what are research grants

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Grants & funding.

The National Institutes of Health is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. In fiscal year 2022, NIH invested most of its $45 billion appropriations in research seeking to enhance life, and to reduce illness and disability. NIH-funded research has led to breakthroughs and new treatments helping people live longer, healthier lives, and building the research foundation that drives discovery.

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Grants Home Page

NIH’s central resource for grants and funding information.

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Find Funding

NIH offers funding for many types of grants, contracts, and even programs that help repay loans for researchers.

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Grant applications and associated documents (e.g., reference letters) are due by 5:00 PM local time of application organization on the specified due date.

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How to Apply

Instructions for submitting a grant application to NIH and other Public Health Service agencies.

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About Grants

An orientation to NIH funding, grant programs, how the grants process works, and how to apply.

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Policy & Compliance

By accepting a grant award, recipients agree to comply with the requirements in the NIH Grants Policy Statement unless the notice of award states otherwise.

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News, updates, and blog posts on NIH extramural grant policies, processes, events, and resources.

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Explore opportunities at NIH for research and development contract funding.

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The NIH Loan Repayment Programs repay up to $50,000 annually of a researcher’s qualified educational debt in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research.

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NSF 101: Graduate and postdoctoral researcher funding opportunities

The U.S. National Science Foundation supports research opportunities and provides stipends for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and scholars.

There are multiple ways to find these programs, including the funding search on NSF’s website and the NSF Education & Training Application , which is growing its list of opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

To help begin your search, opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are listed below. The principal investigator, or PI (a researcher who oversees a project), is often listed on these grants, along with their graduate students or postdoctoral researchers.

Graduate Student 

While funding for graduate students is often included in a PI’s research proposal, the following opportunities are also available for early career researchers. 

• Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Awards/Grants (DDRI/DDRIG) These programs help fund doctoral research in a variety of fields to help provide for items not already available at the academic institution. The funding provided cannot be used for items such as, but not limited to, tuition, stipends, textbooks or journals. The monetary amount listed in each DDRI/ DDRIG section does not include indirect cost associated with the project. The doctoral student should be listed as a co-PI on the grants with their advisor listed as the primary PI.

Archaeology Program- DDRIG : This program supports doctoral laboratory and field research on archaeologically relevant topics, with the goal of increasing anthropologically focused understanding of the past. Awards provide funding up to $25,000 per awardee.  

Arctic Science Section DDRIG : The Arctic Sciences Section offers opportunities for DDRI proposals in the following programs: Arctic Social Sciences supports research in any field of social science. Arctic System Science supports projects that address the relationships among physical, chemical, biological, geological, ecological, social, cultural and/or economic processes to advance our understanding of the Arctic system. Arctic Observing Network supports projects focused on scientific and community-based- observations; development of in situ or remote sensors and automated systems; design and optimization of coordinated and scalable observation networks; and management of Arctic Observation Network data, data accessibility and data discovery. Awards provide funding up to $40,000 for a maximum of 3 years. 

Biological Anthropology Program- DDRIG : This program supports research on human and non-human primate adaptation, variation and evolution. Awards provide funding up to $25,000 for up to two years.  

Cultural Anthropology Program- DDRIG : This program supports research that is focused on cultural anthropology research, including topics such as: Sociocultural drivers of anthropogenic processes (i.e., deforestation, urbanization); resilience and robustness of sociocultural systems; scientific principles underlying altruism, conflict, cooperation, and variations in culture and behaviors; economy, culture migration and globalization; kinship and family norms. Awards provide funding for up to $25,000 for up to two years.  

Decision, Risk and Management Science DDRIG : This program supports research on decision, risk and management sciences. This includes research in the areas of judgement and decision making; decision analysis and decision aids, risk analysis; perception and communication; societal and public-policy decision making; and management science and organizational design. Awards are for a maximum of 12 months. 

Economics DDRIG :This program provides funding for research focused on improving the understanding of the U.S. and global economy from macroscale to microscale, including all field of economics such as macroeconomics, microeconomics, econometrics, economic theory, behavioral economics and empirical economics.  

Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program- DDRI : This program supports basic scientific research about the nature, causes and/or consequences of the spatial distribution of human activity and/or environmental processes across a range of scales. The program welcomes proposals for empirically grounded, theoretically engaged, and methodologically sophisticated, generalizable research in all sub-fields of geographical and spatial sciences. Awards may not exceed $20,000 in direct costs. 

Linguistics Program- DDRI : This program supports research on human language, including syntax, linguistic semantics and pragmatics, morphology, phonetics, and phonology of individual languages or in general. Awards provide up to $12,000 for a maximum of two years. 

Dynamic Language Infrastructure- DDRI : This program supports research on building dynamic language infrastructure, which includes describing languages; digitizing and preserving languages; and developing standards and databases for analyzing languages. Provides funding up to $15,000 for up to two years. 

Graduate Research Fellowship Program This fellowship supports full-time master's or doctoral students earning their degree in a research-based program focused on STEM or STEM education. Students are the primary submitter for the fellowship. Fellows will be awarded a $37,000 stipend and $12,000 cost-of-education allowance for three years of the five-year fellowship. For tips on applying, see our previous NSF 101 article on the fellowship program . 

Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students (INTERN) Supplemental Funding Opportunity   This supplemental funding opportunity is for graduate students funded by active NSF grants. PIs may submit for up to an additional six months of funding to allow students to participate in research internship activities and training opportunities in non-academic settings, such as the following: for-profit industry research; start-up businesses; government agencies and national laboratories; museums, science centers, and other informal learning settings; policy think tanks; and non-profit institutions. Students must have completed at least one academic year of their program. This funding request may not exceed $55,000 per student for each six-month period. A student may only receive this opportunity twice. In addition to the general INTERN opportunity, there are two topic-specific INTERN opportunities: 

Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students in Geothermal Energy Supplemental Funding Opportunity : This opportunity is provided by NSF in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. It maintains the same funding levels and requirements as the general INTERN program; however, funding may only be used for gaining knowledge, skills, training and experience in geothermal energy and technology.  

• Research Internships for Graduate Students at Air Force Research Laboratory Supplemental Funding Opportunity : This funding opportunity is for students supported on an active NSF grant to intern at a Air Force Research Laboratory facility. AFRL has several potential technology directorates available for students at locations across the U.S.: Aerospace Systems (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio), Information (Rome, New York), Materials and Manufacturing (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio), Directed Energy (Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico), Munitions (Eglin Air Force Base, Florida), Sensors (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio), Space Vehicles (Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico), 711th Human Performance Wing Training (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio). 

Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship This summer internship is for doctoral students in mathematical sciences through a partnership between NSF and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and E ducation. It provides students who are interested in academic and non-academic careers with the opportunity to learn how advanced mathematics and statistical techniques can be applied to real-world problems. Participants in the internship will receive a stipend of $1,200 per week during the 10-week internship. In addition, there is travel reimbursement for up to $2,000 for those who live more than 50 miles away from their hosting site. 

NSF Research Traineeship Program Graduate students can apply for this traineeship through their institutions, if available. These topics can range across the scientific spectrum. Current projects can be found by state . 

Research Experiences for Graduate Students Supplemental Funding These awards provide additional funding for graduate students with mentors who have an active NSF grant. Currently funding is available through the following programs:  

Cultural Anthropology provides up to $6,000 per student for research activities. 

Human Environment and Geographical Sciences at Minority Serving Institutions and Community Colleges provides up to $7,000 per student for research activities. 

Postdoctoral Scholars 

Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship This fellowship supports research investigating a field within astronomy or astrophysics for up to three years. The stipend is $75,000, with a fellowship allowance (i.e., expenses for conducting and publishing research, fringe benefits) of $35,000. 

Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship This fellowship supports postdoctoral fellows in atmospheric or geospace sciences. Atmospheric science includes topics such as atmospheric chemistry; climate and large-scale dynamics; paleoclimate climate; and physical and dynamic meteorology. Geospace science focuses on aeronomy, magnetospheric physics and solar terrestrial research. This fellowship provides up to 24 months of support. The stipend is $70,000 per year, with a fellowship allowance of $30,000.  

Earth Science Postdoctoral Fellowship This program supports the study of structure, composition and evolution, the life it supports and the processes that govern the formation and behavior of Earth’s materials. Researchers are supported for up to two years at the institution of their choice, including institutions abroad. The stipend is $65,000 per year, with a fellowship allowance of $25,000 per year.  

Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

This program supports postdoctoral fellows performing impactful research while broadening the participation of members of groups that are historically excluded and currently underrepresented in mathematical and physical sciences. This fellowship can last between one and three years. The stipend is up to $70,000 per year, with a fellowship allowance of $30,000 per year. 

Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships This fellowship has two options:  

• The Research Fellowship provides full-time support for any 18 months within a three-year academic period.  
• The Research Instructorship provides a combination of full-time and half-time support over a period of three academic years, which allows the fellow to gain teaching experience. Both options receive up to $190,000 over the fellowship period. The full-time stipend is $5,833 per month and the part-time stipend is $2,917 per month. In addition, the fellow will receive $50,000 in two lump sums ($30,000 in the first year and $20,000 in the second year) for fellowship expenses.  

Ocean Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships This fellowship supports research in topic areas such as: biological oceanography, chemical oceanography, physical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, ocean science and technology. This two-year fellowship with a stipend of $67,800 for the first year and $70,000 for the second year, with a fellowship allowance of $15,000 per year.  

Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Research Fellowships This fellowship supports postdoctoral research in any field of Arctic or Antarctic science. This two-years fellowship, with a stipend of $67,800 for the first year and $70,000 for the second year, with fellowship expenses of $15,000 per year.  

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology The Directorate of Biology offers a fellowship for postdoctoral researchers in one of three areas: 

• Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. This area requires a research and training plan that is within the scope of the Directorate for Biology and that enhances diversity within the field.  
• Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interaction between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. This area aims to understand higher-order structures and functions of biological systems. Research should use a combination of computational, observational, experimental or conceptual approaches. 
• Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. This area has a broad scope and supports postdoctoral training and research at the frontier of plant biology and of broad societal impact. Highly competitive proposals will describe interdisciplinary training and research on a genome wide scale. The fellowships are for 36 months and have a stipend of $60,000 per year, with a research and training allowance of $20,000 per year. 

SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships This fellowship supports postdoctoral research in the social, behavioral and economic sciences and/or activities that broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in these fields. Funding is up to two years and has two tracks available:  

• Fundamental Research in the SBE Sciences. This track supports research focused on human behavior, interaction, social and economic systems. 
• Broadening Participation in SBE Sciences. This track aims to increase the diversity of post-doctoral researchers in the social, behavioral and economic sciences. In addition to the research proposal, these applications should also answer the question: “How will this fellowship help broaden or inform efforts to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in the United States?” The stipend for this program is $65,000 per year (paid in quarterly installments) and the research and training allowance is $15,000 per year. 

SBIR Innovative Postdoctoral Entrepreneurial Research Fellowship This fellowship supports postdoctoral researchers at start-up companies through the Small Business Innovation Research program. By recruiting, training, mentoring, matching and funding these early-career scientists, this fellowship addresses the need of doctoral-level expertise at small, high-tech businesses. The base stipend is $78,000 per year with optional individual health and life insurance, relocation assistance (company dependent), professional conference travel allowance, and professional development funds.  

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Individual Postdoctoral Research Fellowship This fellowship is for postdoctoral researchers to enhance their research knowledge, skills, and practices of STEM education research. If the fellowship is granted, the fellow is expected to remain affiliated with the host organization and PI sponsoring them. The fellowship can last up to two years with an annual stipend of $70,000, with fellowship expenses of $15,000.  

Multilevel 

CyberCorps® Scholarship for Service This program is for students earning their associates, bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree in cybersecurity. A stipulation of the program is that the recipients must work after graduation in a cybersecurity mission of the federal, state, local or tribal government for an equal amount of time as the scholarship's duration. It will provide full tuition and fees plus a stipend of $27,000 per academic year for undergraduates and a stipend of $37,000 per academic year for graduate students, in addition to a professional allowance of $6,000 for all levels. 

NSF-NIST Interaction in Basic and Applied Scientific Research This supplemental funding request is for NSF-supported researchers to collaborate with researchers at a National Institute of Standards and Technology facility. It can be used for travel expenses and per diem associated with on-site work at NIST. It is available for NSF-supported PIs, co-PIs, postdoctoral scholars, graduate and undergraduate students and other personnel associated with the research. PIs should contact their NSF program director for their award before applying. 

This extensive list shows the ways in which NSF helps train the next generation of STEM researchers. If you are interested in learning more about any of these programs, reach out to contacts listed on the award webpages.  

If you are interested in awards for high school students, undergraduates and post-baccalaureate scholars, check out our previous NSF101 for more information! 

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Research Funding—Why, When, and How?

Shekhar neema.

Department of Dermatology, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Laxmisha Chandrashekar

1 Department of Dermatology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Dhanvantari Nagar, Puducherry, India

Research funding is defined as a grant obtained for conducting scientific research generally through a competitive process. To apply for grants and securing research funding is an essential part of conducting research. In this article, we will discuss why should one apply for research grants, what are the avenues for getting research grants, and how to go about it in a step-wise manner. We will also discuss how to write research grants and what to be done after funding is received.

Introduction

The two most important components of any research project is idea and execution. The successful execution of the research project depends not only on the effort of the researcher but also on available infrastructure to conduct the research. The conduct of a research project entails expenses on man and material and funding is essential to meet these requirements. It is possible to conduct many research projects without any external funding if the infrastructure to conduct the research is available with the researcher or institution. It is also unethical to order tests for research purpose when it does not benefit patient directly or is not part of the standard of care. Research funding is required to meet these expenses and smooth execution of research projects. Securing funding for the research project is a topic that is not discussed during postgraduation and afterwards during academic career especially in medical science. Many good ideas do not materialize into a good research project because of lack of funding.[ 1 ] This is an art which can be learnt only by practising and we intend to throw light on major hurdles faced to secure research funding.

Why Do We Need the Funds for Research?

It is possible to publish papers without any external funding; observational research and experimental research with small sample size can be conducted without external funding and can result in meaningful papers like case reports, case series, observational study, or small experimental study. However, when studies like multi-centric studies, randomized controlled trial, experimental study or observational study with large sample size are envisaged, it may not be possible to conduct the study within the resources of department or institution and a source of external funding is required.

Basic Requirements for Research Funding

The most important requirement is having an interest in the particular subject, thorough knowledge of the subject, and finding out the gap in the knowledge. The second requirement is to know whether your research can be completed with internal resources or requires external funding. The next step is finding out the funding agencies which provide funds for your subject, preparing research grant and submitting the research grant on time.

What Are the Sources of Research Funding? – Details of Funding Agencies

Many local, national, and international funding bodies can provide grants necessary for research. However, the priorities for different funding agencies on type of research may vary and this needs to be kept in mind while planning a grant proposal. Apart from this, different funding agencies have different timelines for proposal submission and limitation on funds. Details about funding bodies have been tabulated in Table 1 . These details are only indicative and not comprehensive.

