Foundation Funding

Additional Information:

The 2025 Maternal and Infant Health Initiative is seeking community-driven and locally focused projects that address the priority areas listed below and improve outcomes for pregnant individuals and their infants. Projects must incorporate at least one of these categories (examples are not exhaustive):

• Address service delivery environment barriers to improve access to equitable preconceptual and perinatal health care through improved integration of medical, behavioral, public health, and social services.
• Increase access to protective and clinical interventions including improved screening before, during, and after pregnancy for health risks, as well as referral and connection to treatment or services.
• Address targeted policies, practices, and procedures at the local or practice level that impact or prohibit the best outcomes for birthing parents and infants. We’re looking for implementation of structural changes in communities and organizations that help families navigate and remove barriers to maternal and infant health.

A competitive proposal will focus on a specific target population and include local data to illustrate the need for the intervention. Projects may build on local or regional work and priority will be given to projects that are community-driven and locally focused and align with the mission and goals and promote health equity for infants and birthing individuals.

For more information, please contact Larry Wallach at wallach@msu.edu

Learn More about Michigan Health Endowment Fund—Maternal & Infant Health

Additional Information:

The Bosarge Family Foundation-Waun Ki Hong Scholar Award for Regenerative Cancer Medicine represents a joint effort to encourage and support postdoctoral or clinical research fellows to conduct highly novel and provocative research in the field of regenerative cancer medicine and to establish a successful career path in this field. The research proposed for funding may be translational, clinical, or epidemiological in nature and must have direct applicability and relevance to enhancing the physiology of cancer survivors (and/or mitigating the negative effects of their cancer treatment) using regenerative medicine approaches. See full RFP details on website.

For more information, please contact Heidi Jurgens at jurgensh@msu.edu.

Learn More about Bosarge Family Foundation-Waun Ki Hong Scholar Award for Regenerative Cancer Medicine

Additional Information:

The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain supports early-career leaders in basic pain research whose work holds high potential for uncovering new pathways to improve the treatment of chronic pain. Eligible candidates will have completed their training and provided persuasive evidence of distinguished achievement or extraordinary promise in basic research in pain. Candidates should be in the early stages of their career with an appointment at the faculty level. Proposed research projects should be directed toward investigating the molecular biology of pain and/or basic science topics related to developing new analgesics for managing pain.

To be eligible for the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain, the applicant must:

• Have received committed start-up funds and independent laboratory space from their institution
• Be within three years of the start date of a tenure track position or equivalent (senior postdocs and associate professors are not eligible)
• Conduct their research and be appointed at an institution in the United States or Canada
• Demonstrate a commitment to the field of pain research

For more information, please contact Heidi Jurgens at jurgensh@msu.edu.

Learn More about Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award in Pain

Additional Information:
The Efficient Fertilizer Consortium (EFC) is accepting applications for field trials to evaluate the agronomic performance and environmental impact of enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) across a range of geographic locations, cropping systems, climates and soil types.

Topics that are in-scope include:

• The impact of stacking EEF(s) with field management (e.g. tillage, cover crops, tile drainage) and 4R Nutrient Stewardship (4RNS) practices (right source, right rate, right time, and right placement of fertilizer in nutrient management to enhance understanding of how EEFs perform in a range of conditions and in crop rotations to better support producer decision making.
• Nutrient carryover effects from EEFs and crop rotations that include legumes.
• Identification of EEFs that work best to support crop nutrition, yield and nutrient use efficiency in specific climates, soils and cropping systems. This could include evaluating EEFs across various climate, cropping or soil conditions.
• Agronomic and environmental tradeoffs resulting from the implementation of EEFs and other management and 4RNS practices.

A Pre-Application outline is found on the Foundation’s website. All proposals must be submitted by the deadline date through FFAR’s online application Grant Management System.

For more information, please contact Melissa Anderson at ande2476@msu.edu 

Learn More about Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research – Efficient Fertilizer Consortium 2024

Additional Information:

The EveryCat Health Foundation aims to advance feline health by supporting groundbreaking research and education. Its 2025 spring grant cycle will award grants of up to $50,000 in support of projects exploring all aspects pertaining to feline health, including shelter medicine, nutrition, and behavior.

The foundation has dedicated research funds for feline infectious peritonitis (Bria Fund) and heart disease (Ricky Fund). Current breed-specific dedicated funds are also available for Norwegian Forest Cat and Persian hypertrophic cardiomyopathy studies, Birman heart disease studies, Abyssinian-related health issues, and amyloidosis in Siamese and Oriental Shorthair-related breeds. Additional dedicated research funding for cats is available related to inflammatory disease or cancer of the liver, pancreas, and intestinal tract (Speckles Abdominal Cancer Campaign and Kitty Kollar Customers Care for IBD/Lymphoma Fund), as well as chronic kidney disease and related hypertension disorder.

