Research Funding

It’s the big picture thinkers – the scientists and the academics, with out-of-this-world ideas and ground-breaking theories for change, who will pave the future. But developing and testing theories requires a lot of research, and with that research, comes huge investments. While research is an important part of academia, it can also be very costly. Fortunately, a whole slew of research grants, scholarships, and fellowships exist – all that’s left is to do the grant research.

General

1. Grants.gov: Though backed by the Department of Health & Human Services, Grants.gov provides a valuable resource for searching for fellowships, grants, and other funding opportunities across multiple disciplines.
2. Foundation Center: One of the largest databases of philanthropy in the United States contains information from more than 550 institutions eager to donate their money to creative, technical, medical, scientific, and plenty of other kinds of causes.
3. Pivot: Pivot claims it hosts an estimated $44 billion worth of grants, fellowships, awards, and more, accessed by more than three million scholars worldwide.
4. The Chronicle of Philanthropy New Grants: Another excellent search engine entirely dedicated to helping the most innovative thinkers obtain the money needed to move forward with their projects.
5. Research Professional: Seven thousand opportunities await the driven at the well-loved Research Professional, which serves inclusively as a government-to-nonprofit grant database.
6. Council on Foundations: Corporations, nonprofits, and other institutions gather here to talk best practices in philanthropy and where to find what for various projects.
7. The Grantsmanship Center: Search for available research funding by state, see what givers prefer, and explore which ones offer up the most moolah.
8. GrantSelect: Whether looking for money to advance an educational, nonprofit, artistic, or other worthwhile cause, GrantSelect makes it easy to find that funding.
9. The Spencer Foundation: The Spencer Foundation provides research funding to outstanding proposals for intellectually rigorous education research.
10. The Fulbright Program: The Fulbright Program offers grants in nearly 140 countries to further areas of education, culture, and science.
11. Friends of the Princeton University Library: The Friends of the Princeton University Library offers short-term library research grants to promote scholarly use of the research collections.
12. National Endowment for the Arts: The NEA’s Office of Research & Analysis will make awards to support research that investigates the value and/or impact of the arts, either as individual components within U.S. arts ecology or as they interact with each other and/or with other domains of American life.
13. Amazon Web Services: AWS has two programs to enable customers to move their research or teaching endeavors to the cloud and innovate quickly and at lower cost: The AWS Cloud Credits for Research program (formerly AWS Research Grants) and AWS Educate – a global initiative to provide students and educators with the resources needed to greatly accelerate cloud-related learning endeavors and to help power the entrepreneurs, workforce, and researchers of tomorrow.
14. The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy Research Grants: The NASBA will fund and award up to three grants totaling up to $25,000 for one-year research projects, intended for researchers at higher institutions.
15. The Tinker Foundation Research Grants: The Tinker Foundation Field Research Grants Program is designed to provide budding scholars with first-hand experience of their region of study, regardless of academic discipline.
16. SPIN (Sponsored Programs Information Network): SPIN is run by InfoEd International and requires an institutional subscription to access its global database for funding opportunities.
17. GrantForward: GrantForward is a massive resource, full of grants from more than 9,000 sponsors in the United States. The site leverages data-crawling technology to constantly add new funding opportunities.
18. Bush Foundation Fellowship Program: Leadership in its many forms are the main focus of the BFFP, who give money to folks dedicated to improving their communities.

