Arnold Ventures Reducing Violence Research Grants

"In this Request for Proposals (RFP), we prioritize funding research to address immediate crises of violence. When violence surges, such as the record increase in homicides in 2020, policymakers must meet the demand both to explain and solve the immediate crisis of violence in their community.

Priority interventions:
- Street outreach/violence interruption
- Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs (HVIPs)
- Therapeutic supports to families (e.g., functional family therapy)
- Youth cognitive behavioral therapy and summer employment
- Focused deterrence
- Improving the physical environment (e.g., greening vacant lots, improving lighting)

We are primarily interested in rigorous outcome evaluations that focus on the core question of whether the selected intervention works to reduce violence and build community safety. We will support experimental and non-experimental approaches that facilitate estimates of causal effects. We are also interested in understanding the mechanisms associated with changes and welcome mixed-method and multilevel data collection strategies. Cost-benefit analyses are also recommended where feasible.

There is no set budget range for this RFP. We recommend that teams submitting proposals develop their budget around a feasible timeline that does not exceed 72 months in length."

Contact Elizabeth O'Campo, Director of Development, Foundation Relations, for more information.

LOI Due: July 11, 2022 (Teams selected to submit full proposals will be notified on or about July 25, 2022. Full proposals are due by September 9, 2022.)

Science of Learning and Augmented Intelligence

"Science of Learning and Augmented Intelligence (SL) supports potentially transformative research that develops basic theoretical insights and fundamental knowledge about principles, processes and mechanisms of learning, and about augmented intelligence - how human cognitive function can be augmented through interactions with others, contextual variations, and technological advances.

The program supports research addressing learning in individuals and in groups, across a wide range of domains at one or more levels of analysis including: molecular/cellular mechanisms; brain systems; cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes; and social/cultural influences.

The program also supports research on augmented intelligence that clearly articulates principled ways in which human approaches to learning and related processes, such as in design, complex decision-making and problem-solving, can be improved through interactions with others, and/or the use of artificial intelligence in technology. These could include ways of using knowledge about human functioning to improve the design of collaborative technologies that have capabilities to learn to adapt to humans.

For both aspects of the program, there is special interest in collaborative and collective models of learning and/or intelligence that are supported by the unprecedented speed and scale of technological connectivity. This includes emphasis on how people and technology working together in new ways and at scale can achieve more than either can attain alone. The program also seeks explanations for how the emergent intelligence of groups, organizations, and networks intersects with processes of learning, behavior and cognition in individuals.

Projects that are convergent and/or interdisciplinary may be especially valuable in advancing basic understanding of these areas, but research within a single discipline or methodology is also appropriate. Connections between proposed research and specific technological, educational, and workforce applications will be considered as valuable broader impacts but are not necessarily central to the intellectual merit of proposed research. The program supports a variety of approaches including: experiments, field studies, surveys, computational modeling, and artificial intelligence/machine learning methods."

Due: July 13, 2022

Human Networks and Data Science (HNDS)

"The Human Networks and Data Science program (HNDS) supports research that enhances understanding of human behavior by leveraging data and network science research across a broad range of topics.  HNDS research will identify ways in which dynamic, distributed, and heterogeneous data can provide novel answers to fundamental questions about individual and group behavior. HNDS is especially interested in proposals that provide data-rich insights about human networks to support improved health, prosperity, and security. 

HNDS has two tracks. This call is for HNDS-R only:  

(1) Human Networks and Data Science – Infrastructure (HNDS-I). Infrastructure proposals will address the development of data resources and relevant analytic techniques that support fundamental Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) research. Successful proposals will, within the financial resources provided by the award, construct user-friendly large-scale next-generation data resources and relevant analytic techniques and produce a finished product that will enable new types of data-intensive research. The databases or techniques should have significant impacts, either across multiple fields or within broad disciplinary areas, by enabling new types of data-intensive research in the SBE sciences.  

(2) Human Networks and Data Science – Core Research (HNDS-R). Core research proposals will advance theory in a core SBE discipline by the application of data and network science methods.  This includes the leveraging of large data sets with diverse spatio-temporal scales of measurement and linked qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as multi-scale, multi-level network data and techniques of network analysis.  Supported projects are expected to yield results that will enhance, expand, and transform theory and methods, and that generate novel understandings of human behavior – particularly understandings that can improve the outcomes of significant societal opportunities and challenges.  HNDS-R encourages core research proposals that make innovative use of NSF-supported data networks, data bases, centers, and other forms of scientific infrastructure including those developed by HNDS-I (formerly RIDIR) projects."

Due: July 14, 2022

Developmental Sciences  (DS)

"DS supports basic research that increases our understanding of cognitive, linguistic, social, cultural, and biological processes related to human development across the lifespan. Research supported by this program will add to our knowledge of the underlying developmental processes that support social, cognitive, and behavioral functioning, thereby illuminating ways for individuals to live productive lives as members of society.

DS supports research that addresses developmental processes within the domains of cognitive, social, emotional, and motor development across the lifespan by working with any appropriate populations for the topics of interest including infants, children, adolescents, adults, and non-human animals. The program also supports research investigating factors that affect developmental change including family, peers, school, community, culture, media, physical, genetic, and epigenetic influences. Additional priorities include research that: incorporates multidisciplinary, multi-method, microgenetic, and longitudinal approaches; develops new methods, models, and theories for studying development; includes participants from a range of ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and cultures; and integrates different processes (e.g., memory, emotion, perception, cognition), levels of analysis (e.g., behavioral, social, neural), and time scales. "

Due: July 15, 2022

Social Psychology

"The Social Psychology Program at NSF supports research and research infrastructure to advance basic knowledge in social psychology. Projects funded by the Social Psychology Program support the NSF mission to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense. Proposals considered by the Social Psychology Program must communicate both the intellectual merit of the science and its broader societal impacts.

Proposed research should carry strong potential for creating transformative advances in the basic understanding of human social behavior. Among the many research topics supported are: social cognition, attitudes, social and cultural influence, stereotypes, motivation, decision making, group dynamics, aggression, close relationships, social and affective neuroscience, social psychophysiology, emotions, prosocial behavior, health-related behavior, and personality and individual differences. Proposals that develop new theories or methods for understanding social behavior are highly encouraged. Research samples should represent substantial ranges of ethnicities, socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and other dimensions of human populations.

Interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and convergent research approaches are encouraged...

In assessing intellectual merit, the Social Psychology Program places highest priority on research that is theoretically grounded, based on empirical observation and validation, and with designs appropriate to the questions asked. In assessing broader impacts, the Social Psychology Program places highest priority on proposals that offer strong potential to benefit society, strengthen our national security interests, improve the quality of life, broaden participation in science, enhance infrastructure for research and education, and include a plan for sharing the results with a wide variety of audiences."

