DavenFund — a program offered to employees to provide funding for professional development, software, equipment or other resources — is entering its third year in 2018.

The program is designed to help staff and faculty increase productivity and efficiency by funding requests ranging from $100 to $2,000. Previous recipients have used the funds for standing desks, conferences and team building. A total amount of $10,000 is available in 2018.

Brian Holda, a digital services librarian, was a 2017 DavenFund recipient.

“Since starting at Davenport two years ago, I had been seeking a stand-up desk to help alleviate some back pain I’d been having on and off,” he said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have the budget for the desk. When I heard about DavenFund, it gave me new hope that maybe I could get the stand-up desk. Since having the stand-up desk, I have had far less back pain than previously and I feel more energy throughout the day as I perform my tasks.”

Holda said applying was simple.

“It seems like a no-brainer for me that people would apply for Davenfund,” Holda said. “You have the hope of gaining substantial resources for your job and it costs you nothing but a little bit of time.”

Assistant Professor Melissa Haswell received for funding to attend the annual conference for the Association of College and University Biology Educators at Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina. She had the opportunity to present at the conference, share her research and discuss teaching ideas with other faculty members.

“This impacted both myself and my students because I gained feedback on my own work, which I incorporated into my classes,” Haswell said. “I was able to attend sessions by other faculty members as well. It was a great networking event to find faculty members at other institutions interested in the same research topics or who could assist with program and curricular development at DU.”

Applications are open from Jan. 3 to Feb. 16 and recipients will be selected at random at a live event on April 20. It will be live-streamed for employees

Adjunct faculty, student workers, temporary staff and contracted staff are not eligible to apply. Applications for DavenFund dollars must not be able to be funded through other funding options or items that are able to be funded through a budget line item such as supplies.

Find answers to frequently asked questions and learn more about the history of DavenFund.