Mary H. Brown Fund

Fund Overview

Mary H. Brown’s bequest to McGill University primarily supported the creation of facilities for health and mental health care in the Brown Student Services Building. The balance of the fund was set aside as the Mary H. Brown Fund to provide ongoing special project support.

The Fund, approximately $20,000 per year in total, supports initiatives consistent with Ms. Brown's wishes. Applications may be received from any unit or organization within the McGill community, be it from students, staff or faculty. Selected projects typically have a projected budget between $500-$3,000.

For more information, please consult the following: Mary H Brown Information Package

Application Guidelines

Applications:

• must be for new initiatives, and may be considered for at most one renewal;
• may be submitted for self-contained projects or extensions to existing projects;
• may be received from any unit or organization within the McGill community;
• will be examined by the Director of Bequests and Planned Gifts, Development, Alumni and University Relations to confirm their conformity with the wishes of the benefactors; and
• will be adjudicated by the Dean and Associate Dean of Students, who will inform the Provost of their decisions.

Application Content

There is no application form. Please apply in a letter (maximum 5 double-spaced pages) that includes:

• Title
• 100-word summary
• Principle Contact Person information* 
• Organizer names, McGill emails and ID numbers**
• Outline of activities to be undertaken
• Anticipated outcomes or benefits from funding
• A detailed budget of anticipated costs

*ONE person should be the Primary Contact Person, and we will only be communicating with this person to avoid communication errors. If a project does not indicate a Primary Contact Person, we will assume that the Participant who was listed first on the applicant is the Primary Contact Person and we will be communicating solely with them. Please ensure that the Principal Contact Person is the one who submits the proposal to our office via email.

** If your project has non-McGill community members as organizers, please simply list their name and their educational institute, if applicable. Please note that to be considered for the fund, the majority of Organizers must be members of the McGill community.

Please submit your application in .pdf format to deanofstudents [at] mcgill.ca

Application Deadline

Applications should be received by Friday October 16th. Subject to the availability of funds, Winter applications involving clearly time sensitive or fleeting opportunities that could not have been anticipated in time for the regular deadline might also be considered. The Dean of Students may also invite applications for targeted projects. The same review process will apply to all proposals.

Preparing a Successful Application

Successful past projects have included most or all of the following elements:

• Create links with other McGill departments, organizations, or student groups
• Have an impact on students, including those beyond the project applicants
• Involve students in sensitization and educational events
• Engage groups of students with local communities
• Request a modest vs. a large budget (large budget = more than $3000)
• Explain the potential for the project to be ongoing and to receive alternate sources of funding in the future

Projects less likely to receive support through this fund include those:

• Under the jurisdiction of, and already funded by, a student association, although co-sponsorships are eligible
• That include research or academic issues that should be funded at the departmental or Faculty level
• That benefit only individual students (e.g., funding for taking a course or travel)
• That request upgrading or improvements to equipment, furnishings or physical space (interior or exterior)
• That cover costs pertaining to an hourly wage, salary or honoraria

Previously Funded Proposals

Examples of recent projects that received funding include:

The McGill Death Café is a program that seeks to “increase awareness of death with a view to help people make the most of their (finite) lives”, and consists of group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. While not a grief support or counselling session, Death Cafés provide a space where the often scary and taboo- yet universally relevant- theme of death can be discussed in a respectful and confidential manner without fear of judgment, a spiritual or philosophical agenda. This project received $500 to be used towards promotion, materials and food.

The McGill Walking Birds initiative is aimed at encouraging physical activity and healthy lifestyle choices at McGill University by promoting the use of stairs instead of elevators, with strategic placement of evidence-based signs and educational pamphlets. These educational pamphlets will include information about McGill’s health and Mental Health services, as well as healthy lifestyle tips to help foster positive mental hygiene. In such a way, the Walking Birds initiative echoes the spirit of McGill’s mythical Martlet birds: always in flight, sociable, healthy, and filled with promise for a better future - the only difference is that these birds prefer to take the stairs. This project received $1080 for materials

Art/iculation is a bilingual student-run digital and print magazine that aims to challenge mainstream notions of 'culture,' by spotlighting un(der)represented topics of cultural significance. Each issue brims with artful, critical content around a timely theme selected by the editorial team. In response to the tragic spate of celebrity suicides in Spring 2018 and ensuing media storm that revealed the pervasive stigma surrounding mental health, the magazine proposes a special issue focused on “The Art of Healing”. The issue would feature written and artistic content on mental, emotional, and physical wellness. Print copies of the issue would be distributed on-campus during back-to-school, with all content fully accessible online. This project received $1500 for supplies.

Upon Receipt of Funding

The Dean of Students will notify recipients and, with the approval of the Director of Planned Giving, will issue the disbursement.

• Successful projects must send the Dean of Students a brief report on the use of the funds and main outcomes of the project by Spring/Summer 2021 TBD. This report will be shared with the Provost and the Director of Bequests and Planned Gifts, and must accompany any request for renewal.
  • NOTE: due to COVID-19, the End of Year Report deadline will be pushed back to a date to be determined.
• It is the responsibility of the principal contact person to ensure that copies of all relevant invoices or bills are kept on file should funded projects be audited at any time. Please ensure you keep all financial receipts associated with your project.
• Any advertising of projects or events should mention that Mary H. Brown funding made it possible in whole (or in part).
• If, due to unforeseen circumstances, projects do not go forward for any reason, please deanofstudents [at] mcgill.ca (inform the Dean of Students).
• For more information on what to include in the annual report, please consult the following: Mary H brown Annual Report Guidelines