We Are The Potluck Grant

We Are The Potluck Grant is sponsored by Interfaith America. This grant supports student-facing campus professionals to combine shared meals and collaborative service to help students develop skills to engage across differences. It aims to foster interfaith understanding and cooperation.

Grant Archives - Interfaith America Grants & Leadership Awards The We Are The Potluck grant supports Interfaith America’s mission to activate and equip leaders to embrace pluralism by positively engaging with students and educators from diverse worldviews, identities, and political beliefs.

The We Are The Potluck Grant helps colleges and universities create campus environments where students build meaningful relationships across religious, political, and ethical differences. Rather than focusing solely on dialogue, the program combines relationship-building, shared meals, and collaborative service to help students develop the skills needed to engage across differences and contribute to a thriving campus community.

Selected student-facing professionals will recruit 12-20 religiously, ethically, and politically diverse students to participate in a program that consists of a series of dinners with intentional opportunities for students to connect across differences and build relationships, and participate in a service project, which will also be open to the larger campus community.

Throughout the program, students will engage in various discussions that will include local, state, and national elections as well as other civic topics that will give students real opportunities to practice their pluralism skills. At the end of the academic year, the student cohort will decide on a service project to support a value-aligned issue.

Campus cohort leaders (grantees) are encouraged to make the service project a campus-wide event and expect students to invite others. In addition to funding, grantees will receive a toolkit with resources to help them plan their program. Interfaith America staff will be available for check-ins and to connect grantees across campuses to share ideas and build relationships with peers.

By participating in We Are The Potluck, campus leaders can equip students with practical pluralism skills, strengthen campus culture, and contribute to a growing network of institutions committed to preparing students for engagement in a diverse democracy.

The We Are The Potluck grant is open to any student-facing campus professional who attended the 2026 Interfaith Leadership Summit and participated in one of the following educator tracks : Evolving the Institutional Landscape Teaching Across Difference: Faculty Leadership in the Classroom and Beyond Empowering Students to be Leaders of Pluralism Campus Culture Starts with Me: Systems and Structures to Hold the Complexities of Pluralism Interested campus professionals will submit the following as part of their online application: Brief paragraph focused on their interest and commitment to pluralism and bridgebuilding A description and draft timeline of planned events for the 2026–2027 academic year, including the preferred date for a potential campus visit from IA staff.

IA will cover all campus visit expenses, so those costs will not come from your grant money. Agreement to fulfill all program requirements including participation in grantee calls with IA staff A $5,000 grant will be provided to selected grantees by October 1 st .

Funds must be used for dinner expenses, travel to/from service project, any potential stipends for student participation, and any other purposes that directly support the grant proposal. Throughout the implementation of the We Are The Potluck grant, each grantee (campus cohort leader) is required to: Select a cohort of 12-20 students representing a range of worldview identities and political beliefs.

Organize four dinners (1 prior to the November elections, 3 in the spring semester) Organize one service event with the student cohort with an invitation to the broader campus community before the grant period ends. Attend virtual meetings with IA staff and grantees; one in the fall semester and one in the spring semester. Submit Final Report sent by IA (Due May 28, 2027) August 7, 2026: The application period is open.

August 28, 2026: The application period is closed. September 9, 2026: Selection decisions communicated to applicants. October 1, 2026: Grant implementation period begins.

May 28, 2027: Grantees will provide a final report on their projects; grant implementation period concludes. The We Are The Potluck grant supports Interfaith America’s mission to activate and equip leaders to embrace pluralism by positively engaging with students and educators from diverse worldviews, identities, and political beliefs. Use our Learning & Action Bridge to discover resources based on your role and goals.

Visit our Courses, Curricula & Tools Library to browse all resources. Guide for Applying to Interfaith America Grants and Fellowships Learn what makes a strong grant proposal to Interfaith America. 7 Popular Interfaith Student Events Engage your campus in interfaith cooperation by hosting a student learning experience, service opportunity, site visit, or storytelling event.

Fostering Pluralism in Higher Education: A Playbook for Senior Leaders An actionable resource designed to equip senior leaders to champion cooperative campus cultures. Read articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and more on IA Today – y our source for all things pluralism!

Why Harvard Wants Its Students To Practice Interfaith Cooperation How Two Students Found Strength in Their Differences Service is a Shared Value: How One BRAID Student Mobilized Her American University Community BRAID Fellow Advocates for New Interfaith Space at Muhlenberg College Please contact us with any questions about this opportunity. Assistant Director, Interfaith Leadership Summit jhaynes@interfaithamerica. org