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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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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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The U.S. National Science Foundation offers hundreds of funding opportunities — including grants, cooperative agreements and fellowships — that support research and education across science and engineering.

Learn how to apply for NSF funding by visiting the links below.

Finding the right funding opportunity

Learn about NSF's funding priorities and how to find a funding opportunity that's right for you.

Preparing your proposal

Learn about the pieces that make up a proposal and how to prepare a proposal for NSF.

Submitting your proposal

Learn how to submit a proposal to NSF using one of our online systems.

How we make funding decisions

Learn about NSF's merit review process, which ensures the proposals NSF receives are reviewed in a fair, competitive, transparent and in-depth manner.

NSF 101 answers common questions asked by those interested in applying for NSF funding. 

Research approaches we encourage

Learn about interdisciplinary research, convergence research and transdisciplinary research.

Newest funding opportunities

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The Ultimate Grant Writing Guide (and How to Find and Apply for Grants)

Securing grants requires strategic planning. Identifying relevant opportunities, building collaborations, and crafting a comprehensive grant proposal are crucial steps. Read our ultimate guide on grant writing, finding grants, and applying for grants to get the funding for your research.

Updated on February 22, 2024

Embarking on a journey of groundbreaking research and innovation always requires more than just passion and dedication, it demands financial support. In the academic and research domains, securing grants is a pivotal factor for transforming these ideas into tangible outcomes. 

Grant awards not only offer the backing needed for ambitious projects but also stand as a testament to the importance and potential impact of your work. The process of identifying, pursuing, and securing grants, however, is riddled with nuances that necessitate careful exploration. 

Whether you're a seasoned researcher or a budding academic, navigating this complex world of grants can be challenging, but we’re here to help. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through the essential steps of applying for grants, providing expert tips and insights along the way.

Finding grant opportunities 

Prior to diving into the application phase, the process of finding grants involves researching and identifying those that are relevant and realistic to your project. While the initial step may seem as simple as entering a few keywords into a search engine, the full search phase takes a more thorough investigation.

By focusing efforts solely on the grants that align with your goals, this pre-application preparation streamlines the process while also increasing the likelihood of meeting all the requirements. In fact, having a well thought out plan and a clear understanding of the grants you seek both simplifies the entire activity and sets you and your team up for success.

Apply these steps when searching for appropriate grant opportunities:

1. Determine your need

Before embarking on the grant-seeking journey, clearly articulate why you need the funds and how they will be utilized. Understanding your financial requirements is crucial for effective grant research.

2. Know when you need the money

Grants operate on specific timelines with set award dates. Align your grant-seeking efforts with these timelines to enhance your chances of success.

3. Search strategically

Build a checklist of your most important, non-negotiable search criteria for quickly weeding out grant options that absolutely do not fit your project. Then, utilize the following resources to identify potential grants:

• Online directories
• Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Foundations

4. Develop a tracking tool

After familiarizing yourself with the criteria of each grant, including paperwork, deadlines, and award amounts, make a spreadsheet or use a project management tool to stay organized. Share this with your team to ensure that everyone can contribute to the grant cycle.

Here are a few popular grant management tools to try: 

• Jotform : spreadsheet template
• Airtable : table template
• Instrumentl : software
• Submit : software

Tips for Finding Research Grants

Consider large funding sources : Explore major agencies like NSF and NIH.

Reach out to experts : Consult experienced researchers and your institution's grant office.

Stay informed : Regularly check news in your field for novel funding sources.

Know agency requirements : Research and align your proposal with their requisites.

Ask questions : Use the available resources to get insights into the process.

Demonstrate expertise : Showcase your team's knowledge and background.

Neglect lesser-known sources : Cast a wide net to diversify opportunities.

Name drop reviewers : Prevent potential conflicts of interest.

Miss your chance : Find field-specific grant options.

Forget refinement : Improve proposal language, grammar, and clarity.

Ignore grant support services : Enhance the quality of your proposal.

Overlook co-investigators : Enhance your application by adding experience.

Grant collaboration 

Now that you’ve taken the initial step of identifying potential grant opportunities, it’s time to find collaborators. The application process is lengthy and arduous. It requires a diverse set of skills. This phase is crucial for success.

With their valuable expertise and unique perspectives, these collaborators play instrumental roles in navigating the complexities of grant writing. While exploring the judiciousness that goes into building these partnerships, we will underscore why collaboration is both advantageous and indispensable to the pursuit of securing grants.

Why is collaboration important to the grant process?

Some grant funding agencies outline collaboration as an outright requirement for acceptable applications. However, the condition is more implied with others. Funders may simply favor or seek out applications that represent multidisciplinary and multinational projects.

To get an idea of the types of collaboration major funders prefer, try searching “collaborative research grants” to uncover countless possibilities, such as:

• National Endowment for the Humanities
• American Brain Tumor Association

For exploring grants specifically for international collaboration, check out this blog:

• 30+ Research Funding Agencies That Support International Collaboration

Either way, proposing an interdisciplinary research project substantially increases your funding opportunities. Teaming up with multiple collaborators who offer diverse backgrounds and skill sets enhances the robustness of your research project and increases credibility.

This is especially true for early career researchers, who can leverage collaboration with industry, international, or community partners to boost their research profile. The key lies in recognizing the multifaceted advantages of collaboration in the context of obtaining funding and maximizing the impact of your research efforts.

How can I find collaborators?

Before embarking on the search for a collaborative partner, it's essential to crystallize your objectives for the grant proposal and identify the type of support needed. Ask yourself these questions: 

1)Which facet of the grant process do I need assistance with:

2) Is my knowledge lacking in a specific: 

• Population?

3) Do I have access to the necessary:

Use these questions to compile a detailed list of your needs and prioritize them based on magnitude and ramification. These preliminary step ensure that search for an ideal collaborator is focused and effective.

Once you identify targeted criteria for the most appropriate partners, it’s time to make your approach. While a practical starting point involves reaching out to peers, mentors, and other colleagues with shared interests and research goals, we encourage you to go outside your comfort zone.

