Funding Resource – CIL: Center for Innovation and Leadership

Design and Development Fund (DDF) 

Fund Information Brochure 

AY 25-26

This brochure will provide you with all the details, criteria, and limitations of the Design and Development Fund. If you are wondering what you can use the DDF for and how you can secure more funding, please read this document thoroughly. 

What is the Design and Development Fund (DDF)?

This fund is designed to equip students with the skills and tools they need to design their future in alignment with the mission of the CIL: to foster innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship through applied knowledge and creativity for a better world.

Who Can Access the DDF?

The DDF is open to all actively enrolled students who are on campus (not studying abroad) and in good standing with the college. The fund is not available to tri-co students even if they are currently attending classes at Swarthmore.  Applications must be submitted by individual students; group applications will not be accepted.

Award Limitations

All students can make a proposal of up to $200 towards a conference, event, student project or venture. Students who have engaged deeply with other CIL opportunities may qualify to apply for additional funding up to $1000 (see How to Secure More Funding below). Students can only receive one DDF award a semester, twice total an academic year. Students may make multiple proposals. 

How Does the Fund Work?

The DDF uses a reimbursement method. Once approved for funding, you will receive a letter confirming your proposal acceptance and amount. After your event or project is over, you have ten business days to complete the reflection and reimbursement form (included in your acceptance letter). After this form has been submitted and approved, CIL will send your reimbursement to be processed by the Business Office. 

Please note: once reimbursements are sent to the Business Office, they are subject to the administrative timeline of the Business Office for disbursement. Depending on the time of year, and processing timelines, reimbursements can take between 3-6 weeks to process.  Reimbursements are deposited into the direct deposit account you have set up with the college. If you do not have one set up, the college will mail you a check. 

What DDF will Support:

  • Conferences, workshops, and summits, (can include sustainable travel costs, or conference fees, for example) where applicants can provide evidence of designing, leading and/or playing an instrumental role in the event’s success and future impact.  
  • Accredited courses relating to personal development in innovation, leadership, entrepreneurship or value creation (Coursera, LinkedIn Learning), certifications, professional development (with some form of attendance acknowledgement).
  • Hackathons, pitch competitions, case competitions, design sprints where students are instrumental in the development of the project.
  • Student projects or ventures, such as: developing an app, student start-up or enterprise; creating a service venture (think bike share);  community programming (think SwatDeck); conducting a design thinking or human-centered design project; and continuation of SwatTank or Venture Funding projects. 

All funding requests must align with the CIL mission and also take into account the College’s broader sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion goals and best practices.

Student Venture/Projects

The DDF is meant to support, not sustain. This means your business plan should not rely on DDF funding to exist. We prioritize projects or ventures proposals with clear deliverables and one time purchases. 

Example of one time purchase could include:

  • Getting physical materials to build a prototype
  • To pay for App/developer fees to be placed on the App store or Google Play
  • One time use to try out a service

All student projects or ventures must meet with CIL staff before they can apply for funding. To schedule a DDF project meeting please contact cil@swarthmore.edu

Courses/Certifications

The DDF can help cover the costs of courses/certifications. It must be for courses or skills that are not taught or available at Swarthmore or the Tri-co. It must be related to your professional goals and aligned with the CIL’s mission and pillars. 

Preference will be given to accredited courses and course timelines that do not compete with the academic year – this does not include summer courses. The DDF will not support summer coursework. 

DDF will not fund courses on a subscription basis. 

You must show that you are able to complete the course, that it fits into your current course load, and provide proof of completion.

All student looking to take a course/certification must meet with CIL staff before they can apply for funding. To schedule a DDF project meeting please contact cil@swarthmore.edu

Transportation

The DDF can cover travel expenses, but we expect students to prioritize low cost options like using public transportation/flying economy. As a general rule, the use of ride sharing apps like Uber or Lyft are not allowed, unless needed for exceptional circumstances and with prior approval. 

The DDF will consider air travel expenses in certain circumstances.  Where permitted, tickets must be booked as flexible tickets; allowing changes to the booking without extra charges, or booked as fully refundable, in the event that travel plans change. The DDF will not consider applications requesting international travel expenses. 

Lodging

The DDF can cover lodging expenses. This does not include any add-ons or extra amenities provided by an establishment. You must lodge with a hotel, motel, or other lodging institution. You cannot use DDF funds for an Airbnb or VRBO.  

