIES FESTIVAL: FREEDOM -
Faculty can apply for up to $1000 to support research and/or projects that engage with the topic of freedom. This could include but is not limited to:
- beginning new research (or creative inquiry) or advancing current work that involves the concept of freedom. Monies can be used for travel, books and materials, the hiring of a research assistant, etc.
- curriculum design: incorporating the theme of freedom in 2026 classes and creating a student assignment that relates to freedom.
- inviting students to attend one of the 2026 events (forthcoming) and engaging them about their experience in a creative way
- inviting a guest speaker into the classroom to give a talk related to theme of freedom as it relates to class content
- engaging students with the theme of freedom that involve a meal, class trip, enhanced learning opportunity, and/or experiences outside of the classroom
We especially encourage projects that involve students as mentees, collaborators, research assistants. All projects should conclude by April 30, 2026.
Eligibility:
Grants are available to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and full-time faculty in the arts and humanities within the College of Arts and Sciences including lecturers, instructors, and visiting faculty.
Application Deadline:
Rolling through March 31, 2026
To Apply:
Please send a 500 word narrative proposal along with a detailed budget to bakernord@case.edu. Proposal should include clear objective(s), a project timeline, and the names and departments of all collaborators.
Policies and Expectations:
Within one month of the completion of the project, recipients are required to submit the online . Some aspects of the final report may be used in future BNC's external communication materials.