Due: July 15, 2022

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR)

"The National Science Foundation (NSF) plays a leadership role in developing and implementing efforts to enhance and improve STEM education in the United States. Through the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative, the agency continues to make a substantial commitment to the highest caliber undergraduate STEM education through a Foundation-wide framework of investments. The IUSE: EHR is a core NSF STEM education program that seeks to promote novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. The program is open to application from all institutions of higher education and associated organizations. NSF places high value on educating students to be leaders and innovators in emerging and rapidly changing STEM fields as well as educating a scientifically literate public. In pursuit of this goal, IUSE: EHR supports projects that seek to bring recent advances in STEM knowledge into undergraduate education, that adapt, improve, and incorporate evidence-based practices into STEM teaching and learning, and that lay the groundwork for institutional improvement in STEM education. In addition to innovative work at the frontier of STEM education, this program also encourages replication of research studies at different types of institutions and with different student bodies to produce deeper knowledge about the effectiveness and transferability of findings.

IUSE: EHR also seeks to support projects that have high potential for broader societal impacts, including improved diversity of students and instructors participating in STEM education, professional development for instructors to ensure adoption of new and effective pedagogical techniques that meet the changing needs of students, and projects that promote institutional partnerships for collaborative research and development. IUSE: EHR especially welcomes proposals that will pair well with the efforts of NSF INCLUDES (https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/nsfincludes/index.jsp) to develop STEM talent from all sectors and groups in our society.

For all the above objectives, the National Science Foundation invests primarily in evidence-based and knowledge-generating approaches to understand and improve STEM learning and learning environments, improve the diversity of STEM students and majors, and prepare STEM majors for the workforce. In addition to contributing to STEM education in the host institution(s), proposals should have the promise of adding more broadly to our understanding of effective teaching and learning practices.

The IUSE: EHR program features two tracks: (1) Engaged Student Learning and (2) Institutional and Community Transformation. Several levels of scope, scale, and funding are available within each track"

Due: July 20, 2022

Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)

"CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from early-career faculty at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply."

Due: July 27, 2022

Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Higher Education Programs (HEP): Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) Program

"The purposes of the PPOHA Program are to: (1) Expand postbaccalaureate educational opportunities for, and improve the academic attainment of, Hispanic students; and (2) expand the postbaccalaureate academic offerings, as well as enhance the program quality, at the institutions of higher education (IHEs) that are educating the majority of Hispanic college students and helping large numbers of Hispanic and low-income students complete postsecondary degrees."

Due: July 28, 2022

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): School Choice & Improvement Programs (SCIP): Promise Neighborhoods (PN) Program

The PN program is authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). The purpose of the PN program is to significantly improve the academic and developmental outcomes of children and youth living in the most distressed communities of the United States, including ensuring school readiness, high school graduation, and access to a community-based continuum of high-quality services. The program serves neighborhoods with high concentrations of individuals with low incomes; multiple signs of distress, which may include high rates of poverty, childhood obesity, academic challenges, and juvenile delinquency, adjudication, or incarceration; adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); and schools implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 1111(d) of the ESEA. All strategies in the continuum of solutions must be accessible to children with disabilities and English learners.

LOI Due: July 29, 2022

Research Experiences for Teachers Sites in Biological Sciences (BIORETS)

"The National Science Foundation's Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) will support up to 10 awards annually to enable active research by cohorts of middle school teachers, high school teachers and/or community college faculty. Research Experiences for Teachers Sites (RET Sites; RETS) will be based at institutions of higher learning or other non-profit organizations in the U.S. that conduct educational and research activities. RETS with a focus on Biological Sciences (BIORETS) will include research projects in fields that are supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences. BIORETS may be based in a single discipline or department or may offer interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. An important goal of the program is to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in biological research and those from geographically underrepresented areas in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Proposals are strongly encouraged to involve members of these groups both as participants and as mentors. BIORETS awards are expected to leverage the teachers’ research experiences for curriculum development, with the goal of enriching their classroom teaching practices and inspiring a broad swath of students to consider higher education and careers in STEM."

July 31, 2022

William T. Grant Foundation Research Grants on Reducing Inequality

"This program funds research studies that aim to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the United States, along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, language minority status, or immigrant origins.
Proposed studies must:

  • identify a specific inequality in youth outcomes
  • make a convincing case for the dimension(s) of inequality the study will address
  • articulate how the findings will help build, test, or increase understanding of a specific program, policy, or practice to reduce the specific inequality that you have identified."

Contact Elizabeth O'Campo, Director of Development, Foundation Relations, for more information.

Due August 3, 2022

William T. Grant Foundation Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence

"This program funds research studies that advance theory and build empirical knowledge on ways to improve the use of research evidence by policymakers, agency leaders, organizational managers, intermediaries, and other decision-makers that shape youth-serving systems in the United States.
Proposed studies must pursue one of the following aims:

  • Building, identifying, or testing ways to improve the use of existing research evidence.
  • Building, identifying, or testing ways to facilitate the production of new research evidence that responds to decision-makers’ needs.
  • Testing whether and under what conditions using research evidence improves decision-making and youth outcomes."

Contact Elizabeth O'Campo, Director of Development, Foundation Relations, for more information.

Due: August 3, 2022

ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE)

"The NSF ADVANCE program contributes to the National Science Foundation's goal of a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce. In this solicitation, the NSF ADVANCE program seeks to build on prior NSF ADVANCE work and other research and literature concerning gender, racial, and ethnic equity. The NSF ADVANCE program goal is to broaden the implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies that promote equity for STEM2 faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. The NSF ADVANCE program provides grants to enhance the systemic factors that support equity and inclusion and to mitigate the systemic factors that create inequities in the academic profession and workplaces. Systemic (or organizational) inequities may exist in areas such as policy and practice as well as in organizational culture and climate. For example, practices in academic departments that result in the inequitable allocation of service or teaching assignments may impede research productivity, delay advancement, and create a culture of differential treatment and rewards. Similarly, policies and procedures that do not mitigate implicit bias in hiring, tenure, and promotion decisions could lead to women and racial and ethnic minorities being evaluated less favorably, perpetuating historical under-participation in STEM academic careers and contributing to an academic climate that is not inclusive."

Due: August 5, 2022

Spencer Research Grants on Education: Small

"The Small Research Grants Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets up to $50,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. We accept applications three times per year.

This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education."

Contact Elizabeth O'Campo, Director of Development, Foundation Relations, for more information.