Beyond the first line of potential collaborators exists a world of opportunities to expand your network. Uncover partnership possibilities by engaging with speakers and attendees at events, workshops, webinars, and conferences related to grant writing or your field.

Also, consider joining online communities that facilitate connections among grant writers and researchers. These communities offer a space to exchange ideas and information. Sites like Collaboratory , NIH RePorter , and upwork provide channels for canvassing and engaging with feasible collaborators who are good fits for your project. 

Like any other partnership, carefully weigh your vetted options before committing to a collaboration. Talk with individuals about their qualifications and experience, availability and work style, and terms for grant writing collaborations.

Transparency on both sides of this partnership is imperative to forging a positive work environment where goals, values, and expectations align for a strong grant proposal.

Putting together a winning grant proposal

It’s time to assemble the bulk of your grant application packet – the proposal itself. Each funder is unique in outlining the details for specific grants, but here are several elements fundamental to every proposal:

• Executive Summary
• Needs assessment
• Project description
• Evaluation plan
• Team introduction
• Sustainability plan 

This list of multi-faceted components may seem daunting, but careful research and planning will make it manageable. 

Start by reading about the grant funder to learn:

• What their mission and goals are,
• Which types of projects they have funded in the past, and
• How they evaluate and score applications.

Next, view sample applications to get a feel for the length, flow, and tone the evaluators are looking for. Many funders offer samples to peruse, like these from the NIH , while others are curated by online platforms , such as Grantstation.

Also, closely evaluate the grant application’s requirements. they vary between funding organizations and opportunities, and also from one grant cycle to the next. Take notes and make a checklist of these requirements to add to an Excel spreadsheet, Google smartsheet, or management system for organizing and tracking your grant process.

Finally, understand how you will submit the final grant application. Many funders use online portals with character or word limits for each section. Be aware of these limits beforehand. Simplify the editing process by first writing each section in a Word document to be copy and pasted into the corresponding submission fields.

If there is no online application platform, the funder will usually offer a comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP) to guide the structure of your grant proposal. The RFP: 

• Specifies page constraints
• Delineates specific sections
• Outlines additional attachments
• Provides other pertinent details

Components of a grant proposal

Cover letter.

Though not always explicitly requested, including a cover letter is a strategic maneuver that could be the factor determining whether or not grant funders engage with your proposal. It’s an opportunity to give your best first impression by grabbing the reviewer’s attention and compelling them to read further. 

Cover letters are not the place for excessive emotion or detail, keep it brief and direct, stating your financial needs and purpose confidently from the outset. Also, try to clearly demonstrate the connection between your project and the funder’s mission to create additional value beyond the formal proposal.

Executive summary

Like an abstract for your research manuscript, the executive summary is a brief synopsis that encapsulates the overarching topics and key points of your grant proposal. It must set the tone for the main body of the proposal while providing enough information to stand alone if necessary.

Refer to How to Write an Executive Summary for a Grant Proposal for detailed guidance like:

• Give a clear and concise account of your identity, funding needs, and project roadmap.
• Write in an instructive manner aiming for an objective and persuasive tone
• Be convincing and pragmatic about your research team's ability.
• Follow the logical flow of main points in your proposal.
• Use subheadings and bulleted lists for clarity.
• Write the executive summary at the end of the proposal process.
• Reference detailed information explained in the proposal body.
• Address the funder directly.
• Provide excessive details about your project's accomplishments or management plans.
• Write in the first person.
• Disclose confidential information that could be accessed by competitors.
• Focus excessively on problems rather than proposed solutions.
• Deviate from the logical flow of the main proposal.
• Forget to align with evaluation criteria if specified

Project narrative

After the executive summary is the project narrative . This is the main body of your grant proposal and encompasses several distinct elements that work together to tell the story of your project and justify the need for funding. 

Include these primary components:

Introduction of the project team

Briefly outline the names, positions, and credentials of the project’s directors, key personnel, contributors, and advisors in a format that clearly defines their roles and responsibilities. Showing your team’s capacity and ability to meet all deliverables builds confidence and trust with the reviewers.

Needs assessment or problem statement

A compelling needs assessment (or problem statement) clearly articulates a problem that must be urgently addressed. It also offers a well-defined project idea as a possible solution. This statement emphasizes the pressing situation and highlights existing gaps and their consequences to illustrate how your project will make a difference.

To begin, ask yourself these questions:

• What urgent need are we focusing on with this project?
• Which unique solution does our project offer to this urgent need? 
• How will this project positively impact the world once completed?

Here are some helpful examples and templates.

Goals and objectives

Goals are broad statements that are fairly abstract and intangible. Objectives are more narrow statements that are concrete and measurable. For example :

• Goal : “To explore the impact of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance in college students.”
• Objective : “To compare cognitive test scores of students with less than six hours of sleep and those with 8 or more hours of sleep.”

Focus on outcomes, not processes, when crafting goals and objectives. Use the SMART acronym to align them with the proposal's mission while emphasizing their impact on the target audience.

Methods and strategies

It is vitally important to explain how you intend to use the grant funds to fulfill the project’s objectives. Detail the resources and activities that will be employed. Methods and strategies are the bridge between idea and action. They must prove to reviewers the plausibility of your project and the significance of their possible funding.

Here are some useful guidelines for writing your methods section that are outlined in " Winning Grants: Step by Step ."

• Firmly tie your methods to the proposed project's objectives and needs assessment.
• Clearly link them to the resources you are requesting in the proposal budget.
• Thoroughly explain why you chose these methods by including research, expert opinion, and your experience.
• Precisely list the facilities and capital equipment that you will use in the project.
• Carefully structure activities so that the program moves toward the desired results in a time-bound manner.

A comprehensive evaluation plan underscores the effectiveness and accountability of a project for both the funders and your team. An evaluation is used for tracking progress and success. The evaluation process shows how to determine the success of your project and measure the impact of the grant award by systematically gauging and analyzing each phase of your project as it compares to the set objectives.