Applicants may be veterinary researchers, faculty veterinarians, post-doctoral fellows, and practicing veterinarians or veterinary students.

For more information, please contact Jess Bitting bitting7@msu.edu

Learn More about EveryCat Health Foundation – Feline Research Grants

Additional Information:
The Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation awards fellowship grants annually to outstanding post-doctoral or junior faculty candidates who are investigating the causes, prevention, and treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD or depression, especially those from low-income families and under-resourced communities, or other minoritized populations that may have limited supports and resources. The Fellowship supports two-year research projects that could lead to federal funding and other national research awards. The Foundation supports research that produces direct and tangible benefits to children and their families, while also supporting promising, early career scientists.  

Only candidates in departments of psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, developmental pediatrics, social work, or public health who have been nominated by their Department Chair and who have a primary mentor for the project may apply for a fellowship. Department Chairs may nominate only one investigator for each of the two fellowship areas: ADHD and depression.

Eligibility:

• Candidates must hold a Ph.D. and/or an M.D. and have completed all clinical training in their field. Candidates should be at the junior faculty level or on a trajectory for attaining faculty status.
• Investigators who have K awards or have applied for K awards will be considered provided the award does not overlap with the proposed project. Investigators who have already received R01 awards from NIMH are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants cannot apply for both a KTGF Fellowship and a Transformation of Mental Health Care grant in the same year.
•  

For more information, please contact Heidi Jurgens at jurgensh@msu.edu. 

Learn More about Klingenstein Philanthropies – Third Generation Foundation Fellowship

Additional Information:

The Elsa U. Pardee Foundation funds research by investigators in United States non-profit institutions proposing research directed toward identifying new treatments or cures for cancer. The Foundation funds projects for a one-year period which will allow establishment of capabilities of new cancer researchers, or new cancer approaches by established cancer researchers. It is anticipated that this early-stage funding by the Foundation may lead to subsequent and expanded support using government agency funding. Project relevance to cancer detection, treatment, or cure should be clearly identified.

For more information, please contact Larry Wallach at wallach@msu.edu

Learn More about Elsa U. Pardee Foundation—Innovative Cancer Research

Additional Information:

The Elsa U. Pardee Foundation funds research by investigators in United States non-profit institutions proposing research directed toward identifying new treatments or cures for cancer. The Foundation funds projects for a one-year period which will allow establishment of capabilities of new cancer researchers, or new cancer approaches by established cancer researchers. It is anticipated that this early-stage funding by the Foundation may lead to subsequent and expanded support using government agency funding. Project relevance to cancer detection, treatment, or cure should be clearly identified.

For more information, please contact Larry Wallach at wallach@msu.edu.

Learn More about Elsa U. Pardee Foundation—Innovative Cancer Research

Additional Information: 

The Center for Global Development (CGD) is offering a total of US$1 million in grants to researchers focused on generating evidence on lead poisoning, with a particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Lead poisoning is a major global health issue, affecting a third of children worldwide and contributing to cardiovascular disease, brain development issues, and educational disparities. Despite being largely preventable, lead exposure remains a neglected issue in many LMICs. 

CGD is seeking research proposals from a range of disciplines, including economics, public health, environmental science, education, and more. Funding opportunities include small grants (up to $50k for fieldwork) for PhD students, post-docs, and independent researchers, as well as larger grants (up to $300k) for academic institutions, think tanks, and NGOs. Proposals from applicants in the Global South are particularly encouraged, and intervention costs may be funded, although academic salaries and course buy-outs are not eligible. 

For more information, please contact Allison Jones jonesa70@msu.edu

Learn More about Center for Global Development – Research Grants to Understand and Mitigate the Global Burden of Lead Poisoning

Additional Information: 

SNAPP, a first-of-its-kind scientific joint venture between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), is a tool for developing sustainable solutions to global conservation challenges. Since inception, SNAPP, through its working groups, has provided science and user-friendly tools backed by hard data to identify and quantify nature's role and value in preventing and solving some of the most complex challenges the world faces around food and water security, climate change, and energy. 

Each year, SNAPP provides up to US $1 million total across 4-6 approved working groups, led by academic, governmental agency, multilateral, or nonprofit institutions. SNAPP funds teams of 12-15 people from diverse organizations to gather for 3-4 collaborative sessions over the course of 12-24 months. Between sessions, members collaborate remotely; work with long-term implementation partners; identify emerging opportunities for tangible, lasting change; develop and test tools and products; and publish research.