Due: August 9, 2022

Sociology

"The Sociology Program supports basic research on all forms of human social organization -- societies, institutions, groups, and demography -- and processes of individual and institutional change. The Program encourages theoretically focused empirical investigations aimed at improving the explanation of fundamental social processes. Included is research on organizations and organizational behavior, population dynamics, social movements, social groups, labor force participation, stratification and mobility, family, social networks, socialization, gender, race, and the sociology of science and technology. The Program supports both original data collections and secondary data analysis that use the full range of quantitative and qualitative methodological tools. Theoretically grounded projects that offer methodological innovations and improvements for data collection and analysis are also welcomed."

Due: August 15, 2022

Decision, Risk and Management Sciences (DRMS)

"The Decision, Risk and Management Sciences program supports scientific research directed at increasing the understanding and effectiveness of decision making by individuals, groups, organizations, and society. Disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, doctoral dissertation research improvement grants (DDRIGs), and conferences are funded in the areas of judgment and decision making; decision analysis and decision aids; risk analysis, perception, and communication; societal and public policy decision making; management science and organizational design. The program also supports projects with severe urgency with regard to availability of, or access to, data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters, or other unanticipated events (Rapid Response Research – RAPID). The program also supports proof-of-concept, high-risk, projects that are potentially transformational (Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research – EAGER). For detailed information concerning these two types of grants, please review Chapter II.E of the NSF PAPPG. Funded research must be grounded in theory and generalizable. "

Due: August 18, 2022

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Computing in Undergraduate Education
"The Improving Undergraduate STEM Education:Computing in Undergraduate Education (IUSE: CUE) program aims to better prepare a wider, more diverse range of students to collaboratively use computation across a range of contexts and challenging problems. With this solicitation, the National Science Foundation focuses on re-envisioning how to teach computing effectively to a broad group of students,in a scalable manner, with an emphasis on broadening participation of groups who are underrepresented and underserved by traditional computing courses and careers.These groups may include women, persons with disabilities, Blacks and African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders."

Due: August 18, 2022

Science of Organizations (SoO)

"Organizations -- private and public, established and entrepreneurial, designed and emergent, formal and informal, profit and nonprofit -- are critical to the well-being of nations and their citizens. They are of crucial importance for producing goods and services, creating value, providing jobs, and achieving social goals. The Science of Organizations (SoO) program funds basic research that yields a scientific evidence base for improving the design and emergence, development and deployment, and management and ultimate effectiveness of organizations of all kinds.

SoO funds research that advances our fundamental understanding of how organizations develop, form and operate. Successful SoO research proposals use scientific methods to develop and refine theories, to empirically test theories and frameworks, and to develop new measures and methods. Funded research is aimed at yielding generalizable insights that are of value to the business practitioner, policy-maker and research communities.

SoO welcomes any and all rigorous, scientific approaches that illuminate aspects of organizations as systems of coordination, management and governance.

In considering whether a particular project might be a candidate for consideration by SoO, please note:

  • Intellectual perspectives may involve (but are not limited to) organizational theory, behavior, sociology or economics, business policy and strategy, communication sciences, entrepreneurship, human resource management, information sciences, managerial and organizational cognition, operations management, public administration, social or industrial psychology, and technology and innovation management.
  • Phenomena studied may include (but are not limited to) structures, routines, effectiveness, competitiveness, innovation, dynamics, change and evolution.
  • Levels of analysis may include (but are not limited to) organizational, cross-organizational collaborations or relationships, and institutional and can address individuals, groups or teams.
  • Research methods may be qualitative and quantitative and may include (but are not limited to) archival analyses, surveys, simulation studies, experiments, comparative case studies, and network analyses.

Consistent with NSF merit review criteria, each SoO proposal should discuss both the intellectual merit and the potential broader impacts of the proposed research. SoO values basic research that has the potential to provide broader societal benefits. However, the majority of space in any proposal will need to be dedicated to the explication of theory, methods, and specific contribution to the evidence base about organizational effectiveness.

Projects that aim to implement and subsequently evaluate particular organizational training, effectiveness or change programs, rather than to advance fundamental, generalizable knowledge, are not appropriate for SoO."

Due: September 3, 2022

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

"The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the REU program. This solicitation features two mechanisms for support of student research: (1) REU Sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department or may offer interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. Proposals with an international dimension are welcome. (2) REU Supplements may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements or may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects."

Due: September 6, 2022

Institute of Education Sciences (IES): National Center for Education Research (NCER): Education Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences
"In awarding the research grants, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) intends to provide national leadership in expanding knowledge and understanding of (1) developmental and school readiness outcomes for infants and toddlers with or at risk for a disability, (2) education outcomes for all learners from early childhood education through postsecondary and adult education, and (3) employment and wage outcomes when relevant (such as for those engaged in career and technical, postsecondary, or adult education). The IES research grant programs are designed to provide interested individuals and the general public with reliable and valid information about education practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities for all learners. These interested individuals include parents, educators, learners, researchers, and policymakers. In carrying out its grant programs, IES provides support for programs of research in areas of demonstrated national need. In awarding research training grant programs, IES aims to prepare individuals to conduct rigorous and relevant education and special education research that advances knowledge within the field and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners.

Under this competition, NCER will consider only applications that address one of the following topics:

  • Early Career Mentoring Program for Faculty at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs).
  • Methods Training in Data Science for Education Researchers."

Due: September 8, 2022

William T. Grant Foundation Institutional Challenge Grant

"The Institutional Challenge Grant encourages university-based research institutes, schools, and centers to build sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. Applications are welcome from partnerships in youth-serving areas such as education, justice, child welfare, mental health, immigration, and workforce development. We especially encourage proposals from teams with African American, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American members in leadership roles. The partnership leadership team includes the principal investigator from the research institution and the lead from the public agency or nonprofit organization."

Contact Elizabeth O'Campo, Director of Development, Foundation Relations, for more information.

Due: September 14, 2022

Understanding Suicide Risk and Protective Factors among Black Youth (R01 and R21)

"Over the past several years, there has been a significant increase in the rate of suicide deaths and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) among Black youth. From 2001 to 2015, an analysis found that Black youth under 13 were twice as likely to die by suicide compared to their White peers, and the suicide death rate among Black youth was found to be increasing faster than any other racial/ethnic group. In response to these trends, the Congressional Black Caucus convened an emergency Taskforce in 2019 to examine Black youth suicide and mental health. The Taskforce report, Ring the Alarm, The Crisis of Black Youth Suicide in America, summarized key epidemiological and clinical findings about Black youth suicide, provided several research, practice, and policy recommendations for addressing the crisis, and specifically highlighted the need for additional research focused on the identification of risk and protective factors for suicidal behaviors among Black youth and sexual and gender minority (SGM) Black youth.