Evaluations typically fall into two standard categories:

1. Formative evaluation : extending from project development through implementation, continuously provides feedback for necessary adjustments and improvements. 

2. Summative evaluation : conducted post-project completion, critically assesses overall success and impact by compiling information on activities and outcomes.

Creating a conceptual model of your project is helpful when identifying these key evaluation points. Then, you must consider exactly who will do the evaluations, what specific skills and resources they need, how long it will take, and how much it will cost.

Sustainability

Presenting a solid plan that illustrates exactly how your project will continue to thrive after the grant money is gone builds the funder's confidence in the project’s longevity and significance. In this sustainability section, it is vital to demonstrate a diversified funding strategy for securing the long-term viability of your program.

There are three possible long term outcomes for projects with correlated sustainability options:

• Short term projects: Though only implemented once, will have ongoing maintenance costs, such as monitoring, training, and updates.

(E.g., digitizing records, cleaning up after an oil spill)

• Projects that will generate income at some point in the future: must be funded until your product or service can cover operating costs with an alternative plan in place for deficits.

(E.g., medical device, technology, farming method)

• Ongoing projects: will eventually need a continuous stream of funding from a government entity or large organization.

(E.g., space exploration, hurricane tracking)

Along with strategies for funding your program beyond the initial grant,  reference your access to institutional infrastructure and resources that will reduce costs.

Also, submit multi-year budgets that reflect how sustainability factors are integrated into the project’s design.

The budget section of your grant proposal, comprising both a spreadsheet and a narrative, is the most influential component. It should be able to stand independently as a suitable representation of the entire endeavor. Providing a detailed plan to outline how grant funds will be utilized is crucial for illustrating cost-effectiveness and careful consideration of project expenses. 

A comprehensive grant budget offers numerous benefits to both the grantor , or entity funding the grant, and the grantee , those receiving the funding, such as:

• Grantor : The budget facilitates objective evaluation and comparison between multiple proposals by conveying a project's story through responsible fund management and financial transparency.
• Grantee : The budget serves as a tracking tool for monitoring and adjusting expenses throughout the project and cultivates trust with funders by answering questions before they arise.

Because the grant proposal budget is all-encompassing and integral to your efforts for securing funding, it can seem overwhelming. Start by listing all anticipated expenditures within two broad categories, direct and indirect expenses , where:

• Direct : are essential for successful project implementation, are measurable project-associated costs, such as salaries, equipment, supplies, travel, and external consultants, and are itemized and detailed in various categories within the grant budget.
• Indirect : includes administrative costs not directly or exclusively tied to your project, but necessary for its completion, like rent, utilities, and insurance, think about lab or meeting spaces that are shared by multiple project teams, or Directors who oversee several ongoing projects.

After compiling your list, review sample budgets to understand the typical layout and complexity. Focus closely on the budget narratives , where you have the opportunity to justify each aspect of the spreadsheet to ensure clarity and validity.

While not always needed, the appendices consist of relevant supplementary materials that are clearly referenced within your grant application. These might include: 

• Updated resumes that emphasize staff members' current positions and accomplishments. 
• Letters of support from people or organizations that have authority in the field of your research, or community members that may benefit from the project.
• Visual aids like charts, graphs, and maps that contribute directly to your project’s story and are referred to previously in the application. 

Finalizing your grant application

Now that your grant application is finished, make sure it's not just another document in the stack Aim for a grant proposal that captivates the evaluator. It should stand out not only for presenting an excellent project, but for being engaging and easily comprehended . 

Keep the language simple. Avoid jargon. Prioritizing accuracy and conciseness. Opt for reader-friendly formatting with white space, headings, standard fonts, and illustrations to enhance readability.

Always take time for thorough proofreading and editing. You can even set your proposal aside for a few days before revisiting it for additional edits and improvements. At this stage, it is helpful to seek outside feedback from those familiar with the subject matter as well as novices to catch unnoticed mistakes and improve clarity.

If you want to be absolutely sure your grant proposal is polished, consider getting it edited by AJE .

How can AI help the grant process?

When used efficiently, AI is a powerful tool for streamlining and enhancing various aspects of the grant process.

• Use AI algorithms to review related studies and identify knowledge gaps.
• Employ AI for quick analysis of complex datasets to identify patterns and trends.
• Leverage AI algorithms to match your project with relevant grant opportunities.
• Apply Natural Language Processing for analyzing grant guidelines and tailoring proposals accordingly.
• Utilize AI-powered tools for efficient project planning and execution.
• Employ AI for tracking project progress and generating reports.
• Take advantage of AI tools for improving the clarity, coherence, and quality of your proposal.
• Rely solely on manual efforts that are less comprehensive and more time consuming.
• Overlook the fact that AI is designed to find patterns and trends within large datasets.
• Minimize AI’s ability to use set parameters for sifting through vast amounts of data quickly.
• Forget that the strength of AI lies in its capacity to follow your prompts without divergence.
• Neglect tools that assist with scheduling, resource allocation, and milestone tracking.
• Settle for software that is not intuitive with automated reminders and updates.
• Hesitate to use AI tools for improving grammar, spelling, and composition throughout the writing process.

Remember that AI provides a diverse array of tools; there is no universal solution. Identify the most suitable tool for your specific task. Also, like a screwdriver or a hammer, AI needs informed human direction and control to work effectively.

Looking for tips when writing your grant application? 

Check out these resources:

• 4 Tips for Writing a Persuasive Grant Proposal
• Writing Effective Grant Applications
• 7 Tips for Writing an Effective Grant Proposal
• The best-kept secrets to winning grants
• The Best Grant Writing Books for Beginner Grant Writers
• Research Grant Proposal Funding: How I got $1 Million

Final thoughts

The bottom line – applying for grants is challenging. It requires passion, dedication, and a set of diverse skills rarely found within one human being.