Subscriptions and Other expenses

The DDF will consider, on a case by case basis, funding towards prototype materials for projects, including limited software purchases or subscriptions critical to the personal development of students and project.  

These purchases must be for something that we do not have access to here at Swarthmore. In the case of subscriptions it must only be for a one month period or billing cycle. This is to allow you to test out and prototype with that service. 

Swarthmore has licenses to the following services:

  • Open AI
  • LinkedIn Learning

What  DDF Will Not Support:

  • Groups that have been legally incorporated (LLCs, Nonprofit, 501(c)3 etc). This is College policy.
  • Ongoing subscriptions to services such as mailchimp. However, one time one month subscriptions 
  • Purchasing hardware or personal devices, such as tablets or laptops.  Students should seek College programs to borrow required equipment. 
  • Resources that the College already provides. For example, drawing pads are already in the Media Center. 
  • Fees for exams like GRE, GMAT, MCAT, etc…
  • Legal fees, or any other fees incurred related to the use of external expertise. 
  • International travel
  • A conference, event or project that is unrelated to leadership, entrepreneurship, or innovation. 
  • Personal expense, buffers funds, anything not outlined in your approved budget. For example: if your budget was approved with $80 for food, then the CIL will fund only up to $80 for food.
  • Changing the allocation of funding nor the reallocation of budget lines. 
  • Funds for officially chartered groups – charter groups receive funding through SBC – DDF is only for individuals students

DDF Review Process

Once a proposal has been submitted, it will be reviewed within two weeks (except during holiday breaks expect a longer review). During the review, your proposal will be thoroughly examined by an external review committee and CIL will look into the links provided and budget proposal. 

If there are any further questions, the CIL will contact you for clarification. Once the review is complete, the CIL will send you a letter by email on its status. Once the letter has been sent the decision is final and cannot be appealed. 

Artifacts

The DDF requires that you submit an ‘artifact” from your DDF experience. An artifact is any kind of evidence that something has happened. Below are some examples:

  • Photos
  • Videos
  • An Attendance sheet
  • A list of resources
  • Information sheets
  • A prototype
  • A working demo 

These artifacts help us highlight the work you are doing and build resources that we can pass along with other students

Guidelines

Application Criteria:

  • Must explicitly state how they align with CIL mission statement and illustrate direct individual leadership, entrepreneurial or innovation related activities and personal development.
  • Applicants must attend an information session, or have a pre-application consultation with CIL staff member, if funding is for a student project, venture, or to attend a course.
  • Include one student per application. Students may be members of group activity, however, funding must be uniquely applied to an individual’s needs for design and development. Applications will be assessed on an individual basis. If other members of your group intend to apply for DDF in the same semester, you will be asked to share their information. If you and others within your project are applying for funding elements, there is no guarantee that all applications will be successful.
  • Must have at least 3 goals and outcomes. For example, as a result of this funding, the student will have a follow-on activity, bringing a specialist to campus, hold an information or learning session with peers, or otherwise demonstrate how you are applying the resources from your opportunity for a broader benefit.
  • Applications need to be submitted at least two weeks before the event or project is needed.
    • Ideally, submit applications 4-6 before funding is required to ensure time for smooth approval and disbursement.   
    • The CIL can take up to two weeks reviewing proposals. Up to three to fours weeks during break periods.
  • Must include a budget and use this Spreadsheet example as guidance when developing your budget proposal.  
  • All expenses must abide by the policies of the business office and must be considered permissible expenses. 

After Award:

  • Submit your receipts in jpeg or pdf file format, and have your name + expense name on the file name. For example: Dakota Gibbs_Airfare Philadelphia to New Jersey 10/27 
  • If your program or project is unable to happen for reasonable circumstances, you may request to apply your funds to another DDF proposal application. This is only possible if you did not already spend your funds. 
  • Students are responsible for declaring any additional funding they receive during the development of the project. This includes source of funding, amount and purpose. 
  • Extension requests cannot include requests for additional funding. Please do your best to make sure to calculate all costs including taxes, tips, other variable costs or fees.
  • The CIL will seek to share information about DDF funded projects on the CIL website, newsletter and through other College communication channels.  All successful DDF applicants may be asked to provide media, content and short contributions to share the success of DDF.