This FOA encourages research that is designed to identify neurobiological, behavioral, social, and structural/systemic mechanisms underlying risk and protective factors for suicide among Black youth, with consideration for identification of novel targets for future development of prevention and intervention efforts. For the purposes of this announcement, Black youth are defined as individuals under the age of 25, including multi-racial youth who identify as Black. Applications are expected to define and justify the age range and sampling strategy of the proposed research in terms of risk and associated burden (e.g., the number of affected individuals, the associated level of suicide risk, and/or overall burden associated with unmet mental health needs) and anchor the assessment of risk and protective factors in the relevant developmental context. Given the established association between SGM status and suicide risk and the unique challenges faced by SGM Black youth, research focused on evaluating SGM-related constructs among Black youth and examining suicide risk and protective factors in this population is encouraged. More broadly, this FOA encourages research that considers risk and protective factors within an intersectional framework to examine interconnections and interdependencies between social categories and systems.

Social determinants of health, including economic instability, disparities in education access and quality, disparities in health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, social and community context, exposure to chronic and acute life stressors, and racism (internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and structural) are known drivers of health disparities. Yet little is known about how social determinants interact with biological and behavioral risk and protective factors to influence disparities in youth suicide. Understanding these interactions is a necessary step in identifying underlying mechanisms that can inform the development of effective suicide prevention strategies for Black youth. Research utilizing the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Framework to facilitate the evaluation of constructs spanning multiple domains of influence (e.g., biological, behavioral, socio-cultural, environmental, physical environment, health system) and multiple levels of influence (e.g., individual, interpersonal, community, societal) is encouraged.

Conducting innovative and impactful research on Black youth suicide requires a team of investigators and key stakeholders with a range of expertise and experience. Thus, this FOA strongly encourages applications that assemble an interdisciplinary, collaborative research team comprised of experts in the fields of minority mental health and health disparities research, community-engaged research, mental health research, and suicide research, as well as investigators with expertise relevant to the project’s focal area and/or methodological approach (e.g., digital health, epidemiology, SGM youth, mixed methods). Inclusion of community stakeholders is also encouraged to ensure the outcomes and interpretation of the research reflect the priorities of the population being studied.

R21 exploratory grant applications in response to this FOA are intended to conduct preliminary work regarding the assessment and characterization of risk and protective factors, with consideration for the identification of novel targets for future development of prevention and intervention efforts. Studies may involve evaluating the relevance of risk and protective factors for Black youth and their families, identifying risk or protective factors (or their interactions) unique to Black youth (or subgroups of this population), developing new or adapted assessment methods that are developmentally and culturally appropriate, and/or examining the acceptability and utility of existing assessment methods. NIMH also encourages research that examines the feasibility, acceptability, and success of various strategies for facilitating research participation among Black youth and their families and/or a diverse range of SGM Black youth and their families in preparation for a larger definitive study. Quantitative or rigorous mixed method approaches are encouraged. Purely qualitative studies will not be considered responsive to this announcement."

LOI Due: September 19, 2022

Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12)

"The Discovery Research PreK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of STEM education innovations and approaches. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. Projects should result in research-informed and field-tested outcomes and products that inform teaching and learning. Teachers and students who participate in DRK-12 studies are expected to enhance their understanding and use of STEM content, practices and skills.

The DRK-12 program invites proposals that address immediate challenges that are facing preK-12 STEM education as well as those that anticipate radically different structures and functions of preK-12 teaching and learning. The DRK-12 program has three major research and development strands: (1) Assessment; (2) Learning; and (3) Teaching. The program recognizes the synergy among the three strands and that there is some overlap and interdependence among them. However, proposals should identify a clear focus of the proposed research efforts (i.e., assessment, learning, or teaching) consistent with the proposal’s main objectives and research questions. The program supports six types of projects: (1) Exploratory, (2) Design and Development, (3) Impact, (4) Implementation and Improvement, (5) Syntheses, and (6) Conferences. All six types of projects apply to each of the three DRK-12 program strands."

Due: October 5, 2022

EHR Core Research (ECR:Core)

"The EHR Core Research (ECR) program offers this ECR:Core solicitation and invites proposals for fundamental research (curiosity-driven basic research and use-inspired basic research) that contributes to the general, explanatory knowledge that underlies STEM education in one or more of the three broadly conceived Research Areas: Research on STEM Learning and Learning Environments, Research on Broadening Participation in STEM fields, and Research on STEM Workforce Development. Within this framework, the ECR program supports a wide range of fundamental STEM education research activities, aimed at learners of all groups and ages in formal and informal settings.

Fundamental research generates knowledge and understanding with the potential for broad relevance. The potential implications of ECR fundamental research for improving STEM education practice may be indirect and long-term rather than direct and immediate. Moreover, whether they include basic or use-inspired basic research, all successful ECR:Core proposals focus on the advancement or refinement of foundational knowledge for STEM education.

The amount of funding and duration requested in proposals submitted to the ECR:Core solicitation should align with the maturity of the proposed work and the size and scope of the empirical effort. The solicitation has three levels of funding with a range of budget sizes, and proposals may request a duration of 3 to 5 years for any level: (1) Level I proposals may request up to $500,000; (2) Level II proposals may request up to $1,500,000; (3) Level III proposals may request up to $2,500,000. All proposals should justify the level of funding and duration in the project description."

Due: October 6, 2022

Racial Equity in STEM Education (EHR Racial Equity)

"Persistent racial injustices and inequalities in the United States have led to renewed concern and interest in addressing systemic racism.  The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) seeks to support bold, ground-breaking, and potentially transformative projects addressing systemic racism in STEM. Proposals should advance racial equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development through research (both fundamental and applied) and practice.  Core to this funding opportunity is that proposals are led by, or developed and led in authentic partnership with, individuals and communities most impacted by the inequities caused by systemic racism.  The voices, knowledge, and experiences of those who have been impacted by enduring racial inequities should be at the center of these proposals, including in, for example:   project leadership and research positions, conceptualization of the proposal, decision-making processes, and the interpretation and dissemination of evidence and research results. The proposed work should provide positive outcomes for the individuals and communities engaged and should recognize peoples’ humanity, experiences, and resilience. Proposals need to consider systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits, and how these barriers impact access to, retention in, and success in STEM education, research, and workforce development. Competitive proposals will be clear with respect to how the work advances racial equity and addresses systemic racism, as these constructs may have different meanings in different settings.  

