Ways to Give
Funds Raised Now Help Shape the Future of the Dickens Project.
We take pride in being an inclusive community for all individuals with a passion for 19th-century literature, and we are committed to providing access for those who wish to join our Dickens Universe. By expanding our scholarship and grant programs, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) institutes, community outreach efforts, and curriculum development for teachers, the Dickens Project can continue to make these novels a vibrant, beloved part of how people understand the world.
Current Fundraising Priorities
General Support
Your gift of unrestricted support gives the faculty directors the ability and flexibility to expand the Project strategically and provide funding where it is needed most. This fund supports special research initiatives, outreach to local schools, library exhibits, website development, and overseas conferences. It also includes opportunities for direct student support in the form of scholarships and grants.
Friends of the Dickens Project
The Friends of the Dickens Project is a community-based volunteer group that provides vital enhancements to the academic and social dimension of the Dickens Universe. Your donation to the Friends group enables eminent scholars from non-consortium universities to attend, supports social events (afternoon teas, the Grand Dessert Party, the Friday night Victorian Dance), and provides assistance for Universe attendees with mobility challenges and other special needs.
Friends of the Dickens Project Endowment
The Friends of the Dickens Project endowment secures long-term support for the Dickens Universe in its current location at UC Santa Cruz. Your contribution enables the Dickens Project to have a lasting impact on the lives of Victorian literature enthusiasts and students of all ages and backgrounds.
Community College Scholarships
This fund supports an annual essay contest for students at California Community Colleges. Contest winners are granted a $3,000 scholarship to attend the Dickens Universe and earn five units of college-level academic credit.
High School Student and Teacher Scholarships
Through a strong partnership between the Dickens Project and the Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI) in Los Angeles, as well as through our Dickens Day of Writing, as many as four high school students from underserved communities and their teachers attend the Dickens Universe every year. Your gift to this fund provides critical support to these students and teachers and allows us to expand this program to more high schools in other communities. Scholarship awards vary based on travel expenses and need.
Faculty and Graduate Student Travel Grants
The cost of travel to Santa Cruz is often a limiting factor for faculty and graduate student participation. Gifts to this fund help bring deserving faculty and graduate students from member institutions to the Dickens Universe and other Dickens Project–sponsored events throughout the year by providing up to $600 in travel grants. The professional development of graduate students is a central goal of the Dickens Project and one of the ways in which the Project contributes to nurturing the next generation of 19th-century teacher-scholars.
Dickens Project Graduate Student Fellowship
This fellowship ($60,000) fully funds one UC Santa Cruz graduate student to spend a year with the Dickens Project, exploring ways to integrate their research in 19th-century literature into public outreach projects. The Dickens Project Fellow gains valuable experience working closely with the Project to help coordinate its conferences and community engagement.
Join the Legacy Circle
Several friends have chosen to include the Dickens Project in their estate plans. Their foresight ensures that the Dickens Project continues its mission to research, enlighten, and serve the next generation of scholars well into the future. Their gift entitles them to membership in UC Santa Cruz’s Legacy Circle.
Gifts by check
Other gifts by check to the Dickens Project can be made with a note designating how you’d like your gift directed. Please make checks payable to “UCSC Foundation” with a note in the memo line indicating the designation (see the priorities listed above). Gifts can be sent to following address:
UC Santa Cruz Foundation
Gift Administration
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Additional Information
Elizabeth White, Director of Development for the Humanities Division, UC Santa Cruz
Lora Hollingsworth, Executive Director of Gift Planning, UC Santa Cruz
Federal tax ID number: 23-7394590