SNAPP funds: 

• Convening groups of interdisciplinary experts from different sectors who would not otherwise come together in retreat-like settings to tackle a problem at the intersection of people and nature that can be solved by rapidly synthesizing existing data, information and worldviews. These are SNAPP working groups. 
• Salary, benefits and other direct costs of Research Fellows, who may be postdoctoral associates, graduate students and, in some cases, research assistants. 
• Independent contractors or the actual time of technical employees conducting analysis, graphic design, webpage development, and similar activities for the working group. 
• Virtual and in-person meetings, including third-party neutral facilitators, meeting planners, hotel, catering, meeting venue and technology, as well as individual attendee travel expenses. Please note that SNAPP will require 60 days advance notice of a confirmed meeting in order for SNAPP funds to be used. 

Before developing a full proposal for the 2024 SNAPP RFP, applicants should submit a "concept note" through our online portal for review. All submitted concept notes will receive written feedback within 10 business days on which aspects of your ideas could be the best fit for SNAPP's scope and what would need to be strengthened to make your proposal competitive. 

For more information, please contact Allison Jones?jonesa70@msu.edu

Learn More about The Nature Conservancy - Science for Nature and People Partnership

Additional Information:
The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC), along with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and Pork Checkoff joined together to fund a Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program to help control the next emerging disease in the U.S. pork industry and improve U.S. swine herd health.

The program partners seek a second round of research proposals to investigate cost-effective and innovative technologies, protocols or ideas to enhance biosecurity during the wean-to-harvest phase of pig production. The first round of proposal solicitation, selection, and funding was completed in February.

The updated research priorities in the second round of solicitation continue to focus on site and transportation biosecurity. They cover five targeted areas:

1. personnel biocontainment and bioexclusion,
2. mortality management,
3. truck wash efficiency,
4. alternatives to fixed truck wash, and
5. packing plant biocontainment.

The program seeks novel tools in any of the five areas to help result in comprehensive biosecurity enhancement.

Proposals are expected to define current practices and investigate innovative and novel protocols or technologies that may have a cost, efficiency or implementation advantage. Herd health status monitoring, instead of disease outbreak incidence, can be used to demonstrate success of the protocols or technologies and aid in a required economic analysis of cost-effectiveness.

Collaborative projects that include pork industry, allied industry and/or academic public/private partnerships, demonstrate the most urgency and timeliness of completion, and show efficient use of funds will be prioritized for funding.

The proposal template and instructions for completion and submission can be found at on the SHIC website.

For more information, please contact Melissa Anderson at ande2476@msu.edu 

Learn More about Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research – Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program

Additional Information: 

The Conservation, Food and Health Foundation seeks to protect the environment, improve food production, and promote public health in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East.  The Foundation supports projects and applied research that: 

• Generate local or regional solutions to problems affecting the quality of the environment and human life; 
• Advance local leadership and promote professional development in the conservation, agricultural, and health sciences; 
• Develop the capacity of local organizations and coalitions; and 
• Address challenges in the field.  

The Foundation prefers to support projects that address under-funded issues and geographic areas. The Foundation funds applied research, pilot projects, new initiatives, training, and technical assistance, rather than ongoing support for programs that are already well underway.  An important goal for the Foundation is to provide seed money to help promising projects, organizations, and individuals develop the track record they need to attract major foundation funding in the future. 

The following are examples of the Foundation’s areas of interest within the fields of conservation, food, and health, and are not meant to be exclusive. 

Conservation: Conservation grants promote environmental conservation through field research, projects, and advocacy that: 

• Protect biodiversity and preserve natural resources. 
• Help mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. 
• Build the scientific and technical capacity of local conservation organizations and promote local, regional, and international partnerships. 
• Increase engagement between scientists, local communities and organizations, and decision-makers. 
• Partner with indigenous communities and local people. 

Food: Grants in the food and agriculture program area focus on research-based projects that build capacity for self-sufficiency and resilience to climate change, strengthen local food systems, and support healthy nutrition through projects that:  

• Enhance food security. 
• Develop and promote sustainable agricultural practices 
• Build the capacity of small-scale farmers. 
• Advance farmer research and research partnerships. 
• Develop environmentally sound and affordable approaches to control pests and diseases affecting important local food crops. 
• Promote indigenous food sovereignty and knowledge systems. 
• Address challenges of uptake and scalability through new methods of extension, education, and technology transfer. 

