Grants for Retirees
All Grants for Retirees articles are collected here.
A thank-you note for UMRA’s grants program
December 31 is the application deadline for UMRA’s 2026 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition. Retirees from all five campuses within the U of M System are eligible to apply. Previous grant recipient Mark Bohnhorst, JD, is “deeply grateful” for the support provided by the program for his ongoing research about the Electoral College.
Published:More...
Competition for 2026 grants opens October 1
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDGR) program is an annual competition with applications accepted from October 1 to December 31. It provides financial support for University retirees to continue scholarship or pursue new projects. Funding of up to $7,500 per grant is available.
Published:More...
Give now to the PDGR program
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDGR) program is an annual competition for grants to support projects related to retirees’ research, instructional history, or new scholarly and creative interests. Funding of up to $7,500 per grant is available. Retirees from all University campuses are eligible to apply.
Published:More...
2025 PDGR Abstracts
2025 PDGR Awards. For the 2025 grant year, the UMRA PDGR Committee reviewed four applications for Professional Development Grants for Retirees and recommended that all four be funded. The awards covered the diverse topics of the lost art of Hungarian Jewish women, contemporary cast iron art, U.S. election systems and their potential reform, and the poetry and life of Shakespeare. The awardees and grant abstracts are listed on the 2025 PDGR Abstracts page.
Published:More...
Give now to the PDGR program, and double your support
Now is an especially good time to support the UMRA grants program because all gifts made by December 31 will be doubled thanks to a challenge grant. Contributions are tax-deductible.
Published:More...
There’s still time to apply for 2025 grants
The application deadline for UMRA’s 2025 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition is December 31. Funding of up to $5,000 per grant is available to support U of M retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarship, or creative interests.
Published:More...
Competition for 2025 grants opens October 1
October 1 marks the start of the 2025 competition for financial support from UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program. Retirees from all five campuses within the U of M System are eligible to apply whether or not they are members of UMRA.
Published:More...
2025 grants for retirees
Funding of up to $5,000 per grant is available to support U of M retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarship, or creative interests.
Published:More...
UMRA grants program announces 2024 awards
Eight retirees from the Twin Cities and Morris campuses have been chosen to receive 2024 awards from UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees Program. As in previous years, their projects cover a diverse set of topics, reflecting the breadth of studies and continuing professional activities undertaken by University retirees.
Published:More...
2024 PDGR Abstracts
The 2024 PDGR grants have been decided and awarded. Seven grants were awarded to a variety of worthy studies.
Published:More...
PDGR: Make a gift today and double the value of your support
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program is an annual competition for awards that support projects related to retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarship, or creative interests. If you would like to make a financial contribution to the program, do it by December 31 and your tax-deductible gift will be doubled thanks to a $20,000 challenge grant from a generous anonymous donor.
Published:More...
2023 PDGR Abstracts
For 2023 grant year, the UMRA PDGR Committee reviewed 10 applications for Professional Development Grants for Retirees. The applications covered a diverse set of topics and goals. The PDGR Committee recommended that nine be funded in April 2023. The recipients represented the Morris and Twin Cities Campus.
Published:More...
Silver Gopher Service Corps by the numbers
UMRA members have logged nearly 200 hours of volunteer service to the University and broader community through the Silver Gopher Service Corps since its launch six months ago.
Published:More...
2024 grants for retirees
Applications for UMRA’s 2024 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition will be accepted beginning October 1. Funding of up to $5,000 per grant is available.
Published:More...
Still driven to discover?
Applications for UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees will be posted on the UMRA website this summer. It is an annual competition open to all U of M retirees, with applications accepted from October 1 to December 31.
Published:More...