Therefore, collaboration is key to a successful grant process . It encourages everyone’s strengths to shine. Be honest and ask yourself, “Which elements of this grant application do I really need help with?” Seek out experts in those areas.

Keep this guide on hand to reference as you work your way through this funding journey. Use the resources contained within. Seek out answers to all the questions that will inevitably arise throughout the process.

The grants are out there just waiting for the right project to present itself – one that shares the funder’s mission and is a benefit to our communities. Find grants that align with your project goals, tell your story through a compelling proposal, and get ready to make the world a better place with your research.

The AJE Team

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A Guide to Finding Funding

Funding to pursue your passions

We encourage you to explore the many funding resources that are available to you at Harvard in addition to need-based financial aid. The list that follows will give you a sense of the impressive possibilities and point you to resources and next steps. The resources below are grouped into four broad areas: public service, research and learning, international travel, and career opportunities. Dedicated staff members across the College are prepared to help you design your Harvard experience.

Public Service

Over the course of Harvard College’s history, graduates have upheld a commitment to making the world a better place for others. The decision to devote yourself to public interest or government work represents ideals fundamental to Harvard’s mission, and many grants and opportunities for funding can help to make this choice more accessible.

• Center for Public Interest Careers (CPIC) Internships : CPIC focuses on student development, alumni/ae engagement, and partnerships that serve community needs. 
• IOP Director Positions : The Institute of Politics (IOP) partners with prominent organizations and elected officials worldwide to provide fully-funded, career-focused summer internships. Internships are available for undergraduate students interested in politics, government, and public service. 
• IOP Stipend Positions : The Institute of Politics (IOP) offers funding for rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors to pursue non- or low-paying summer internships in government, public interest, non-governmental organizations, and political organizations and campaigns. International internships must have a government affiliation.
• CPIC: Arthur Liman Public Interest Law Fellowship : This fellowship provides a stipend to selected students working in public interest law positions during the summer.
• Harvard Club Summer Internships :  Some Harvard Clubs and Shared Interest Groups raise funds to support student public service projects.
• PBHA Summer Urban Program (SUP) :   PBHA’s SUP is a network of 12 community-based summer camps across Boston and Cambridge.
• Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) Public Service Grants : MCS provides grants for students interested in pursuing a domestic public service opportunity.
• Harvard Public Service Network : The Public Service Network (PSN), affiliated with the Phillips Brooks House, encompasses over 45 programs. These programs offer opportunities for students to work alongside community organizations and schools that provide health, educational and advocacy services.
• Presidential Public Service Fellowship Program (PPSF) : Harvard’s PPSF program supports a broad range of summer-long opportunities that serve the common good.

Research and Learning

At Harvard, you’ll have opportunities to conduct research alongside world-renowned faculty. Whether you choose to embark on your own research or assist with a faculty project, funding as available.

• The Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Office  (URAF) is Harvard College’s hub for undergraduate research grants. URAF administers ten research programs of its own and hosts a comprehensive database of opportunities. The office also provides tips for finding opportunities, writing applications, and securing funding. 
• The Faculty Aide Program  is a good place to start. This program subsidizes up to $1,500 in student wages as a way to encourage professors to hire undergraduate research assistants.

The following list highlights some of the many research grants and opportunities available.

Summer Residential Research Programs

Students who participate in these programs receive room and board to live on campus during the summer as a part of a vibrant research community.

• PRISE  – Harvard College Program for Research in Science and Engineering
• BLISS  – Harvard College Building Learning through Inquiry in the Social Sciences
• PRIMO  – Harvard Business School/Harvard College Program for Research in Markets and Organizations
• SHARP  – Summer Humanities and Arts Research Program
• Harvard Amgen Scholars Program
• PCER  - Program in Community Engaged Research
• SURGH  - Summer Undergraduate Research in Global Health
• SPUDS - Summer Program for Undergraduates in Data Science
• FAS Center for Systems Biology Undergraduate Summer Internship

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

• FAS Center for Systems Biology
• Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Research Experience for Undergraduates Program
• SEAS Research Experience for Undergraduates

Domestic Research Funding

• HCRP - Harvard College Research Program
• Center for American Political Studies
• Charles Warren Center for American History
• Committee on Ethnicity, Migration and Rights
• Harvard Center for the Environment
• Harvard Forest Summer Program
• Harvard Stem Cell Institute
• Herchel Smith Undergraduate Science Research Program
• Mind, Brain and Behavior
• Microbial Sciences Initiative
• Museum of Comparative Zoology
• Saloma Fund for Government

International Research Funding

• Asia Center
• Center for Hellenic Studies
• Center for Jewish Studies
• Davis Center
• Korea Institute
• Harvard College Research Program
• Harvard Global Health Institute: International Internship in Global Health and Summer Undergraduate Research
• South Asia Institute
• Ukrainian Research Institute
• Weatherhead Center for International Affairs

International Travel

International study is an enriching experience, but financing study abroad can seem daunting. Funding is available for many options, including study at a foreign university, participation in humanitarian relief efforts, and internships.

There are different ways to include an international experience into your Harvard career. Students who receive grant assistance from Harvard can transfer their financial aid to an approved term-time study abroad program. You'd prefer to do a summer program? The Harvard Summer School may be able to help. Or you could design your own travel experience during summer or winter break. However you choose to do it, funding can make international study experiences possible.

Start your search at the  Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS)  and the  Office of International Education . Below you'll find a selection of offices and programs that offer grants for international travel, organized by location.

• Center for African Studies
• Edwin O Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies
• Fairbank Center
• Harvard China Fund
• Center for European Studies

Latin America and Caribbean

• David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies

Middle East and North Africa

• Center for Middle Eastern Studies

Multiple Locations

• FXB Field Education Internship Program
• Romance Languages and Literature – Dressler and Diaco grants
• Weissman International Internship Program
• Harvard Alumni Association Spring Break Trips

Career Opportunities

Whether you are looking for a term-time job, trying to secure a summer internship, or are exploring potential career paths, we’re here to help.

