Heather Ormiston, Indiana University
Kai Zhuang Shum, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
There is no doubt the funding landscape has dramatically shifted, upending what, for many of us, was a foundation of our successful pursuit of promotion and tenure. Federal funding for esteemed and competitive funding blocs such as the National Science Foundation, Institute for Educational Sciences, and National Institutes of Health has had its budgets whittled down. As a result, those seeking grant funding are increasingly turning to philanthropic, foundation, and, in some cases, state-based funding agencies. These already competitive sources are becoming even more competitive, so carefully reviewing requests for proposals (RFPs) is essential to ensure we focus our efforts on creating a proposal that accurately reflects the funder’s mission, criteria, and objectives. Below, we offer some tips and suggestions for creating a proposal that is viewed as a competitive and worthy project of funding, as well as a small sample of sources of private-donor funding.
Tips for success:
Carefully read the fine print: some agencies and/or RFPs limit funding awards to one per agency for any calendar year or over the course of an extended time frame. For instance, a recent RFP from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation precluded organizations from receiving an award if they had received one in the past five years. Thus, checking with your institution’s grant office to ensure a different unit across campus hasn’t already received funding is important for maximizing (i.e., not wasting!) your time and effort.
Alongside this, some grants offer limited submission opportunities. In other words, a funder may restrict the number of submissions an institution may submit. It may be limited by institution, by Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number, by campus, or by school. As such, institutions may have an internal, limited-submission review process in which you submit a pre-proposal that your institution reviews to assess the merits of your proposal against others and decide which entity may submit a proposal for the limited opportunity. It is critical to check with your relevant institutional grant offices or guidelines to follow processes to ensure your grant proposal will be accepted or risk disqualifying not only your application, but potentially other applications from your institution.
Consider whether funders require a prospectus or full proposal for initial submission. For instance, due to the large number of grant proposals received over the years, the Spencer Foundation recently moved to a model that solicits a prospectus from applicants prior to requesting full proposals if selected. This can be both beneficial and a challenge. On one hand, you will not sink an exceptional amount of time drafting a full proposal that may not get funded, yet your prospectus (and all its elements) are required to be that much more outstanding within limited words in order to be invited to submit a full proposal.
Typically, budgets for non-profit funding agencies are smaller and are more restrictive in what they can fund. For instance, some may place restrictions on indirect (i.e., overhead) costs, salary costs, materials/capital improvement projects, and the like. Coinciding with this, when considering a larger project, it may be necessary to break the larger project into smaller sub-projects. Pooling grants funds from smaller sub-projects may help support the overarching goal and objective of the overall larger project that may not receive funding otherwise.
Some grant opportunities are specifically designated for early-career professionals and have time-limited eligibility. Prioritizing these opportunities early in one's career can be particularly advantageous, as they often include structured mentorship, protected research time through course buyouts, and other resources designed to support professional development and maximize research success.
When possible, consider serving as a reviewer for grant proposals. This process can help familiarize you with the elements that reviewers look for, the quality of proposals, and what elements score (or lose!) points on the associated rubric. Additionally, critically reviewing others’ work will help you hone your skills in relation to study methodology, feasibility, and scientific rigor.
This may be the time to use Artificial Intelligence (AI)! AI can serve several purposes at this stage, including finding potential grant opportunities as well as finding potential collaborators. Many foundation grants are reviewed favorably when there is an emphasis on solving complex problems utilizing a multidisciplinary team process as opposed to a submission with a single PI to implement and achieve the objectives of the grant.
Agencies and consulting firms may be helpful in the development of your grant proposal (for a fee). For instance, Innovative Funding Partners (https://www.innovativefundingpartners.com/) will work with you and your team to gather relevant information to assist you with organization and planning, grant writing, grant management, and budget development assistance [note this agency has not been vetted by the ECF and should not be considered an endorsement of their services].
Below, we’ve compiled a list of foundations that offer grant funding in a variety of areas. Note: this list is not exhaustive, and there is no guarantee that these agencies will continue to release RFPs. Good luck as you pursue grant funding!
Mental Health
Robert Wood Johnson
Elevance Health Foundation
Wellcome Trust
Klingenstein Third Generation
John Templeton Foundation
American Psychological Foundation
John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation
Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective
Brutten Family Foundation
Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
Education
Mind & Life Institute
Spencer Foundation
William T. Grant Foundation
Lumina Foundation
Arnold Ventures
Society for Research in Child Development
Brady Education Foundation
Russell Sage Foundation
Jacobs Foundation Learning Variability Network Exchange
Prevention and Intervention
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Valinhos Foundation
Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood
Professional Organizations
APA Interdivisional Grant Program
APA Early Career Global Psychology Grants
APA Early Career Service Grants
APA Division 16 Racial Equity Fund
APA Division 16 Anti-Racism Grants
SSSP Early Career Research Award
SSSP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Research Award
SSSP International School Psychology Research Initiative
NASP Strategic Goal Research Grant
NASP Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice Research Grants