Proposals should articulate a rigorous plan to generate knowledge through research (both fundamental and applied) and practice, such as, but not limited to:

  • building theory;  
  • developing methods;
  • testing approaches and interventions;  
  • assessing the potential, efficacy, effectiveness, and scalability of approaches and interventions;  
  • establishing, cultivating and assessing authentic partnerships;
  • changing institutional, organizational, and structural practices and policies; and/or  
  • focusing on affective, behavioral, cultural, social components, and implications.

Contexts may include, but are not limited to: preK-12, two- and four-year undergraduate, and graduate institutions; municipal organizations; STEM workplaces; and informal STEM contexts, such as museums, community organizations, and media.

In addition, proposals should include a dissemination plan to proactively share what is learned with individuals and communities most impacted, as well as relevant leaders, policy makers, and other stakeholders. Proposal budgets and project durations should be determined by the scope of the activities and in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). PIs should include “Racial Equity:” at the beginning of the proposal title.

With funding from programs across EHR, this funding opportunity directly aligns with NSF’s core value of supporting outstanding researchers and innovative thinkers from across the Nation's diversity of demographic groups, regions, and types of organizations (NSF Strategic Plan FY2018-2022).  It also supports EHR’s mission, which includes the development of a diverse and well-prepared STEM workforce “to enhance the quality of life of all citizens and the health, prosperity, welfare and security of the nation” (EHR mission statement). The NSF, including EHR, has a longstanding history of investments in research and development focused on diversity in STEM education, research, training programs, and in STEM workplaces.  

Collectively, proposals funded by this Program Description will: (1) advance the science and promotion of racial equity in STEM, (2) substantively contribute to removing systemic  barriers that impact STEM education, the STEM workforce, and scientific advancement, (3) institutionalize effective and inclusive environments for STEM learning, STEM research, and STEM professionals,  (4) diversify the project leadership (PIs and co-PIs), institutions, ideas, and approaches that NSF funds, and (5) expand the array of epistemologies, perspectives, and experiences in STEM."

Due: October 11, 2022

Research Experiences for Teachers in Engineering and Computer Science

"The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science program supports authentic summer research experiences for K-14 educators to foster long-term collaborations between universities, community colleges, school districts, and industry partners. With this solicitation, the Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) focus on a reciprocal exchange of expertise between K-14 educators and research faculty and (when applicable) industry mentors. K-14 educators will enhance their scientific disciplinary knowledge in engineering or computer science and translate their research experiences into classroom activities and curricula to broaden their students’ awareness of and participation in computing and engineering pathways. At the same time, the hosting research faculty will deepen their understanding of classroom practices, current curricula, pedagogy, and K-14 educational environments."

Due: October 12, 2022

Research on Emerging Technologies for Teaching and Learning

"The purpose of the Research on Emerging Technologies for Teaching and Learning (RETTL) program is to fund exploratory and synergistic research in emerging technologies (to include, but not limited to, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and immersive or augmenting technologies) for teaching and learning in the future. The program accepts proposals that focus on learning, teaching, or a combination of both. The scope of the program is broad, with special interest in diverse learner/educator populations, contexts, and content, including teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in foundational areas that enable STEM (e.g., self-regulation, literacy, communication, collaboration, creativity, and socio-emotional skills). Research in this program should be informed by the convergence (synthesis) of multiple disciplines: e.g., learning sciences; discipline-based education research; computer and information science and engineering; design; and cognitive, behavioral, and social sciences.  Within this broad scope, the program also encourages projects that investigate teaching and learning related to futuristic and highly technological work environments."

Due: October 17, 2022

Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation

"The Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program is an alliance-based program.  The program's theory is based on the Tinto model for student retention referenced in the 2005 LSAMP program evaluation.   The overall goal of the program is to assist universities and colleges in diversifying the nation's science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce by increasing the number of STEM baccalaureate and graduate degrees awarded to populations historically underrepresented in these disciplines: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders.  LSAMP's efforts to increase diversity in STEM are aligned with the goals of the Federal Government's five-year strategic plan for STEM education, Charting a Course for Success:  America’s Strategy for STEM Education.

The LSAMP program takes a comprehensive approach to student development and retention. Particular emphasis is placed on transforming undergraduate STEM education through innovative, evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies, and relevant educational experiences in support of racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM disciplines.

The LSAMP program also supports knowledge generation, knowledge utilization, assessment of program impacts and dissemination activities.  The program seeks new learning and immediate diffusion of scholarly research into the field.  Under this program, funding for STEM educational and broadening participation research activities could include research to develop new models in STEM engagement, recruitment and retention practices for all critical pathways to STEM careers or research on interventions such as mentoring, successful learning practices and environments, STEM efficacy studies, and use of technology to improve learning or student engagement. 

Overall, the LSAMP program provides funding to alliances that implement comprehensive, evidence-based, innovative, and sustained strategies that ultimately result in the graduation of well-prepared, highly-qualified students from underrepresented minority groups who pursue graduate studies or careers in STEM. "

Due: November 18, 2022

Innovations in Graduate Education Program

"The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative approaches to STEM graduate education training. The program seeks proposals that explore ways for graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers.

IGE focuses on projects aimed at piloting, testing, and validating innovative and potentially transformative approaches to graduate education.  IGE projects are intended to generate the knowledge required for their customization, implementation, and broader adoption. The program supports testing of novel models or activities with high potential to enrich and extend the knowledge base on effective graduate education approaches.

The program addresses both workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity building needs in graduate education. Strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, informal science centers, and academic partners are encouraged.

As a special emphasis under this solicitation, IGE seeks proposals that will result in a single cooperative agreement for the development and implementation of an IGE Innovation Acceleration Hub. The Hub will facilitate IGE awardee communications about research activities and outcomes and provide a platform for external stakeholder engagement. Only Hub proposals submitted to the November 2020 deadline will be considered for funding."

Due: March 25, 2023

Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at Two-year Institutions of Higher Education

"NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate seeks to significantly enhance its support for research, development, implementation, and assessment to improve STEM education at the Nation’s two-year colleges. NSF encourages bold, potentially transformative projects that address immediate challenges facing STEM education at two-year colleges and/or anticipate new structures and functions of the STEM learning and teaching enterprise. This program description is a targeted approach for advancing innovative and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges.  It also seeks to support systemic approaches to advance inclusive and equitable STEM education practices.

The Nation’s prosperity and security require a STEM-literate public and a well-prepared STEM workforce. Two-year colleges have pivotal roles in achieving both of these educational goals, as well as in providing equitable access to STEM career paths1. Each year, the nation’s more than 1000 two-year colleges award degrees and certificates to 11.8 million students.2 Among U.S. students who earned Science & Engineering bachelor’s degrees between 2010 and 2017, about half (47%) had done some coursework at a community college and nearly a fifth (18%) earned associate’s degrees3. In addition, members of underrepresented minority groups are more likely to have attended community colleges and to have earned an associate degree as part of their education.1 As such, two-year colleges are major contributors to the diversity of the Nation’s STEM workforce. This program description will enable NSF to provide more support for STEM education initiatives at two-year colleges.