• Student Employment Office (SEO) Jobs Database : On- and off-campus employers list summer and term-time jobs on the SEO Jobs Database. You can use this database to browse opportunities and apply to full-time, part-time, and intermittent jobs.
• Federal Work-Study Program (FWSP) : If you are eligible for FWSP (check your financial aid letter), this program can subsidize your wages for jobs, making you a better candidate. 
• Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) : MCS is your hub for programs and resources to help you explore careers, find jobs, and investigate graduate school options. 
• Crimson Careers Database : This database is available to current students and alumni who want to find opportunities or post available positions.
• Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) : The HAA maintains and enhances an engaged, vibrant community of alumni and friends worldwide.
• Harvard Student Agencies (HSA) : HSA provides Harvard students with meaningful opportunities for employment and hands-on business education.
• Global Networking Night : This biennial event brings alumni together for a fun networking event.
• January ‘Winternships' : Many students use Wintersession (the week before spring term begins) to pursue an internship in a field that interests them.

Opportunities After Graduation

Seniors may consider applying for fellowships and scholarships to fund graduate study, travel, public service, research, and other experiences after graduation. The Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (URAF) administers both Harvard-specific and national opportunities and helps advise students exploring the wide of array of possibilities. Learn more about postgraduate funding opportunities on  URAF’s website .

Related Topics

As a college within a research university, Harvard undergraduates have access to unparalleled research opportunities. Learn about research at Harvard.

From physical spaces to funding, Harvard provides the support for students to follow their curiosity as they investigate and explore their world.

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Grant Research Tools

Have you found it challenging to navigate the many grant research tool options? Unless your nonprofit has a multi-person development shop with dedicated staff members doing research and writing proposals, grant research will always pose a challenge. How can you make sure you’re finding all the grants you’re eligible for, and exclude the grants you have little chance of winning?

There are several different grant research tools with different strengths and weaknesses and dramatically different costs. To help nonprofits navigate the confusing world of grant research databases, we explored some of the available tools.

In the chart below, we compare a few of them to help readers hone in on which one might be the best match for their organization. We don’t assess the quality of support, "extra" features (such as calendars or grant tracking), or educational resources offered by each organization. However, this chart does take a look at the databases themselves, and in some cases notes our opinion of their strengths and weaknesses. We try to keep the lists of features and pricing up to date; feel free to share any updated information with our staff .

This resource also does not address how to write grant proposals, read foundation 990s, or qualify, cultivate, approach, or steward funder prospects; if you need that kind of education, you could tap into educational programs offered by  state associations of nonprofits , the  Foundation Center , or  GrantStation , among others. Make sure you check out the resources on our  Fundraising  page as well.

There are other reasons to make sure you connect with your  state association of nonprofits  before you tackle the chart. In addition to offering educational programs, many state associations provide links to state-specific grant databases and member discounts on grant research tools. Some send regular grant alerts to their members. The benefits to your organization – in capacity-building, in connecting with others in your sector, and in amplifying your voice to advocate for the sector in your state – are tremendous.

One other way to locate prospective funders is to check the member list of your  regional association of grantmakers . Membership lists published by these organizations often include links to foundation websites – or, you can search on the internet for specific funders and/or their IRS Form 990s.

This chart is a work in progress. We welcome your  feedback  about the chart. (Note that the National Council of Nonprofits does not provide assistance with grant research itself.) Click here to download the chart .

Additional Resources

• Article from Idealware via TechSoup  (slightly dated but very good)
• Article from Nonprofit Quarterly's "Nonprofit Whisperer " on building a culture of philanthropy
• Foundation Directory Online (FDO)
• Funding Information Network locations
• GrantAdvisor , an anonymous review site of foundations
• GrantStation
• Instrumentl
• Regional Associations of Grantmakers
• Submit feedback, suggestions, or questions about the chart

Disclaimer: Information on this website is provided for informational purposes only and is neither intended to be nor should be construed as legal, accounting, tax, investment, or financial advice. Please consult a professional (attorney, accountant, tax advisor) for the latest and most accurate information. The National Council of Nonprofits makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein.

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Candid Learning

Candid learning offers information and resources that are specifically designed to meet the needs of grantseekers..

Candid Learning > Resources > Knowledge base

How do I find funding for my research?

Because most private foundations make grants only to nonprofit organizations, individuals seeking grants must follow a different funding path than public charities. You need to be both creative and flexible in your approach to seeking funding.

If you are affiliated with a college or university, contact your department office. Some colleges and universities have an office for sponsored programs, which coordinates grant requests and helps researchers with finding grant opportunities.

Also ask your peers and colleagues about funding sources. Please note that many national organizations may have local chapters that may run their own funding programs. National chapters might not know what their local chapters are offering, so it is up to you to check at each level.

Another approach is to find a nonprofit with a similar interest that will act as your fiscal sponsor. In this arrangement, you might qualify for more funding opportunities. Click here to learn learn more about fiscal sponsorship.

Some grantmakers offer support for individual projects. Candid offers the following resources that can help researchers find grants:

Foundation Directory is our searchable database of grantmakers. Perform an advanced search by Transaction Type: Grants to Individuals, in addition to search terms for Subject Area and Geographic Focus. For more detailed search help, please see our article, Find your next scholarship, fellowship, or grant on Foundation Directory Professional. 

Subscribe  to search from your own location, or search for free at our  Candid partner locations .

If you are unfamiliar with the process of grantseeking, you may want to start with these:

• Introduction to Finding Grants , our free tutorial
• Our students and researchers resources

See more Knowledge Base articles related to this topic:

- How do I write a grant proposal for my individual project? Where can I find samples? - Where can I find information about financial aid as a graduate student?

More articles for individual grantseekers

Have a question about this topic? Ask us!

Candid's Online Librarian service will answer your questions within two business days.

Explore resources curated by our staff for this topic:

Staff-recommended websites.

