Merage Dean's Leadership Circle Grant Initiative

The Dean’s Leadership Circle (DLC) Grant Initiative offers students, staff and faculty the chance to secure up to $10,000 in funding for innovative projects ranging from stock market simulators that teach students investment literacy to faculty research leveraging AI to analyze patterns of fraud.

Grant finalists must pitch their ideas at the annual DLC Grant Pitch Competition in April to an esteemed judging panel and an audience of 100+ alumni, students, staff, faculty, DLC members and industry partners.

By supporting the DLC Grant Initiative, you invest directly in Merage School talent at all levels advancing programs focused on talent pipeline development, career preparedness, inclusive learning, and building industry connections.

In just three years since its launch, the DLC Grant Initiative has grown from awarding $15,800 to $56,000 per grant cycle – 100% supported by gifts of all sizes. With your help, we can continue increasing our impact on our most visionary students, staff and faculty seeking to change the future landscape of business.

Hear directly from our grantees: 

What was your favorite part of the DLC Grant Pitch process?

“I enjoyed being able to do a formal pitch in front of accomplished professionals. I feel that prepared me for my career and presentations in the future.” 
– Lauren Delgado, Marketing Association, 2023 Student Grantee

“My favorite part of the process was being able to pitch alongside our entire community from undergraduates to faculty, from PhD students to staff, and doing this in front of our DLC membership. It was valuable to hear about all the great ideas that are emerging from our own talent pool and to see these ideas come to reality for our team. The DLC grant allowed us to provide a world-class experience to our 50 worthy SIEML students.”
– Lisa Shulman, Summer Institute for Emerging Leaders (SIEML), 2023 Staff Grantee

See what people are sharing about UC Irvine Giving Day 2025!
Merage DLC Donor Map
Rank State Gifts
1 NONE 0
1 AA 0
1 AE 0
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Early Bird Challenge
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Early Bird Challenge
Thanks to a generous gift from UC Irvine Foundation trustees Gary and Melanie Singer, donors will be chosen at random to unlock an additional $500 for the school, program or cause supported during the Giving Day Early Access Period (ends 11:59pm on April 21)!
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Social Media Challenge
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Social Media Challenge
Show your UC Irvine pride! Post on social media with #UCIGivingDay and let us know what you care about most at UC Irvine. We'll be selecting and featuring our favorite posts, and if we feature yours, $500 will be donated in your honor to the initiative mentioned in your post!
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1965 Challenge
$1,965
1965 Challenge
In celebration of UC Irvine's founding, the 1,965th gift will receive $1,965 in matching funds for the school, program or cause supported from UC Irvine alum and trustee, Terry Godfrey ’86 and Steve Godfrey!
73 / 1,965 Gifts
Leaderboard
Brilliant Future Challenge
Thanks to a generous commitment from UC Irvine Foundation trustee Julie Hill, the top-3 academic units with the largest growth in donors over last year's Giving Day will share a bonus prize of $5,000!
Rank Prize Academic Unit % +/- Goal
1 $2,500 School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences -96.67% 1
goal: 30
2 $1,500 School of Social Sciences -97.22% 1
goal: 36
3 $1,000 Donald Bren School of ICS -97.56% 2
goal: 82
4 The Paul Merage School of Business -98.33% 2
goal: 120
5 The Henry Samueli School of Engineering -98.43% 2
goal: 127
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Or you can contact us at james.yokelle@uci.edu.

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