Projects will be expected to build on prior fundamental and/or applied research in STEM education and provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects as needed. Projects will also be expected to be research-informed and to result in field-tested outcomes and products that enhance STEM teaching and learning at two-year colleges.

Potential Outcomes of Interest: NSF is interested in projects with potential outcomes that include, but are not limited to: 1) making systemic improvements in STEM education; 2) promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion; 3) mitigating the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on two-year colleges.

Potential Approaches of Interest: Of particular interest are projects that aim to advance undergraduate STEM education by: improving student outcomes in foundational STEM courses; broadening and/or creating new STEM curricula; providing STEM students with authentic research experiences, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities; increasing access to high quality STEM education through new technologies; re- or up-skilling incumbent workers for new STEM jobs; building STEM career and seamless transfer pathways; developing novel mechanisms to identify talent and recruit into STEM programs. In all cases, NSF is interested in projects that include substantive public and private partnerships that contribute towards advancing STEM education.

STEM Disciplines: In addition to proposals in traditional STEM fields at two-year colleges, NSF particularly encourages submissions to the disciplines of national priority such as quantum information science, artificial intelligence, robotics, process engineering, and cybersecurity.

Scale and Budget: Projects may focus on different time scales, from near-, to long-term challenges and opportunities, and can range from small, exploratory investigations to large, comprehensive projects. Proposal budgets should be commensurate with the scope and scale of the proposed work and level of effort."

Due: May 1, 2023

Amgen Foundation Grants

"The Amgen Foundation seeks to advance excellence in science education to inspire the next generation of innovators, and invest in strengthening communities where Amgen staff members live and work. The Amgen Foundation carefully considers each grant application it receives, seeking out diverse organizations whose philosophies, objectives and approaches align with the Foundation goals and mission. The Foundation awards grants to local, regional, and international nonprofit organizations that are replicable, scalable and designed to have a lasting and meaningful effect in our communities. Grants should reflect Amgen's dedication to impacting lives in inspiring and innovative ways. Amgen Foundation grants range from $10,000 to multi-million dollar commitments...

- Science Education

The Foundation is committed to raising the value of science literacy on a national and local level. The areas given priority consideration within science education are:

  • Teacher quality and professional development in math and science: Comprehensive programs that enhance the quality of math and science teachers entering the classroom, and support teachers with meaningful professional-development opportunities that have a positive impact on student achievement
  • Pivotal hands-on science experience: Support programs that provide students and teachers with opportunities for hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences that significantly impact students' excitement about science and scientific careers"

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Anderson-Rogers Foundation- Social and Environmental Needs Grants

"The Anderson-Rogers Foundation makes grants to 501(c)(3) organizations that address a variety of social and environmental needs. The Foundation is particularly interested in funding programs in the following areas:
       - Reproductive and abortion rights
       - Access to contraception and sex education, particularly programs aimed at reducing teen pregnancy rates
       - Environmental education and activism, including programs to preserve and restore habitat and protect endangered
       animals
       - Promotion of environmentally sound agricultural practices and food systems
       - Promotion of humanist values and separation of church and state"

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation- Higher Learning Grant

"Higher Learning supports inclusive humanities education and diverse learning environments—spaces where the ideas that enrich our understanding of a complex world are created and elevated. 

We work with colleges, universities, and other organizations that embrace equity in higher learning, with a focus on historically underserved populations, including nontraditional and incarcerated students. Alongside our investment at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the work and health of core humanities fields, we offer robust support for paradigm-shifting interdisciplinary studies that are necessary to the evolution of those traditional disciplines.

With our partners, we support sharper critical thinking to create a generation who can help steer a more engaged, multivocal, and truly democratic society...

Prospective grantees should review program area guidelines before inquiring about grant support.  Inquiries concerning a proposed grant should be made through the Foundation's grantee portal, Fluxx.  If Foundation staff find that the proposed grant fits within the Foundation's grantmaking priorities, staff will invite a grant proposal through the portal.  Once invited, grantees should be prepared to work closely with program staff in refining the proposal, often through multiple drafts.  Based on the final proposal, program staff will determine whether to bring a grant recommendation to the Board of Trustees at one of its quarterly meetings (generally held in March, June, September, and December)."

Rolling Deadline

Arctic Social Sciences

"The Arctic Social Sciences Program (ASSP) encompasses all social sciences supported by NSF. These include, but are not limited to anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, linguistics, political science, psychology, science and technology studies, sociology, traditional knowledge and related subjects. Although unsolicited proposals in any of the social sciences mentioned above are welcome, areas of particular interest include culture and environment, resources and economic change, development of social and political institutions, ethnic (cultural) and regional identities, and knowledge systems. These five research areas are identified and explained in the report, Arctic Social Sciences: Opportunities in Arctic Research (Arctic Research Consortium of the United States, June 1999, Fairbanks, Alaska. Available through the Arctic Research Consortium at http://www.arcus.org). The Arctic Social Sciences Program especially encourages projects that are circumpolar and/or comparative; involve collaborations between researchers and those living in the Arctic; or form partnerships among disciplines, regions, researchers, communities, and/or students (K-12, undergraduate, or graduate). Dissertation research proposals will be accepted."

Rolling Deadline

Bayer USA Foundation- STEM Education and Workforce Development

"The Bayer USA Foundation is interested in hands-on, inquiry-based science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs and also initiatives that provide innovative solutions to encourage more female and minority students to pursue a career in STEM.

Proposal must have a national focus."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Charles Koch Foundation - Graduate Research Support

"Graduate students are the next generation of scholars and teachers whose exploration of key questions will inform solutions to the challenges of the day and prepare the students of the future.

The Charles Koch Foundation seeks to connect students and scholars to the resources they need to explore these diverse ideas and solutions and welcomes research and travel grant proposals from  doctoral students. Proposals from all disciplines will be considered for funding."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Charles Koch Foundation- Postsecondary Education

"The Charles Koch Foundation is committed to supporting projects that remove barriers to education that can unlock the potential of all learners. We are particularly interested in projects that:

  • Incentivize competency-based learning that considers student fulfillment and improves learning outcomes.
  • Provide the flexibility necessary to create individualized educational experiences that help students reach their potential and aspirations, at scale.
  • Identify new technologies and operating models that increase access to a variety of educational opportunities (including alternatives to four-year degree programs) while lowering costs.
  • Identify and address barriers to innovation within traditional postsecondary education, broadly defined.
  • Support the ecosystem necessary for continued growth and the creation of diverse educational pathways, such as stackable credentials, apprenticeships, and work-study programs."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

The Chisholm Foundation

"The Chisholm Foundation welcomes grant applications from anywhere in the United States that are compatible with its mission to support the arts, education and religion. Submitted applications are reviewed individually by the Foundation directors, who may or may not request additional information from applicants. Only a small number of the many applications received can be funded.