Includes requests for research proposals. Records include funding organization(s), brief description of eligibility and application requirements, deadline, and link to original notice. Searchable by subject or keyword. Subscribe for a free weekly email digest or RSS feed.

Where to Search for Funding

Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, this page includes links to free and fee-based grant funding resources.

Grants & Funding: NIH Central Resource

The Office of Extramural Research offers grants in the form of fellowships and support for research projects in the field of biomedicine.

One of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States. Grants typically go to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television, and radio stations, and to individual scholars.

Active Funding Opportunities--Recently Announced

Promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

The System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is the official website of the U.S. Government for federal award recipients. It ties together all federal award information including federal assistance and contracting opportunities.

The "electronic storefront for federal grants," organized by topic. Selecting a topic provides links to funding pages for the 26 federal grantmaking agencies, some of which support individual research projects. It offers users “full service electronic grant administration” with guidelines and grant applications available online.

On the Art of Writing Proposals

Eight pages of proposal writing advice for scholarly researchers.

Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!)

This handout will help you write and revise grant proposals for research funding in all academic disciplines (sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts). Targeted primarily to graduate students and faculty, but also helpful to undergraduates who are seeking funding for research (e.g. for a senior thesis). Includes sample budget and project timeline.

Scholar Rescue Fund

Provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. One-year fellowships support temporary academic positions at universities, colleges and other higher learning institutions in safe locations anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue their academic work. If safe return is not possible, the scholar may use the fellowship period to identify a longer-term opportunity.

Social Science Research Council

Supports fellowships and grant programs in the social sciences. The Fellowship and Prizes section of the web site provides access to information on current funding opportunities and online applications.

Awards & Grants

Describes more than 450 organizations that grant fellowships, awards, and prizes to historians. Some of this information is available online only to members of AHA.

Staff-recommended books

The Grant Writing Guide: A Road Map for Scholars

Find: Amazon | Free eBook

Grantsmanship for New Investigators

The Grant Writer's Handbook: How To Write A Research Proposal And Succeed

Grant Seeking in Higher Education: Strategies and Tools for College Faculty

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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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Understanding the BRAIN Initiative Budget

Each year, the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies ® Initiative, or The BRAIN Initiative®, receives its budget from the United States Congress. The NIH BRAIN Initiative is made up of, and managed by, 10 Institutes and Centers (IC) at NIH, whose missions and current research portfolios both complement and benefit from the goals of the BRAIN Initiative.

The NIH BRAIN Initiative is funded by Congress from two streams:

• As line items in the budgets of the 10 BRAIN Initiative ICs . This is known as the base allocation.
• From funding authorized by the 21st Century Cures Act . The Cures Act funding is a congressional supplement signed into law in 2016 and designed to boost key innovation programs, such as the BRAIN Initiative, with predetermined, varying annual amounts starting in fiscal year (FY) 2017 and ending in FY 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to both general questions we have received about the NIH BRAIN Initiative's budget and questions specifically for researchers. We will continue to update the community as new information becomes available.

About the NIH BRAIN Initiative budget

How does FY 2024 funding compare to previous years? The FY 2024 budget was passed by  Congress and signed by the President in March. The budget includes $402 million for the BRAIN Initiative. This represents a $278 million decrease from the FY 2023 appropriation of $680 million, due to an anticipated drop in 21st Century Cures Act funding and a decrease in the BRAIN Initiative’s base allocation. To further explain: 21st Century Cures Act authorization jumped from $152 million in FY 2022 to $450 million in FY 2023, representing an increase of $298 million. In FY 2023, Congress reduced the NIH BRAIN Initiative’s base allocation by $238 million, bringing it down to $230 million. BRAIN’s total allocation for FY 2023 still reflected a $60 million increase, from $620 million to $680 million ($450 million from 21st Century Cures Act plus $230 million in base funding). In FY 2024 (current year funding), the base allocation remained flat at $230 million and the 21st Century Cures Act funds dropped to $172 million (as determined in advance), resulting in a total allocation of $402 million for BRAIN, or 40% less than the FY 2023 budget. What are the NIH BRAIN Initiative’s research priorities? NIH BRAIN Initiative projects span a range of disciplines, each one embodying what remains central to the Initiative—inclusive, collaborative, open, and ethical neuroscience. BRAIN Initiative research results to date have allowed us to measure both brain function and brain dysfunction much more precisely, which provides a path to new precision treatments that can be tested in individuals with brain disorders. High-priority projects will continue to focus on platform tools, technologies, and other resources that will accelerate discovery across the NIH neuroscience portfolio. Looking ahead, BRAIN will be placing an emphasis on: Investing in the development and training of early-stage investigators; Building a sustainable future for three large-scale, transformative projects known as the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN), the BRAIN Initiative Connectivity Across Scales program (BRAIN CONNECTS), and the Armamentarium for Precision Brain Cell Access; and Establishing the Brain Behavior Quantification and Synchronization  (BBQS) program, which aims to define how the brain controls behavior. Based on the decrease in BRAIN funding for FY 2024, are there specific areas of research that will be more affected than others? We are looking closely at all of our programs and will make decisions about areas we can curtail that will have the least impact on the momentum we’ve built over the past decade. When could more funding get appropriated to the NIH BRAIN Initiative? Funds are provided to the BRAIN Initiative on an annual basis by Congress. We will know the level of funding once the budget for FY 2025 is enacted. This budget would cover Oct. 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025.

What happens to the BRAIN Initiative after 21st Century Cures Act money runs out in FY2026?  

We are grateful for Congress’s support of the BRAIN Initiative since it launched in 2014. While Cures Act funding expires after FY2026, the NIH BRAIN Initiative will continue to fund groundbreaking research as long as Congress continues to provide base funding to the 10 BRAIN Institutes and Centers in the annual appropriations process. The level of funding will determine the size and scope of the program. 