Health: The Foundation supports efforts that test new ideas and approaches that promote public health, with a special emphasis on reproductive health and family planning and their integration with other health promotion activities.  It favors community-level disease prevention and health promotion projects and efforts that help strengthen regional and country public health systems over disease diagnosis, treatment, and care provided by clinics, hospitals, and humanitarian aid programs. 

Activities that help increase capacity include applied research, program development, technical assistance, and training projects that: 

• Promote reproductive health and family planning. 
• Address issues related to mental and behavioral health. 
• Address issues relating to pollution and environmental health. 
• Increase the understanding of zoonotic and neglected tropical diseases. 
• Address issues relating to nutrition and health. 

Key Priorities: In all of its areas of interest, the Foundation gives priority to projects that have the potential to advance the field, build local capacity, promote replication, influence public opinion and policy, affect systems change, and benefit people beyond the immediate project and its local context. 

For more information, please contact Allison Jones jonesa70@msu.edu.

Learn More about THE CONSERVATION, FOOD, AND HEALTH FOUNDATION – Grants for Conservation, Food, and Health Projects - Grant Round 2, 2024

Additional Information:
This program supports research on strategies focused on improving the use, usefulness, and impact of evidence in ways that benefit young people ages 5-25 in the United States. We welcome impact studies that test strategies for improving research use as well as whether improving research use leads to improved youth outcomes. We also welcome descriptive studies that reveal the strategies, mechanisms, or conditions for improving research use. Finally, we welcome measurement studies that explore how to construct and implement valid and reliable measures of research use.

Officers’ Research Grants

• $25,000–$50,000 over 1-2 years, including up to 15% indirect costs.
• Studies may be stand-alone projects or may build off larger projects. The budget should be appropriate for the activities proposed.

Studies should pursue one of two aims:

1. Building, identifying, or testing ways to improve the use of existing research evidence.
2. Testing whether strategies that improve the use of research evidence in turn improve decision-making and youth outcomes.

Specific application details can be found on the Foundation’s website or by contacting Melissa Anderson at ande2476@msu.edu 

Learn More about William T. Grant Foundation – Officers’ Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence

Additional Information:
This program supports research on strategies focused on improving the use, usefulness, and impact of evidence in ways that benefit young people ages 5-25 in the United States. We welcome impact studies that test strategies for improving research use as well as whether improving research use leads to improved youth outcomes. We also welcome descriptive studies that reveal the strategies, mechanisms, or conditions for improving research use. Finally, we welcome measurement studies that explore how to construct and implement valid and reliable measures of research use.

Major Research Grants

• $100,000 to $1,000,000 over 2-4 years, including up to 15% indirect costs.
• Studies involving secondary data analysis are at the lower end of the range (about $100,000-$300,000), whereas studies that involve new data collection can have larger budgets (typically $300,000-$600,000). Generally, only proposals to launch experiments in which settings (e.g., schools, child welfare agencies, justice settings) are randomly assigned to conditions are eligible for funding above $600,000.

Studies should pursue one of two aims:

1. Building, identifying, or testing ways to improve the use of existing research evidence.
2. Testing whether strategies that improve the use of research evidence in turn improve decision-making and youth outcomes.

 Specific application details can be found on the Foundation’s website or by contacting Melissa Anderson at ande2476@msu.edu

Learn More about William T. Grant Foundation – Major Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence

Additional Information:
This program supports research to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the United States.

 Major Research Grants

• $100,000 to $600,000 over 2-3 years, including up to 15% indirect costs.
• Projects involving secondary data analysis are typically at the lower end of the budget range, whereas projects involving new data collection and sample recruitment can be at the higher end. Proposals to launch experiments in which settings (e.g., classrooms, schools, youth programs) are randomly assigned to conditions sometimes have higher awards.

 Officers’ Research Grants

• $25,000–$50,000 over 1-2 years, including up to 15% indirect costs.
• Studies may be stand-alone projects or may build off larger projects. The budget should be appropriate for the activities proposed.

Our research interests center on studies that examine ways to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. We welcome descriptive studies that clarify mechanisms for reducing inequality or elucidate how or why a specific program, policy, or practice operates to reduce inequality. We also welcome intervention studies that examine attempts to reduce inequality. Finally, we welcome studies that improve the measurement of inequality in ways that can enhance the work of researchers, practitioners, or policymakers.

While we value research on the causes and consequences of inequality, we do not fund this work. Instead, we support research that informs or examines a policy, program, or practice response that can be implemented through an organization, institution, or system.

We invite studies from a range of disciplines, fields, and methods, and we encourage investigations into various youth-serving systems, including justice, housing, child welfare, mental health, and education.