While the Foundation does not guarantee any specific timetable for action, generally applications for May and November grants must be received no later than March 1st and September 1st, respectively. Applicants should plan their submission well in advance of need.

Due to financial considerations, grants may be made either in a lump sum or in multiple installments. In some cases, a worthwhile application may be deferred to a subsequent year. The Foundation is particularly interested in new or demonstration projects which, if successful, can be continued and expanded with the help of additional financial supporters. Therefore the Foundation encourages applicants to seek matching gifts or challenge grants that can magnify Foundation funds."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

ECMC Foundation Strategic Grantmaking

"ECMC Foundation is a nationally focused foundation whose mission is to inspire and facilitate improvements that affect educational outcomes -- especially among underserved populations--through evidence-based innovation. It is one of several affiliates under the ECMC Group enterprise based in Minneapolis, which together work to help students succeed. The Foundation makes investments in two focus areas: College Success and Career Readiness; and uses a spectrum of funding structures, including strategic grantmaking and program-related investments, to fund both nonprofit and for-profit ventures. Working with its grantees, partners and peers, ECMC Foundation's vision is for all learners to unlock their fullest potential.

As a result of COVID-19: Demand for funding has increased dramatically in the last several weeks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on postsecondary institutions and the students they serve. As a result, they are giving priority to those requests that address the immediate challenges and opportunities arising from the pandemic. The foundation is especially interested in those proposals that focus on implementing systemic reforms to increase college success and career readiness for students from underserved backgrounds.

The funding information on this page is for traditional grants in the Foundation's two focus areas.

College Success--The College Success portfolio is focused on increasing the number of college students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, including low-income and first-generation populations, who pursue and attain bachelor's degrees. This portfolio considers programs and initiatives that work with currently enrolled college students to promote two-year transfer and bachelor degree completion. The sponsor seeks innovative programs in both direct service models as well as overarching systemic reform initiatives.

Career Readiness--The Career Readiness portfolio is committed to connecting adults with limited or no education beyond high school to career pathways that allow for economic mobility and a family-sustaining wage. This portfolio considers high-quality, industry-informed postsecondary education programs up to the associate level as the primary mechanism to meet its goals. Funding builds the capacity of institutions providing or supporting career and technical education; contributes research to improve the field and promote support for career readiness programs; and develops scalable postsecondary program models that incorporate wraparound services, implement a student-centered educational approach, and offer accredited, industry-informed career pathways."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

ESA Foundation Career Enhancement Grant

"The ESA Foundations Career Enhancement Grant provides funds to assist individuals who are seeking further educational experiences and training to develop their personal career skills and opportunities for career advancement. The Career Enhancement Grant is not to be used as a college scholarships, for college tuition, or for the repayment of debt." Grant is paid directly to the provider of the proposed training; it does not include costs of travel.  Maximum amount of $2000.

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Genentech Corporate Giving

"We’re proud to support the work of scientists, researchers, medical professionals and community-based organizations that are finding ways to help those in need and make a lasting, positive impact. Our charitable giving strategy focuses on three core objectives:

1. A Diverse Future of STEM: Education to Employment
2. Health Equity
3. Vibrant Communities (Bay Area)"

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Grodman Family Foundation Providing Solutions to Children in Distress

"The Grodman Family Foundation will fund innovative programs of research, education, clinical care, and program operations that provide solutions to the immense challenge of caring for children in distress. The Foundation will support integrated multidisciplinary interventions that respond to, mitigate, and prevent distress among those least able to care for themselves.

Eligible applicants must be a United States 501(c)(3) organization although projects may be global in scope. Preference will be given to academic or research based entities.

Grants will be considered in the $50,000-$200,000 annual range with 1–3-year terms."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Hearst Foundation

"The Hearst Foundations fund educational institutions demonstrating uncommon success in preparing students to thrive in a global society. The Foundations’ focus is largely on higher education, but they also fund innovative models of early childhood and K-12 education, as well as professional development."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Hillman Family Foundations

"The 18 Hillman Family Foundations represent an evolving commitment to philanthropy that spans four generations and a broad range of grantmaking interests.

Although they share some common guiding principles , each foundation has its own mission, funding priorities, and geographic focus areas. Given these diverse interests, applicants should select which foundation is the best fit for their project..."

Each of the Foundations have a geographical area of interest. Three of the foundations focus on Education in Portland, OR:  Summer Lea Hillman Foundation, Juliet Ashby Hillman Foundation, Henry Lea Hillman Jr. Foundation.

Their guiding principles:

  • Serving the community requires a responsive and flexible approach.
  • Risks are worth taking and foundations are well positioned to take them.
  • Good intentions are not enough.
  • Growing and strengthening highly capable nonprofit organizations is a good investment in the future.
  • Foundations provide the most community value when they are more than a funder.
  • The true impact of work in the community may take years to develop.

Rolling Deadline

Kresge Foundation -  Developing Supportive, Aligned PublicPolicy

"To provide greater pathways to social and economic mobility, we leverage lessons we’ve learned through our place-based opportunity ecosystems and NextGen efforts to work with key partners across sectors to address structural barriers and advance policy solutions.

Through our local, state and national partners, we pinpoint policy, regulatory and practices that impede moving people out of poverty and toward intergenerational cycles of success. We want to help these groundbreaking policy ideas enter the mainstream at the state and national level and encourage collaboration across multiple sectors, including the public, private, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors.

We invest in efforts that:

Strengthen the functioning of existing human services public programs, systems and financing in ways that enable and accelerate greater social and economic mobility.

Integrate racial equity and inclusion as key enablers of advancing social and economic mobility.

Strengthen the functioning of existing programs, systems and financing in adjacent sectors (housing, early childhood education, workforce etc.) vital to increasing social and economic mobility using a racial equity lens.

Advance policies that improve workforce development and education and training, that support meaningful career pathways and asset building and financial services."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Laird Norton Foundation

"The Laird Norton Family Foundation awards grants in five program areas, which reflect family values and honor the family's commitment to environmental stewardship and ensuring excellence in generations to come.