Details of funding agencies

Application for the Research Grant

Applying for a research grant is a time-consuming but rewarding task. It not only provides an opportunity for designing a good study but also allows one to understand the administrative aspect of conducting research. In a publication, the peer review is done after the paper is submitted but in a research grant, peer review is done at the time of proposal, which helps the researcher to improve his study design even if the grant proposal is not successful. Funds which are available for research is generally limited; resulting in reviewing of a research grant on its merit by peer group before the proposal is approved. It is important to be on the lookout for call for proposal and deadlines for various grants. Ideally, the draft research proposal should be ready much before the call for proposal and every step should be meticulously planned to avoid rush just before the deadline. The steps of applying for a research grant are mentioned below and every step is essential but may not be conducted in a particular order.

• Idea: The most important aspect of research is the idea. After having the idea in mind, it is important to refine your idea by going through literature and finding out what has already been done in the subject and what are the gaps in the research. FINER framework should be used while framing research questions. FINER stands for feasibility, interesting, novel, ethical, and relevant
• Designing the study: Well-designed study is the first step of a well-executed research project. It is difficult to correct flawed study design when the project is advanced, hence it should be planned well and discussed with co-workers. The help of an expert epidemiologist can be sought while designing the study
• Collaboration: The facility to conduct the study within the department is often limited. Inter-departmental and inter-institutional collaboration is the key to perform good research. The quality of project improves by having a subject expert onboard and it also makes acceptance of grant easier. The availability of the facility for conduct of research in department and institution should be ascertained before planning the project
• Scientific and ethical committee approval: Most of the research grants require the project to be approved by the institutional ethical committee (IEC) before the project is submitted. IEC meeting usually happens once in a quarter; hence pre-planning the project is essential. Some institutes also conduct scientific committee meeting before the proposal can be submitted for funding. A project/study which is unscientific is not ethical, therefore it is a must that a research proposal should pass both the committees’ scrutiny
• Writing research grant: Writing a good research grant decides whether research funding can be secured or not. So, we will discuss this part in detail.

How to write a research grant proposal [ 13 , 14 , 15 ] The steps in writing a research grant are as follows

• Identifying the idea and designing the study. Study design should include details about type of study, methodology, sampling, blinding, inclusion and exclusion criteria, outcome measurements, and statistical analysis
• Identifying the prospective grants—the timing of application, specific requirements of grant and budget available in the grant
• Discussing with collaborators (co-investigators) about the requirement of consumables and equipment
• Preparing a budget proposal—the two most important part of any research proposal is methodology and budget proposal. It will be discussed separately
• Preparing a specific proposal as outlined in the grant document. This should contain details about the study including brief review of literature, why do you want to conduct this study, and what are the implications of the study, budget requirement, and timeline of the study
• A timeline or Gantt chart should always accompany any research proposal. This gives an idea about the major milestones of the project and how the project will be executed
• The researcher should also be ready for revising the grant proposal. After going through the initial proposal, committee members may suggest some changes in methodology and budgetary outlay
• The committee which scrutinizes grant proposal may be composed of varied specialities. Hence, proposal should be written in a language which even layman can understand. It is also a good idea to get the proposal peer reviewed before submission.

Budgeting for the Research Grant

Budgeting is as important as the methodology for grant proposal. The first step is to find out what is the monetary limit for grant proposal and what are the fund requirements for your project. If these do not match, even a good project may be rejected based on budgetary limitations. The budgetary layout should be prepared with prudence and only the amount necessary for the conduct of research should be asked. Administrative cost to conduct the research project should also be included in the proposal. The administrative cost varies depending on the type of research project.

Research fund can generally be used for the following requirement but not limited to these; it is helpful to know the subheads under which budgetary planning is done. The funds are generally allotted in a graded manner as per projected requirement and to the institution, not to the researcher.

• Purchase of equipment which is not available in an institution (some funding bodies do not allow equipment to be procured out of research funds). The equipment once procured out of any research fund is owned by the institute/department
• Consumables required for the conduct of research (consumables like medicines for the conduct of the investigator-initiated trials and laboratory consumables)
• The hiring of trained personnel—research assistant, data entry operator for smooth conduct of research. The remuneration details of trained personnel can be obtained from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) website and the same can be used while planning the budget
• Stationary—for the printing of forms and similar expense
• Travel expense—If the researcher has to travel to present his finding or for some other reason necessary for the conduct of research, travel grant can be part of the research grant
• Publication expense: Some research bodies provide publication expense which can help the author make his findings open access which allows wider visibility to research
• Contingency: Miscellaneous expenditure during the conduct of research can be included in this head
• Miscellaneous expenses may include expense toward auditing the fund account, and other essential expenses which may be included in this head.

Once the research funding is granted. The fund allotted has to be expended as planned under budgetary planning. Transparency, integrity, fairness, and competition are the cornerstones of public procurement and should be remembered while spending grant money. The hiring of trained staff on contract is also based on similar principles and details of procurement and hiring can be read at the ICMR website.[ 4 ] During the conduct of the study, many of grant guidelines mandate quarterly or half-yearly progress report of the project. This includes expense on budgetary layout and scientific progress of the project. These reports should be prepared and sent on time.