For researchers

I’m planning to submit an application for an upcoming receipt date for a BRAIN funding announcement; should I still submit it? The BRAIN Initiative continues to fund highly meritorious grant applications. However, our current budget requires us to be even more selective in supporting applications for funding. Current NIH BRAIN Initiative funding opportunities can be found on the BRAIN Initiative website ; potential applicants should check here before preparing an application for BRAIN funding. As always, we encourage applicants to follow and search the NIH Guide to find funding opportunities that best fit their proposed projects. Parent announcement mechanisms may be good options; we encourage applicants to speak with NIH program staff to discuss their options for securing competitive federal funding to support their research. My application scored well; will it be funded? All applications received in response to a BRAIN Initiative funding opportunity are reviewed for scientific and technical merit by scientific peer review. Well-scoring applications are then prioritized for funding, based on relevance of the proposed project to NIH program priorities, including the Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) and the availability of funds. However, the only way to definitively know if an application has been funded is through the issuance of a Notice of Award. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to NIH program staff with further questions. Are you still funding supplements? Is it worth submitting an application? The BRAIN Initiative will consider highly meritorious supplement applications including administrative , diversity , re-entry/re-integration/re-training, and continuity supplements . I am a multiple principal investigator/principal investigator on an active BRAIN award; will the budget be reduced? It depends. Active non-competing BRAIN Initiative awards will be subject to a 10% budget reduction for FY 2024. This reduction in funds does not apply to the following activities: F99, F32, K00, K99, R21, R25, R34, SBIR / STTR , and diversity supplements. Due to the budget reduction, I’m unable to complete my project as planned; can I renegotiate my milestones or aims? With some budget reductions, you may need to revise the scope of your project. In some circumstances, this may require prior approval from the NIH . Please reach out to your NIH program officer to discuss this process and the available options.

Have any actions been taken to cancel existing funding opportunities or receipt dates?

In this fiscal year (FY24), the BRAIN Initiative received a 40% decrease to its budget. This not only impacts our ability to support grants in FY24, but into the next fiscal year as well. The Office of the BRAIN Director and BRAIN Initiative team members have examined current and pending funding opportunities. The table below outlines the actions we’ve taken to cancel funding opportunities and receipt dates managed by the National Eye Institute, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Related Topics Recent Director’s Messages Announcing Yearly Appropriations Funding neuroscience in an uncertain budget climate (FY 2024) Congress passes budget bill: NIH BRAIN Initiative receives $60M in additional funds (FY 2023) Congress passes budget bill: NIH BRAIN Initiative receives $60M in additional funds (FY 2022) Congress passes budget bill: NIH BRAIN Initiative receives $60M in additional funds (FY 2021)

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• Funding Opportunities
• Proposal Development

Feldstein Medical Foundation

OVPR is actively accepting applications for this internal competition. If you are interested in applying to this program, you must submit a pre-application through the  internal competitions submission portal . Pre-application requirements are listed in the announcement below.

The Office of the Vice President for Research invites applications to the  Feldstein Medical Foundation (FMF) 2024 funding cycle. FMF is a private not-for-profit foundation, created to fund medical research, including new or innovative areas of research and smaller, seed-type projects. 

Stony Brook University can submit  TWO  applications ( ONE  in each of the following categories):

• Basic science research
• Translational research/clinical research/medical education research

Please see below for details.   If you are interested in applying, you must submit the  internal competitions form by Friday, February 9, 2024 .    Pre-applications for internal review and selection must be uploaded to the portal as a single PDF document.  The competition code for this program is LC20241 .

WHAT DOES IT FUND: FMF focuses its funding on new or innovative research, research in areas where FMF funding will have the maximum beneficial impact on health or healthcare practice for significant populations, and research that may lead to significant advancements in scientific knowledge. Grants will be made in varied areas of medical research, including translation/implementation studies, medical education research, basic science, and early clinical research. FMF prioritizes promising junior investigators (assistant professor level) with a history of some prior funding.

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS: Eligible candidates must have a doctoral degree or equivalent in a field related to medicine, nursing, public health, health care or biomedical sciences. Principal Investigators must have an appointment in the invited medical institution. Junior researchers with a history of prior funding are encouraged to apply.

AWARD: Up to $80,000 for up to 1 year

SPONSOR DEADLINE: March 31, 2024

For more information,   view the FMF Grant Application Instructions.

A complete pre-application should comprise of the following:

• Narrative   (no more than 5 pages) that describes specific aims, background and significance, preliminary studies (if warranted), research design and methods, and timeline for completion
• Biosketches   for key personnel (using NIH format)
• Budget Justification   (no more than 1 page) that includes an explanation for why existing resources do not permit this work to be done
• Letter of support   from the PI's Department Chair

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Riana Durrett is Broadening the Reach of UNLV's Cannabis Policy Institute

By building relationships with members of the industry and other universities, the institute's director hopes to advance funding for research.

Riana Durrett is the director of the UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute. (Cannabis Policy Institute/UNLV)

• May 21, 2024
• By Leslie Venzuela

Editor's Note:

In 201 3 , medical sales of cannabis were legalized in Nevada. This change had a significant impact on the career path of alumna and attorney Riana Durrett . She's now director of the UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute (CPI).

“I had been practicing law for about five years when medical cannabis sales were legalized," she says. "I started representing a newly formed trade association and, over a five-year period, I built it up to be a source of best practices and cannabis policy guidance.”

She says because of this work  and her position as vice chair of Nevada's Cannabis Compliance Board, she was a natural fit to lead CPI when it was created in August 2023.

Cannabis policies, research, and education are relevant to many UNLV departments and colleges including public health, criminal justice, business, and law, she said. However, because cannabis legalization has largely preceded research, there is a lack of reliable information available. Durrett wants the institute to be the link between cannabis research and policy in Nevada and a leader for reliable and consistent information as the country and state’s laws and policies are developed.

Durrett earned her juris doctor degree at UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law in 2008. Her focus was immigration and criminal law   until shifting her role and serving as the executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Association, developing it into the primary regulatory and government affairs voice for Nevada’s cannabis industry.