Social and Civil

1. National Endowment for Democracy: NGOs dedicated to furthering the cause of peace and democracy are the only ones eligible for grants from this organization.
2. William T. Grant Foundation: Research and scholarship funding here goes towards advancing the cause of creating safe, healthy, and character-building environments for young people.
3. Russell Sage Foundation: The Russell Sage Foundation focuses on best practices research feeding into equality and social justice initiatives.
4. The Pew Charitable Trusts: Public policy is the name of the game here, where funding targets innovators looking to promote environmental, economic, and health programming causes reaching across demographics.
5. The John Randolph Haynes Foundation: Based largely in Los Angeles, the John Randolph Haynes Foundation seeks to improve the city through a wide variety of altruistic projects.
6. Economic and Social Research Council: This UK-based organization provides grants to researchers concerned with studying the social sciences in a manner that supports humanity’s progress.
7. The American Political Science Association: Stop here for fellowships, grants, internships, visiting scholars programs, and other chances to pay for political research.
8. Social Science Research Council: In the interest of furthering an awareness of integral political issues, the SSRC donates to a wide range of initiatives worldwide.
9. Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy: Several grants go out each year through this organization, covering all the social sciences and judged based on how well they fit into policymaking.
10. The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation: The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence and aggression. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence and aggression in the modern world.
11. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Research grants from TNEH support interpretive humanities research undertaken by a team of two or more scholars. Research must use the knowledge and perspectives of the humanities and historical or philosophical methods to enhance understanding of science, technology, medicine, and the social sciences.
12. American Historical Association: The American Historical Association awards several research grants to AHA members with the aim of advancing the study and exploration of history in a diverse number of subject areas. All grants are offered annually and are intended to further research in progress. Preference is given to advanced doctoral students, nontenured faculty, and unaffiliated scholars. Grants may be used for travel to a library or archive, as well as microfilming, photography, or photo copying, paying borrowing or access fees, or similar research expenses.
13. The Dirksen Congressional Center: The Dirksen Congressional Center offers individual grants of up to $3500 for individuals with a serious interest in studying Congress. The Center encourages graduate students who have successfully defended their dissertation prospectus to apply, and awards a significant portion of the funds toward dissertation research.
14. The Independent Social Research Foundation: The ISRF supports independent-minded researchers pursuing original and interdisciplinary studies for solutions to social problems that are unlikely to be funded by existing funding bodies.
15. The David & Lucile Packard Foundation: Nonprofit organizations dedicated to growing education, charities, health, and other social justice causes should consider seeing what funding is available to them through this foundation.
16. Volkswagen Stiftung: Volkswagen devotes its grants and other funding opportunities to a diverse portfolio of charities and charity-minded individuals.

Science and Engineering

• National Science Foundation: For the love of science! Head here when searching for ways to pay for that gargantuan geology or bigtime biology project. Awards are used for everything from undergraduate research grants to small business programs.
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation: Humboldt fellows embody the spirit of science and leadership alike, and the organization sponsors thinkers in Germany and abroad alike.
• National Academy of Engineering: All of the awards dished out by the NAE celebrate engineering advances, education, and media promotion.
• National Parks Foundation: Americans who want to preserve their country’s gorgeous parks and trails pitch projects to this governing body, concerned largely with ecology and accessibility issues.
• American Physical Society: Future Feynmans in search of the sponsorship necessary to test their theories (and explore possible applications) might want to consider applying for the APS’ suite of awards.
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Money is available here throughout the year, covering science and engineering as well as causes that overlap with civics, education, and economics.
• American Society for Engineering Education: The Department of Defense, NASA, The National Science Foundation, and other federal agencies sponsor high school and college students who show promise in the engineering sector.
• CRDF Global: Dedicated to peace and prosperity, recipients of CRDF Global grants apply their know-how to bettering social causes.
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council: Students and professionals working in the physical sciences as they relate to engineering might find a few options to their liking here.
• The Whitehall Foundation: The Whitehall Foundation, through its program of grants and grants-in-aid, assists scholarly research in the life sciences. It is the Foundation’s policy to assist those dynamic areas of basic biological research that are not heavily supported by federal agencies or other foundations with specialized missions.
• Human Frontier Science Program: Research grants from the Human Frontier Science Program are provided for teams of scientists from different countries who wish to combine their expertise in innovative approaches to questions that could not be answered by individual laboratories.
• The U.S. Small Business Administration: The U.S. Small Business Administration offers research grants to small businesses that are engaged in scientific research and development projects that meet federal R&D objectives and have a high potential for commercialization.
• The Geological Society of America: The primary role of the GSA research grants program is to provide partial support of master’s and doctoral thesis research in the geological sciences for graduate students enrolled in universities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America.
• The Welch Foundation: The Welch Foundation provides grants for a minimum of $60,000 in funding to support research in chemistry by a full-time tenured or tenurehttps://leakeyfoundation.org/grants/research-grants/-track faculty member who serves as principal investigator. Applications are restricted to universities, colleges, and other educational institutions located within the state of Texas.
• The Leakey Foundation: The Leakey Foundation offers research grants of up to $25,000 to doctoral and postdoctoral students, as well as senior scientists, for research related specifically to human origins.
• American College of Sports Medicine: The American College of Sports Medicine offers several possible grants to research students in the areas of general and applied science.
• Association of American Geographers: The AAG provides small grants to support research and fieldwork. Grants can be used only for direct expenses of research; salary and overhead costs are not allowed.
• The Alternatives Research & Development Foundation: The Alternatives Research & Development Foundation is a U.S. leader in the funding and promotion of alternatives to the use of laboratory animals in research, testing, and education.
• BD Biosciences: BD Biosciences Research Grants aim to reward and enable important research by providing vital funding to scientists pursuing innovative experiments that advance the scientific understanding of disease. This ongoing program includes grants for immunology and stem cell research, totaling $240,000 annually in BD Biosciences research reagents.
• Sigma Xi: The Sigma Xi program awards grants for research in the areas of science, engineering, astronomy, and vision.
• The United Engineering Foundation: The United Engineering Foundation advances the engineering arts and sciences for the welfare of humanity. It supports engineering and education by, among other means, developing and offering grants.
• Wilson Ornithological Society Research Grants: The Wilson Ornithological Society Research Grants offer up to four grants of $1,500 dollars each for work in any area of ornithology.