Completion of a Research Project

Once the research project is completed, the completion report has to be sent to the funding agency. Most funding agencies also require period progress report and project should ideally progress as per Gantt chart. The completion report has two parts. The first part includes a scientific report which is like writing a research paper and should include all subheads (Review of literature, material and methods, results, conclusion including implications of research). The second part is an expense report including how money was spent, was it according to budgetary layout or there was any deviation, and reasons for the deviation. Any unutilized fund has to be returned to the funding agency. Ideally, the allotted fund should be post audited by a professional (chartered accountant) and an audit report along with original bills of expenditure should be preserved for future use in case of any discrepancy. This is an essential part of any funded project that prevents the researcher from getting embroiled in any accusations of impropriety.

Sharing of scientific findings and thus help in scientific advancement is the ultimate goal of any research project. Publication of findings is the part of any research grant and many funding agencies have certain restrictions on publications and presentation of the project completed out of research funds. For example, Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL) research projects on completion have to be presented in a national conference and the same is true for most funding agencies. It is imperative that during presentation and publication, researcher mentions the source of funding.

Research funding is an essential part of conducting research. To be able to secure a research grant is a matter of prestige for a researcher and it also helps in the advancement of career.

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There are no conflicts of interest.

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The Basics of Grant and Prospect Research

Kyle h. andrei.

It doesn’t matter how many foundations, individual donors, local and regional governments, and other funders believe in your organization and can donate financial support to it if those donors can’t find you and put you on their radar. Researching grants and prospects is the first step in the process, and navigating the upper levels of major-gift fundraising often requires a different approach than individual gift campaigns.

Grant research involves a certain amount of strategy and thoughtfulness, which no software can provide for you. But a number of tools on the market can facilitate your efforts to identify and research funders and make tracking your results more manageable.

For example, online search databases are essential to help you find new potential grants quickly by listing local and national foundations sorted by interest area, saving you time that would otherwise be spent poring over catalogs and directories. Some Web-based services can also help you locate the people in your area who are likely to make major contributions to your organization.

Foundation Grant Research

At its most basic, grant prospect research essentially consists of two major practices: researching various foundations’ grant cycles and giving histories, and managing your organization’s applications for each foundation. The former is an exercise in Web research—identifying a list of foundations that might give to your organization and locating them online to identify the types of organizations they’ve funded in the past, and with what size grants—and the latter is a matter of tracking and managing data.

Grant Research Tools

When looking up giving histories and grant cycles, websites like the Foundation Center’s Foundation Directory Online  database or  GrantStation  are invaluable. They allow you to search very detailed records of foundations by a variety of criteria, including past grants, focus areas, and giving interests. For example, an animal rescue shelter might identify a list of foundations dedicated to animal welfare or with a history of funding other shelters and animal rescue groups. You can access the Foundation Center database online with a monthly subscription ; the basic package starts around $20 a month, and full access costs around $180 monthly. GrantStation has a yearly subscription for $699, but may also be available at substantial discount through your state association.  GrantStation is also available through TechSoup’s product catalog  for qualified nonprofits and libraries. Alternatively, many regional or local philanthropy centers offer access as a benefit of membership, or free on location in their “grant research libraries.”

In addition, regional associations of grantmakers can be valuable sources of information (visit the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers  for a full list). Most grantmaker associations, also known as philanthropy centers, will house a publicly available list of foundations specific to a geographic area. Some are print-only, but a number offer online databases as well. You can also find associations of grantmakers centered on a mission area, such as  Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media , or by other criteria, like the  Association of Small Foundations . Searching member lists for these associations may help identify potential grant prospects.

Federal grants are another key source of funding for many organizations. While you won’t find these grants in private and corporate foundation databases, you can search for U.S. federal grant opportunities at  Grants.gov . State and local grant listings can most often be found on your municipality’s website. A basic Web search is also a great way to find out what grants nonprofits similar to your own have received, and that your organization may qualify for. Many nonprofits list foundation funders on their websites or in annual reports.

Once you’ve identified a list of foundations, you’ll need to determine their giving histories and grant capacities. Tax records are an important source of information on past grantees, overall budget, granting capacity, and the value of past grants. You’ll likely find a lot of this information through the Foundation Center database, but you may also need to search in other places to find everything you’re looking for.  GuideStar  lets you search a database that contains more than 5 million IRS Forms 990—the form the government uses to track financial information about organizations. A number of helpful sites can show you how to find the relevant data in a 990 form, including the  Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York  and this  archived article  at BusinessJournalism.org.

Tools for Managing the Grants Cycle

As you begin to gather information about prospective funders, you’ll need a place to store it. Smaller organizations with limited budgets and nonprofits just starting their grant research may find spreadsheet applications like  Microsoft Excel  or  Google Drive  to be terrific low-budget options for managing foundation prospect lists. If you choose to go this route, create columns to track such information as foundation names, website links, giving interests, and potential giving capacities, as well as dates of RFPs (requests for proposals) and their due dates. If your organization’s internal deadline for proposals is different from the foundation’s deadline, be sure to record both dates.