“A lot of America is interested in cannabis research and policy, I just have the good fortune of making a career out of it.”

Research and policy development are now the forefront of her efforts at the CPI, and her goal is to overcome a lack of investment into cannabis research as well as the roadblocks that stymie conducting research.

Since becoming CPI director, she has met with deans and faculty members at UNLV interested in cannabis research. She says the most effective way the CPI can advance research and policy is to be engaged with a broad range of community partners, the cannabis industry in Nevada, and universities and thought leaders across the country.

Durrett has partnered with the Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University Pueblo as she seeks to grow her knowledge in applying for and obtaining grants.

“I want to emulate the Institute of Cannabis Research’s cannabis grant process in which the state provides funding for research grants, and the CPI would award the grants in a competitive, peer-reviewed process.”     

In addition to heading the CPI, Durrett serves as vice chair of the Cannabis Compliance Board, which is Nevada’s regulatory body over the legal cannabis industry. The board is responsible for adopting regulations for cannabis in Nevada, developing policy, enforcement, and awarding licenses, including those for cannabis lounges approved by the state in 2021.

She also teaches cannabis law and regulation at the Boyd School of Law.

Another initiative of the CPI is to educate the community about the cannabis industry through a speaker series.

“These are brilliant researchers, attorneys, advocates, etc., in the cannabis world,” says Durrett. “The speaker series aims to bring those people together, to help disseminate their work, and to help those interested in cannabis research and policy learn about important cannabis issues.”

The public is invited to attend the “State of Cannabis Research” panel on May 28 from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. at the William S. Boyd School of Law Moot Courtroom on the UNLV campus.

The presenters include:

• Dr. Nick Spirtos, "Opiate cessation research and research in Uruguay."
• Michelle Tomasino, "A review of clinical trials at UNLV and cannabis research being conducted at UNLV."
• Dr. Duke Fu, "Industry research and its interests as well as cannabis research in Thailand and Portugal."
• Dr. Chad Kinney, "Research being conducted through ICR and give an overview of ICR."
• Dr. Rochelle Hines, "Components of cannabis, focusing on CBD and terpenes, as well as novel derivatives and connections to psychedelics research."

Admission to attend the panel is free; however, reservations are recommended and can be made by sending an email to [email protected] .

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About Grants

Did you know that NIH is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, investing more than $32 billion a year to enhance life, and 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. Read on for an orientation to NIH funding, grant programs, how the grants process works, and how to apply.

Grants Process Overview

Learn the steps needed for an application to proceed from planning and submission to award and close out. Drill down on each step for guidance that can deepen your understanding of the grants process and help you submit a grant application and manage your grant award. 

Get Started

Before getting started, learn the basics like why it is important to understand the structure of NIH and how we approach grant funding, what types of organizations and people are eligible to apply, what we look for in a research project, and the types of grant programs we offer. Once you have the big picture move on to learn about planning your application.

How to Apply

How to Apply serves as our comprehensive application guide, providing step-by-step instructions to get you through the grant application process, from completing required registrations, finding a funding opportunity to accessing the application forms and instructions, formatting your application, finding due dates and submission policies, and more. 

Application Referral and Review

Once you submit your application to NIH, we assign your application to a specific study section for review and to a specific NIH Institute or Center for funding consideration. After assignment, the application undergoes a two level peer review process. Explore this page to learn more.

Pre-Award and Post-Award Processes

Applications that do well in review begin the pre-award process. Learn what happens during this process and what types of information you will be expected to provide. Once awarded, grantees must follow the requirements in the NIH Grants Policy statement and provide periodic reports to NIH that help NIH monitor the award.

Forms Directory

Essential NIH forms, instructions and format pages you need to apply for, manage, and close out grant awards. 

This page last updated on: March 17, 2017

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European Labs Led by Imec to Receive $2.7 Billion in Chips Act Funding

FILE PHOTO: Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

By Toby Sterling

ANTWERP, Belgium (Reuters) - Leading European research labs will receive 2.5 billion euros ($2.72 billion) in funding under the European Chips Act to set up a pilot line to develop and test future generations of advanced computer chips, Belgium's imec said on Wednesday.

The European Union's 43 billion euro Chips Act was announced in 2023 to support domestic European chipmaking, a counterbalance to plans by China, the U.S. and other governments to shore up their own industries following shortages during the COVID pandemic.

Leuven, Belgium-based research hub imec will host the pilot line for the sub-2 nanometre chips to help European industry, academics and start-ups access chip manufacturing technology that would otherwise be too expensive for any one of them to test or use in development.

Top chipmakers such as TSMC, Intel and Samsung are launching 2 nanometre chips this year and next year in commercial plants, or fabs, costing as much as $20 billion euros.

The European R&D line is intended to help develop future generations of even more advanced chips, and will be outfitted with equipment from European and global equipment and materials firms.

"The investment will allow us to double volumes and learning speed, accelerating our innovation pace, strengthening the European chip ecosystem, and driving economic growth in Europe.” said imec CEO Luc Van den Hove in a statement.

"The NanoIC pilot line will support a diversity of industries in Europe, including automotive, telecommunications, health and others."

Several EU programs and Belgium's Flanders government are providing 1.4 billion euros in funding, with industry players including leading equipment maker ASML providing 1.1 billion euros, imec said.

Other research laboratories participating include CEA-Leti of France, Fraunhofer of Germany, VTT of Finland, CSSNT of Romania and the Tyndall Institute of Ireland.

Actual aid under the EU plan comes mostly from member states and has lagged money received in other regions, with only STMicroelectronics so far approved to receive 2.9 billion euros in aid from France for a plant in Crolles.

Intel and TSMC are still awaiting EU approval for billions of euros in German state funding to begin building plants in Magdeburg and Dresden this year.

($1 = 0.9206 euros)

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

Tags: United States , European Union , Europe , Netherlands

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