Specific application details can be found on the Foundation’s website or by contacting Melissa Anderson at ande2476@msu.edu 

Learn More about William T. Grant Foundation – Research Grants on Reducing Inequality

Additional Information:
Project grant opportunities are designed to drive impact around equitable economic mobility. Funded organizations are expected to design and implement, or scale a multiyear project in alignment with the Foundation’s strategic priorities and focus areas.  

The Foundation is most interested in funding projects that benefit the Kansas City region unless projects have a strong research basis or new approach that could be duplicated in peer cities and have the greatest potential for gap-closing impact.

Areas of Interest (not exhaustive or prescriptive):

• Education & employer connection - Build pathways, learning models, and feedback cycles that support job placement, retention, and advancement.
• Equitable access - Provide sources of capital that move historically under-resourced entrepreneurs from startup to growth or sustainability.
• Essential competencies & skills - Increase career and workforce exposure as early as middle school. Incorporate entrepreneurial mindsets and experiences into high school and college.
• Participation & belonging – Reduce or remove participation and persistence barriers for entrepreneurs, learners, workers (i.e. wraparound supports).
• Other – Reduce fragmentation within and build explicit connections across education, workforce, and entrepreneurship ecosystems to facilitate access and ease of navigation for participants.

Specific application details can be found on the Foundation’s website or by contacting Melissa Anderson at ande2476@msu.edu

Learn More about Kauffman Foundation – Project Grants

Additional Information:

A total of $1.5 million will be distributed over the course of two years to select nurse-led teams or nurse-led interdisciplinary teams across all practice settings, with a particular focus on the patient care journey and “reimagining practice settings.” The foundation seeks solutions that positively transform health care through the adoption of approaches, tools, and practices that improve access, quality care, and positive patient outcomes. The grant will support nurse-led research and promote health equity and nurse well-being. With this in mind, grantees will be solicited to examine the intersection of the program’s three areas of focus including nursing education, direct reimbursement, and nurse-driven technology in order to scale and implement effective nurse-led solutions.

For more information, please contact Jess Bitting bitting7@msu.edu

Learn More about American Nurses Foundation – Reimagining Nursing Initiative

Additional Information:

*(This is an internal RFP. If you are interested in discussing an idea or concept with the Frey Foundation, please contact me first at: wallach@msu.edu by the internal due date above so that we can discuss it before you submit an inquiry to the foundation.)

The Frey Foundation focuses on Community/Regional Needs in Kent, Emmert & Charlevoix counties or projects that impact the broader West/Northern Michigan regions. This Foundation is interested in supporting programs or projects, within its four priority areas below. They will only give serious consideration to requests for funding for partnership or collaborative projects with key local or regional stakeholders. This RFP is intended for those who have potential requests that meet that criteria.

The Foundation’s four specific priorities are:

• Building Community
• Children & Families
• Community Arts
• Environment

Please review each of these priorities, and the activities within each, as described on the Frey Foundation website.

If you re interested in learning about additional foundation funding opportunities, please visit the MSU Foundation Relations website.

Learn More about Frey Foundation

 Additional Information:

The McKnight Scholar Awards are given to exceptional young scientists who are in the early stages of establishing an independent laboratory and research career. The intent of the program is to foster the commitment by these scientists to research careers that will have an important impact on the study of the brain. The program seeks to support scientists committed to mentoring neuroscientists from underrepresented groups at all levels of training. Applicants for the McKnight Scholar Award must demonstrate their ability to solve significant problems in neuroscience, which may include the translation of basic research to clinical practice. Each year, up to ten scholars are selected to receive three years’ support. Currently, awards are $75,000 per year. Funds may be used in any way that will facilitate development of the Scholar’s research program, but not for indirect costs. Online Application opens on August 12, 2024.

For more information, please contact Larry Wallach at wallach@msu.edu. 

Learn More about McKnight Foundation—Scholar Awards-Neuroscience

Additional Information:

The Large Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets ranging from $125,000 to $500,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. We anticipate awarding grants with budgets across each of the following funding tiers -- $125,000 to $250,000; $250,001 to $375,000; and $375,001 to $500,00. Projects are evaluated in batches according to each funding tier and are strongly encouraged to submit for funding that best fits with the project rather than applying for the highest amount. Intent to apply forms are accepted twice a year.

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

Applications open in December. Intent to apply due January 14, 2025. Full proposal will be due February 11, 2025 at Noon Central time.

Specific application details can be found on the Foundation’s website or by contacting Melissa Anderson at ande2476@msu.edu

Learn More about Spencer Foundation – Large Research Grants