Most donor management databases, like any of those listed in Idealware’s  Consumers Guide to Donor Management Systems , let you manage your list of foundations just like any other giving prospects, and can track the RFP and proposal dates, the status of your proposals, and your proposal workflows.

In addition, it can be useful to supplement your deadline- and submission-date records with calendaring or task-management software that can function as a to-do list to ensure you don’t miss any deadlines.

Individual Prospect Research

Major gift prospects—typically wealthy individuals in either your geographic area or the community associated with your issue who have the capacity and interest in donating to your organization—can be as valuable to your organization as foundations.

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Before you can start your research, you’ll need to create a list of current and potential donors.

• Start with your list of current donors. Who has been a good donor in the past? You may find through your research that these people have greater giving capacity than you expected.
• Ask your board members and other supporters to recommend people for the list.
• Identify a few key people in your community who aren’t currently on your list but are known to donate to other organizations.

While technology can help you better understand the giving potential of these donors, it can’t help you create this list.

Once you have your prospect list, you’ll need to create a profile for your potential donors that includes their contact and giving information, as well as their financial capacity. Much of this information can be found for free in public records like tax documents, property values, board affiliations, and publicly held stock portfolios. Depending on the size of your prospect list and your staff time capacity, it can be feasible to manually search for these records. Many documents, such as property value records from the assessor’s office, may require you to request this information in person; this is usually free, though there may be a small fee for photocopies. (Some high-level donors may own property in multiple states or municipalities, posing more of a record-gathering challenge.)

Wealth-Screening Services

Rather than searching manually, you could use a wealth-screening database to save staff time, which to many nonprofits is more valuable than the cost of one of these Web-based services—especially for a longer list of donors. Four of the most widely-used wealth-screening databases are  Donor Search ,  WealthEngine ,  LexisNexis Development Professionals , and  Blackbaud’s Target Analytics .

All four allow you to upload a list of potential donors in order to approximate their individual giving potential. This is similar to the process you would use to research individual prospects yourself. These services just pull information from the databases and public records to which you have access. The difference is the staff time you save by being able to run a list of thousands of names at once instead of manually searching one by one, as well as a honed ability to know where to look for detailed information.

While all of these tools tend to be expensive (prices are available only through a quote from the vendors), WealthEngine and LexisNexis cost more than DonorSearch or Target Analytics. Since they usually run on a subscription basis, you can either run large lists all at once, or smaller donor lists as needed. Many of these services will also filter your prospect list to identify the most likely donors, such as your top one percent or top one hundred prospects. Because the information used to create these donor profiles comes from public records, these services tend to use the same sources with minor variations among them. When choosing a tool, it can be helpful to arrange a trial list from the ones you’re considering by using a few names you already have up-to-date profiles on to judge the accuracy of the tools.

Now That You Have Your List…

As with foundation research, you’ll need a place to record and manage your individual prospects. This should be done using a donor management database, which will let you track each prospect and their giving histories, asset pools, giving interests, and the likelihood that they will give again. Many donor databases can also manage pledges and scheduled or recurring gifts, allowing you to keep track of large gifts spread out over a period of months or years—which can be an important source of reliable funding.

Once you’ve compiled a list of feasible prospects and put them through wealth screening, it’s time to start appending the records already in your database. If you’ve used a wealth-screening tool, you’ll find that some of them—WealthEngine or Blackbaud’s Target Analytics, for example—will integrate with your existing donor database or CRM, while others will require you to import the list manually. You also should check over the profiles you get back from these tools—to make sure, for instance, that the John Smith they’ve highlighted as your most likely prospect is the John Smith you think it is—before you import the list wholesale into your system.

It’s important to remember that these prospects are a starting point for cultivating new, high-value donors, not a piggy bank. If you don’t already have a relationship with your top potential donors, find a way to introduce your organization and take the time to build a relationship before soliciting thousands of dollars from them. You also may find from your research that your current long-term donors have greater capacity than you expected. Because you already have a relationship with them, you can consider asking them to increase their contributions.

As you can see, the technology exists to help you find available grants and track their grant cycle, but there still isn’t software to replace the human element—say, to write your proposals for you. And it’s the same with your individual prospects. Wealth-screening services can quickly track down information for your list that would take hours and hours of staff time, but they can’t sit down with each prospect and build a relationship. It’s still essential to have a seasoned fundraiser with the knowledge and capabilities to write good proposals and/or wine and dine potential donors. It’s a good idea to use the high-tech databases and wealth-screening services to help you find the door, but it’s still your job to get your foot in it.

This article was first published by TechSoup, who provided financial support for its creation. The author would like to thank the following nonprofit technology professionals for providing recommendations, advice, and other help: Robert Weiner ; Erin Baltes,  Thomas College ; Carolyn Appleton , Independent Nonprofit Fundraising Executive; Laura Jansen,  Pierce Family Foundation .

Copyright © 2014 TechSoup Global. This work is published under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License .

About the author

Kyle H. Andrei is a research associate for Idealware, a nonprofit that provides thoroughly researched, impartial, and accessible resources about software to help other nonprofits make smart decisions. Visit www.idealware.org to find dozens of free articles, reports, and trainings about technology topics of interest to nonprofits.