Health

• National Institutes of Health: Foreign and American medical professionals hoping to advance their research might want to consider one of these prestigious (and generous) endowments.
• Whitaker International Program: Biomedical engineering’s global reach serves as this organization’s focus, so applicants here need to open themselves up to international institutions and applications.
• U.S. National Library of Medicine: From tech to small businesses, the USNLM funding programs cover a diverse range of fields that feed into medicine.
• American Heart Association: Most of the AHA’s research involves cardiovascular disease and stroke, with funding in these areas available in both the winter and the summer.
• Society for Women’s Health Research: Female engineers and scientists are eligible for these grants, meant to support initiatives that improves women’s health and education on a global scale.
• Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation: Every cent donated to the DRCRF directly feeds into fellowships and awards bringing humanity closer to cancer cures and improved prevention regimens.
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund: Emerging scientists working in largely underrecognized and underfunded biomedical fields are the main recipients of this private foundation’s awards.
• The Foundation for Alcohol Research: As one can probably assume from the name, The Foundation for Alcohol Research contributes to projects studying how alcohol impacts human physical and mental health.
• Alex’s Lemonade Stand: These grants go towards doctors, nurses, and medical researchers concerned with curing childhood cancer.
• National Cancer Institute: Thanks to a little help from their friends in Congress, the National Cancer Institute have $4.9 billion to share with medical science researchers.
• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation: Michigan-based thinkers currently developing ways to improve upon serious local and state issues might want to consider checking out what this organization can offer in the way of funding for their ideas.
• American Federation for Aging Research: AFAR provides up to $100,000 for a one-to-two-year award to junior faculty (MDs and PhDs) to conduct research that will serve as the basis for longer term research efforts in the areas of biomedical and clinical research.
• The Muscular Dystrophy Association: The MDA is pursuing the full spectrum of research approaches that are geared toward combating neuromuscular diseases. MDA also helps spread this scientific knowledge and train the next generation of scientific leaders by funding national and international research conferences and career development grants.
• American Nurses Foundation: The ANF Nursing Research Grants Program provides funds to beginner and experienced nurse researchers to conduct studies that contribute toward the advancement of nursing science and the enhancement of patient care.
• The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: The CF Foundation offers competitive awards for research related to cystic fibrosis. Studies may be carried out at the subcellular, cellular, animal, or patient levels. Two of these funding mechanisms include pilot and feasibility awards and research grants.
• The National Ataxia Foundation: The National Ataxia Foundation (NAF) is committed to funding the best science relevant to hereditary and sporadic types of ataxia in both basic and translational research. NAF invites research applications from USA. and International non-profit and for-profit institutions.
• The March of Dimes: In keeping with its mission, the March of Dimes research portfolio funds many different areas of research on topics related to preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
• The American Tinnitus Association: The American Tinnitus Association Research Grant Program financially supports scientific studies investigating tinnitus. Studies must be directly concerned with tinnitus and contribute to ATA’s goal of finding a cure.
• American Brain Tumor Association: The American Brain Tumor Association provides multiple grants for scientists doing research in or around the field of brain tumor research.
• American Cancer Society: The American Cancer Society also offers grants that support the clinical and/or research training of health professionals. These Health Professional Training Grants promote excellence in cancer prevention and control by providing incentive and support for highly qualified individuals in outstanding training programs.