Receipts:

Receipts are extremely important in order to get reimbursed. Here all all the requirements:

  • Submit your receipts in jpeg or pdf file format, and have your name + expense name on the file name. Iphones use HEIC – this format cannot be accepted.
    • For example: Dakota Gibbs_Airfare Philadelphia to New Jersey 10/27 
    • Most students create a google folder and share it.
  • If there are more than one person involved in the payment but only one person is paying, include who the others are. This includes rideshare. 
  • Receipts must be itemized (this is not negotiable – no itemized receipt will result in the expense not being reimbursed.)
  • Ask before you purchase if the vendor can give out itemized receipts. If they cannot then go somewhere else or accept paying out of pocket. 
  • Make sure to explicitly ask for itemized receipts – do not just take a picture of the final receipt that includes tips. 
  • Must be official receipts – must include payment information. Bank statements are not receipts – however bank statements can only be used in case of tap to pay public transportation expenses only. 

How to Secure More Funding

The CIL supports students who are actively engaged in skill development, and provides additional support for students who participate in opportunities offered by the CIL. 

Students are eligible to apply for a greater amount of funding for each CIL program where they meet a threshold for participation (details in table below). For each additional opportunity that a student engages in, they may apply for an additional $200 on top of the base $200 of the DDF, with a maximum award of $1000. Participation in a program counts towards the increased award cap so long as  the student is enrolled at Swarthmore, meaning that if a student participates in Foundations of Leadership and Hackathon in their freshman year, is a SwatTank finalist in their sophomore year, and a University Innovation Fellow in their junior year, they may apply for up to $1000 in their senior year. 

Qualifying for the larger funding cap does not guarantee its award. All applications will be reviewed based on their merit on a case-by-case basis. 

ProgramCriteria for Additional Funding
SwatTankFinalist 
Tri-co Hackathon Successful completion of the Hackathon
Dinnovators Attended at least three Dinnovators in an academic year
Swarthmore Innovation Fellow (formally University Innovation Fellow)Be an official named fellow as a part of Swarthmore’s delegation
CIL internCompleted at least one semester of work for the CIL and be in good standing with the Center
Venture FundingSuccessful completion of CIL Venture Summer experience along with the satisfactory  completion all reports
Summer FundingSuccessful completion of CIL funded Summer experience along with the satisfactory completion all reports
CIL led workshop or programAttended five CIL sponsored workshops, talks or events in an academic year 

Other Sources of Funding

If your conference or project does not fit the criteria to be funded by the DDF Please check out this Document for information on other campus funding opportunities. 

FAQ

  • Does the CIL have a database of opportunities?
    • We do not provide a curated list of available opportunities. But the CIL is working on a database of opportunities that were previously funded.
  • How do I find opportunities?
    • Opportunities can be found anywhere. Speak to your professors, check out other centers on campus, and sign-up for newsletters (like the CIL newsletter!). If you see a conference being promoted in one of our newsletters, it is already pre-vetted by the CIL.
  • What if I’m not sure if my opportunity fits your guidelines?
    • If you can make a case for why your opportunity is connected to the CIL mission, there is a chance it can be approved. But you need to make a compelling case!
    • If your opportunity is really not connected to the CIL mission, we suggest to look at other funding opportunities offered by the college
  • What if the amount offered by the DDF will not cover all my costs?
    • Unfortunately, we do not allow for additional funding. Seek out other funding opportunities to supplement.
    • If you are applying for funding from multiple sources, be specific about which funding source would cover which cost. For example, you may apply to the Lang Center for travel costs and apply to the DDF for the registration fee. 
  • What if I over spent my funding amount?
    • We will only fund what was agreed upon in your application acceptance letter. It is your responsibility to make sure you stay within your budget.
    • This does not mean you can reallocate awarded funding. For example, you cannot say since you asked for $50 in travel funding but only spent $40 that you decide to put that extra $10 in food.  
  • What if I got approved for funding but my opportunity fell through?
    • This is an unfortunate circumstance. If this were to happen, you may use your allocated funds for another DDF approved opportunity. Please note this option is only available to those whose opportunity could not be completed for reasonable circumstances that were out of the control of the fundee.
    • If you already spent your money, we reserve the right to no longer fund you. Please make sure that your proposed event or project is realistic to complete with the funding and time allotted.  
  • How competitive is the DDF?
    • The competitiveness of the DDF varies year-to-year. Typically, there are many more proposals in the spring semester versus the fall semester. 
  • Can the DDF pay me for the labor that I work?
    • No. The DDF cannot pay you for labor worked on a project. This also extends to internships during the academic year. The DFF does not pay wages or stipends.