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Increases for National Research Service Award Stipends and Childcare Subsidies

We are committed to sustaining the vitality of the future biomedical research workforce, including providing appropriate support and addressing the many challenges faced by postdoctoral scholars in biomedicine. As part of this commitment, we are pleased to announce stipend and childcare subsidy increases for the over 17,000 early career scholars supported on NIH Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) ( NOT-OD-24-104 ). Stipends will be raised by 4% for predoctoral trainees and by 8% for postdoctoral scholars in fiscal year (FY) 2024 compared to last year), the most substantial year over year increase since FY 2017. Additionally, the childcare subsidy will be increased by an additional $500 (from $2500 to $3000) in FY24.

Appropriate support for early career researchers is something we take seriously. The Advisory Committee to the NIH director (ACD) , following thoughtful deliberations on re-envisioning the NIH-supported postdoctoral experience, reiterated that financial concerns were a topmost challenge for postdoctoral scholars. Echoing sentiments made in their final report from last December (see recommendation 1.1), lack of appropriate support dissuades some individuals to pursue a research career because of the negative effects on financial security.

The new stipend levels begin at $61,008 and are upwardly adjusted based on years of experience. In addition to higher stipend levels, there is also a modest $200 increase in training-related expenses and institutional allowances . Tuition and Fees for all educational levels remain unchanged from last year.

This is a significant step given a relatively flat NIH budget (see this recent blog about the interplay between budgets and success rates). The approach allows for an immediate stipend increase without drastic cuts to the number of available awards. As appropriations and budget realities allow, our goal is to reach the ACD recommended stipend levels (around $70,000 per year for postdoctoral scholars) in the coming years.

As we move toward that goal, institutions should note that:

• As noted in the NIH Grants Policy Statement (e.g., 11.2.10.1), “Kirschstein-NRSA fellows receive  stipends  to defray living expenses.  Stipends  may be supplemented by an institution from non-Federal funds provided this supplementation is without any additional obligation for the fellow.”
• Recipient institutions are reminded that they are not prohibited from hiring NRSA trainees and fellows as employees or provide them with benefits consistent with what the institution provides others at similar career stages.

Raising NRSA stipends and childcare subsidies are only two ways we are committed to fostering a strong and robust future workforce. We will continue to assess our policies and procedures. We anticipate releasing a request for information (RFI) in the near future to seek input on specific recommendations from the ACD.

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The Research Project Grant (R01) is the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used by NIH. The R01 provides support for health-related research and development based on the mission of the NIH. R01s can be investigator-initiated or can be solicited via a  Request for Applications . This website is devoted to the investigator-initiated R01 application, which means there are no specific program requirements. However, the R01 research plan proposed by the applicant must be related to the stated program interests of one or more of the NIH Institutes and Centers based on their missions.

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• Travel expenses

Application Characteristics

• As a general rule, R01 application  budgets are not limited  but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. However, R01s can be limited in a specific funding opportunity, so it is important that applicants note any budgetary limits indicated in Part 2. Section 2. Award Budget of the funding opportunity. NIH's Modular Budget Policy applies to R01 applications submitted by domestic institutions. 
• Applications are generally awarded for 1 - 5 budget periods, each normally 12 months in duration.
• Applications can be renewed by competing for an additional project period.

Applicants may find it helpful to seek advice from their grants administrators and experienced investigators. Some IC sites provide annotated sample applications and related documents (see Samples: Applications, Attachments, and other Documents ).

Due Dates The Key Dates section of funding opportunities list specific due dates or refer to our Standard Due Dates schedule.

R01 Standard Due Dates

• New grant applications: February 5, June 5, and October 5
• Renewal, resubmission, and revision grant applications: March 5, July 5, and November 5
• AIDS and AIDS-related grant applications: May 7, September 7, and January 7. 

Standard receipt dates are February 1, June 1, and October 1. Receipt, review and award cycle schedules are posted on: /grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm .

R01 Participating Institutes, Centers and Offices

Most NIH Institutes and Centers support the R01 grant mechanism. In addition, the following NIH Offices of the Director do not accept applications, but do provide funding for investigator-initiated R01 applications:

• Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
• Office of Disease Prevention (ODP)
• Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS)
• Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)

Active Funding Opportunities

• NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts search results for active R01 opportunities

This page last updated on: December 8, 2022

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Childhood dementia research gets funding boost from SA government and Little Heroes Foundation

Renee Staska's seven-year-old daughter Holly dreams of one day captaining the Port Adelaide women's football team.

But time is not on the side of the avid AFL fan, who alongside her five-and nine-year-old brothers, lives with a terminal illness.

"They think they're the fastest, the strongest, they have huge dreams," Ms Staska said.

"I don't want to be the one that takes the wind out of their sails and tells them that something is really wrong here.

"I just think they have every right to fulfil their dreams as much as they can."

The Adelaide siblings have all been diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Type C, which is one of more than 100 genetic conditions under the umbrella of childhood dementia.

According to the Australian Niemann-Pick Type C Disease Foundation, the disease causes an accumulation of cholesterol and other fatty acids in the body's cells, leading to progressive intellectual decline, loss of motor skills, seizures and dementia.

Most children with the illness die before turning 18.