• Thrasher Research Fund: The Thrasher Research Fund provides grants for pediatric medical research. The Fund seeks to foster an environment of creativity and discovery aimed at finding solutions to children’s health problems. The Fund awards grants for research that offer substantial promise for meaningful advances in prevention and treatment of children’s diseases, particularly research that offers broad-based applications.
• Foundation for Physical Therapy: The Foundation supports research projects in any patient care specialty.
• International OCD Foundation: The IOCDF awards grants to investigators whose research focuses on the nature, causes, and treatment of OCD and related disorders.
• Susan G. Komen: Susan G. Komen sustains a strong commitment to supporting research that will identify and deliver cures for breast cancer.
• American Association for Cancer Research: The AACR promotes and supports the highest quality cancer research. The AACR has been designated as an organization with an approved NCI peer review and funding system.
• American Thyroid Foundation: The ATA is committed to supporting research into better ways to diagnose and treat thyroid disease.
• The National Patient Safety Foundation: The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) Research Grants Program seeks to stimulate new, innovative projects directed toward enhancing patient safety in the United States. The program’s objective is to promote studies leading to the prevention of human errors, system errors, patient injuries, and the consequences of such adverse events in a healthcare setting.
• The Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research: The FAER provides research grant funding for anesthesiologists and anesthesiology trainees to gain additional training in basic science, clinical and translational, health-services-related, and education research.
• The Alzheimer’s Association: The Alzheimer’s Association funds a wide variety of investigations by scientists at every stage of their careers. Each grant is designed to meet the needs of the field and to introduce fresh ideas in Alzheimer’s research.
• The Arthritis National Research Foundation: The Arthritis National Research Foundation seeks to move arthritis research forward to find new treatments and to cure arthritis.
• Hereditary Disease Foundation: The focus of the Hereditary Disease Foundation is on Huntington’s disease. Support will be for research projects that will contribute to identifying and understanding the basic defect in Huntington’s disease. Areas of interest include trinucleotide expansions, animal models, gene therapy, neurobiology and development of the basal ganglia, cell survival and death, and intercellular signaling in striatal neurons.
• The Children’s Leukemia Research Association: The objective of the CLRA is to direct the funds of the Association into the most promising leukemia research projects, where funding would not duplicate other funding sources.
• The American Parkinson Disease Association: The APDA offers grants of up to $50,000 for Parkinson disease research to scientists affiliated with U.S. research institutions.
• The Mary Kay Foundation: The Mary Kay Foundation offers grants to select doctors and medical scientists for research focusing on curing cancers that affect women. Details for 2017 are forthcoming.
• The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America: The CCFA is a leading funder of basic and clinical research in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. CCFA supports research that increases understanding of the etiology, pathogenesis, therapy, and prevention of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
• American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons: ASES provides grants of up to $20,000 for promising shoulder and elbow research projects.
• The International Research Grants Program: The IRGP seeks to promote research that will have a major impact in developing knowledge of Parkinson’s disease. An effort is made to promote projects that have little hope of securing traditional funding.
• American Gastroenterological Association: The AGA offers multiple grants for research advancing the science and practice of Gastroenterology.
• The Obesity Society: The Obesity Society offers grants of up to $25,000 dollars to members doing research in areas related to obesity.
• The Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation: The SSF Research Grants Program places a high priority on both clinical and basic scientific research into the cause, prevention, detection, treatment, and cure of Sjögren’s.
• The Melanoma Research Foundation: The MRF Research Grant Program emphasizes both basic and clinical research projects that explore innovative approaches to understanding melanoma and its treatment.