Community partners—spanning nonprofits, government agencies, small businesses, and individuals with specialized expertise—play a vital role in supporting student learning, contributing to faculty research, and enhancing university programming. However, their recognition and compensation across U-M is inconsistent, due to U-M’s decentralized and complex administrative and financial systems.

Throughout 2026, units across campus have come together with local community partners to discuss these challenges and generate ideas and tools for improving compensation practices and processes at U-M. Through in-kind support and Democracy & Civic Empowerment Grant funds, the Compensating Community Partners Event Series was collaboratively developed by the Edward Ginsberg Center, Poverty Solutions, U-M School of Information, University of Michigan Medical School Department of Learning Health Sciences, Detroit Urban Research Center (URC), M-SHIELD, Graham Sustainability Institute, Taubman Public Design Corps, UM-SEAS Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, and the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR).

At the December 4th session, participants will:

Hear insights from community-engaged faculty & staff, financial administrators, and community partners about how U-M units can make community partner compensation more transparent and accessible;

Learn about new tools, resources, and cross-unit collaborations with Procurement & Shared Services designed to improve community partner compensation practices at U-M; and

Learn ways to get involved and support this ongoing effort.

REGISTER: https://sessions.studentlife.umich.edu/track/event/session/116628