Ms Staska said her children are already displaying symptoms.

"They are really struggling to keep up with their peers, they're struggling to participate in school, reading, writing, concentration," she said.

"They get sick quite a lot and it takes them quite a long time to rebound.

"But these symptoms are nothing compared to what they have on the horizon."

Calls for funding answered

The State of Childhood Dementia 2022 report states that about 90 children die in Australia every year from childhood dementia – a similar number of deaths as from childhood cancer.

Despite the high fatality rate, a report released by the Childhood Dementia Initiative last month found the condition received more than four times less government research funding than childhood cancer per patient.

After years of campaigning, researchers in South Australia have received $500,000 from the state government and Little Heroes Foundation charity, to grow childhood dementia research at Flinders University.

"It will allow our research group to grow what we do from single disorder research to multiple childhood dementia research," Flinders University professor Kim Hemsley said.

"The investment is also going to develop the next generation of childhood dementia researchers, which is incredibly important.

"We all hope that these disorders will be treated in our lifetime, I sincerely hope that's so, but we need more researchers in this field to help us make that happen."

SA government stepping in

SA Health Minister Chris Picton said the $250,000 contribution from the state government was a "one-off", but he was "open to having ongoing discussions with both Flinders University and Little Heroes Foundation".

"[The] state government generally doesn't provide research funding, that's generally done through the NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council), but… there's a relatively narrow amount of money that's been coming through the NHMRC grant process for childhood dementia compared to other conditions," he said.

"I think that's an appropriate reason for us to step in on this occasion."

The SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said around 150 South Australian children have childhood dementia.

He said the funding contribution from the state government was made following advocacy from One Nation upper house MP, Sarah Game.

"I can't think of anything more harrowing for a parent than the idea of having a child with dementia," he said during an at-times emotional press conference.

Little Heroes Foundation CEO Chris McDermott said only about 10 per cent of people know about childhood dementia and more community education was needed.

'We spend a lot of time hugging'

Ms Staska, who first spoke to the ABC about her children's condition in 2022 , described the funding announcement as "life-changing". 

She said the years ahead were "frightening", but her family tried to make the most of every day.

"That means saying 'yes' to a lot of things and exposing them [the children] to as many life experiences as I can," she said.

"We spend a lot more time hugging and we spend a lot more time having fun and making memories.

"There are families all over the country just like mine with children who are rapidly regressing and time is not on our side."

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Childhood dementia will cut these sisters' lives short. Their parents want better respite services — not sympathy

Bruce felt isolated after his dementia diagnosis, now he's helping to break the stigma for others

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Funding Available for Community-Led HIV Research in Washington State

The Office of Community Engagement (OCE) at the University of Washington/Fred Hutch (UW/Fred Hutch) Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) is thrilled to announce the inaugural Stephaun Elite Wallace Community Investigator Awards competition.

The purpose of the Wallace Awards is to grow capacity for community-led HIV research by providing funding, mentoring, and educational support for community leaders. The Wallace Awards are also intended to facilitate connections and collaborations between community-based organizations (CBOs) and UW/FH CFAR members.

This award program honors the founding director of the OCE, Dr. Stephaun Elite Wallace. Dr. Wallace was a scientist, social justice advocate, leader in the LBGTQIA+ Ballroom community, and champion of community-led research. This award would not be possible without the vision and staunch advocacy of Dr. Wallace.

“I am excited about the launch of the Wallace Awards. As someone who worked directly with Dr. Stephaun Wallace, I recognize his spirit in this initiative,” said Louis Shackelford, MPH, the current Director of the OCE. “He believed in the boundless possibilities of the communities we serve, as do I. The Wallace Awards are a direct investment in the talents, creativity, and brilliance of community.”

The Wallace Awards provide funding of $5,000-$20,000 per award for 1-2 years, with awards scaling proportionately to the complexity and duration of the proposed work. Projects should contribute to advancing the UW/FH CFAR’s overall mission of advancing knowledge in clinical epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention, treatment and cure of HIV and its comorbidities.

There are two kinds of projects that can be accepted for this award, defined broadly as traditional research projects and nontraditional research projects. While traditional research projects conform to conventional methodologies and topics within a discipline, nontraditional research projects venture into areas less recognized but intrinsically connected to the overarching aims of HIV research.

The Wallace Awards hold significant promise for redressing imbalances within the realms of equity and representation in HIV investigation, especially in terms of race, gender and socioeconomics. We hope that the innovative, community-led approaches funded by these awards serve as powerful tools to mitigate HIV disparities observed in healthcare, medicine, and public health. By broadening the spectrum of researchers and engaging diverse communities, the Wallace Awards not only may enrich the field of HIV research, but also may amplify its relevance and reach.

For more information about this program, please refer to the official Wallace Awards Request for Applications .

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE?

The UW/Fred Hutch CFAR Office of Community Engagement (OCE) is hosting an information session for those interested in the Wallace Awards to learn more about them and ask any questions that may arise. The session is scheduled for Thursday, April 25, from 4pm – 5pm PDT and will be held via Zoom.

Register Today!

Any questions about the information session or the Wallace Awards may be sent via email to the OCE at [email protected] .