  • Arts in Education - Increasing arts education and improving K-12 learning through the arts
  • Climate Change - Creating a healthy and productive environment for future and current generations through efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change
  • Global Fundamentals - Improving the quality of life in developing countries through clean water and sanitation access, technology, and policy
  • Sapling Fund - Engaging family members ages 14-21 in philanthropy and volunteerism
  • Watershed Stewardship - Making measurable improvements in the ecosystems of watersheds by investing in collaborative, community-led watershed restoration planning, prioritization, and adaptive management"

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation College Preparation & Completion Grants

"The persistent educational gap affecting underserved students in the U.S. means that many students never get a chance to earn a college degree. A college degree can be a springboard in life. It can lift people out of poverty, increase the odds of landing better jobs, increase lifetime earnings, and lead to better health over the course of one’s life.

The right assistance at the right time can help students get into college and graduate. Our goal is to increase support for these students to get 50 percent more of them to and through college to unlock the lifetime opportunity a degree enables.  To that end, we support organizations across the United States that work to increase the numbers of low-income students who are ready for, enrolling in, and finishing college with a bachelor’s degree.

We focus on complementary programs that will lead to meaningful results for students including:

       - Non-Cognitive Skills: Providing students with the support and social and emotional skills needed to complete rigorous
       academic curricula and manage challenges in college.
       - Financial Aid Access and College Affordability: Reducing financial barriers to college entry and completion while also
       increasing financial literacy and college affordability knowledge.
       - Social Supports: Providing the supports (e.g. coaching, mentoring, and advising) that enable students to enter, persist
       through, and graduate from a four-year college

Ultimately, we are focused on more low-income students enrolling and graduating from college."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Program and Staff grant

"Murdock Trust grants help fund both new programs and the expansion of existing programs, and may be used to cover start-up costs and/or related staff member additions. Typically, we fund program and staff grants on a declining basis over three years (100/67/33%). Staff hires or programs initiated before Trustee action will not be eligible for funding."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline, send LOI

Research Interests of the United States Air Force Academy

"The USAFA invests in an active research program for three main reasons. First and foremost, research significantly enhances the cadet learning experience. Our research is done by, for and with cadets who work alongside fellow cadets and faculty mentors. Research provides cadets with rich independent learning opportunities as they tackle ill-defined problems and are challenged to apply their knowledge and abilities.

Second, our research program provides opportunities for essential faculty development.  Research broadens and deepens the experience base of the faculty.  This infuses current, relevant, state-of-the-art and cutting-edge applications and examples into the curriculum. This also helps our faculty remain current in their respective fields.

Third, at USAFA we strive to conduct research to enhance the ability of the Air Force to perform its mission. There are ongoing research projects spanning topics as diverse as super hypersonics, cyber security, spatial disorientation, athletic performance and homeland defense.

This BAA is located at the FedBizOpps.gov and Grants.gov website(s).  Research areas of interest to the USAFA’s Research Center Directors are described in detail in the sub-sections [of the full announcement, located in the related documents]."

Some areas of potential interest to College applicants are: Physics Education research, Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Outreach, Behavioral Sciences & Leadership, Foreign Languages and International Programs.

Rolling Deadline (white papers preferred as first submission)

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Evidence for Action: Investigator-Initiated Research to Build a Culture of Health

"Evidence for Action (E4A), a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, funds research that expands the evidence base needed to build a Culture of Health. Our mission is to support rigorously designed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research that yields convincing findings regarding the population health, well-being, and equity impacts of specific policies, programs and partnerships. We are especially interested in research examining the health impacts of programmatic or policy interventions that address factors outside the domain of health care services or public health practice."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation- Pioneering Ideas: Exploring the Future to Build a Culture of Health

"Pioneering Ideas: Exploring the Future to Build a Culture of Health seeks proposals that are primed to influence health equity in the future. We are interested in ideas that address any of these four areas of focus: Future of Evidence; Future of Social Interaction; Future of Food; Future of Work. Additionally, we welcome ideas that might fall outside of these four focus areas, but which offer unique approaches to advancing health equity and our progress toward a Culture of Health.

We want to hear from scientists, anthropologists, artists, urban planners, community leaders—anyone, anywhere who has a new or unconventional idea that could alter the trajectory of health, and improve health equity and well-being for generations to come. The changes we seek require diverse perspectives and cannot be accomplished by any one person, organization or sector. "

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Smith Richardson Foundation- Domestic Public Policy Program

“The Domestic Public Policy Program supports projects that will help the public and policy makers understand and address critical challenges facing the United States. To that end, the Foundation supports research on and evaluation of existing public policies and programs, as well as projects that inject new ideas into public debates. ”

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Social Science Research Council The Mercury Project

"The Mercury Project is a $10M+ research consortium investigating the impacts of health misinformation and evaluating interventions to prevent its spread in the United States, Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The Mercury Project invites letters of inquiry for research projects that address one or more of the following goals:

  1. estimating the causal impacts of mis- and disinformation on online and offline outcomes in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, including health, economic, and/or social outcomes, differential impacts across sociodemographic groups, and quantifying the global costs of those impacts;
  2. estimating the causal impacts of online or offline interventions in the United States, Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean to increase uptake of Covid-19 vaccines and other recommended public health measures by countering mis- and disinformation, including interventions that target the producers or the consumers of mis- and disinformation, or that increase confidence in reliable information.

Proposed projects may have a duration of up to 30 months. Proposed budgets should be appropriate to cover project costs, with indirect costs not exceeding 15% of direct costs. There is no maximum award amount."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline

Sony USA Foundation Grants

"Within the U.S., Sony focuses the majority of its charitable giving on art, culture, technology and the environment, with a particular emphasis on education in each of those areas. While support in other areas may also be considered, the Company seeks to apply its financial, technological and human resources to the encouragement of the creative, artistic, technical and scientific skills required of tomorrow's workforce."

Rolling Deadline

Teagle Foundation- Education in American Civil Life

"The mission of the Teagle Foundation is to support and strengthen liberal arts education, which it sees as fundamental to meaningful work, effective citizenship, and a fulfilling life. To that end, the foundation's Education in American Civic Life initiative supports faculty-led efforts to prepare graduates to become informed and engaged participants in the civic life of their local, national, and global communities. Through the initiative, the foundation seeks ambitious projects that address gaps in the civic knowledge of undergraduates and prepares them for the intellectual demands of democratic participation. Successful proposals will seek to promote learning about the formation of the American republic, the crafting of its Constitution, the history of contention over the meanings of the Constitution, the development of representative political structures, and the principles of democracy. The foundation encourages a comparative approach to studying these principles that will deepen students' understanding of what is unique about American institutions by placing them in contrast to the principles and institutions of other societies."

Contact Aaron Shonk, Director, Foundation Services, for more information.

Rolling Deadline