Corporate and Foundation Relations staff circulate a monthly list of grant opportunities for faculty and staff. By making this information available, we encourage you to consider seeking corporate and foundation grant support. Subscribe to receive monthly emails.

To learn more about these opportunities or discuss foundations or corporations that do not have active RFPs, please contact Jared Mouro, Foundation Relations Specialist: jmouro@wayne.edu.

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Foundation: Hudson Webber Foundation
Topic: Engineering
Program Name: Built Environment
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $10,000- $2,000,000 

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Letters of Inquiry are accepted on continuous basis; Full Proposals are by invitation only. Hudson-Webber invests in the work that Detroiters are doing today to reimagine the city’s built environment as one of inclusivity, diversity, accessibility, and connectedness. The Foundation seeks to increase the prevalence of quality physical spaces that reflect and enhance our diverse cultures, shared identities, and highest aspirations for our community. The Foundation accomplishes this through investing in built-environment projects and by strengthening the field of practitioners that support the creation and stewardship of quality physical spaces. 

Online application: https://hudson-webber.org/mission-areas/built-environment/ 

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Foundation: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Topic: Engineering
Program: Technology
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $1,500,000
Must Coordinate with Foundation Relations. Grant-seekers with a relevant research project or meeting idea should submit a Letter of Inquiry of no more than two pages to Program Director Joshua M. Greenberg at greenberg@sloan.org. When Alfred P. Sloan Jr. created this foundation in 1934, he envisioned it would serve as a vehicle for the creation and dissemination of scientific and economic knowledge. Few technological advances have revolutionized those activities more than the development of modern computing and the subsequent explosion in our ability to collect, manipulate, store, analyze, and transmit data. Sloan's programs in Digital Technology explore how the internet and computing technology are creating new opportunities to empower the scientific enterprise and expand the public's access to knowledge.

• Data & Computational Research: The program goal is to accelerate scientific discovery by helping researchers fully exploit the opportunities created by recent advances in our ability to collect, transmit, analyze, store, and manipulate data.
• Scholarly Communication: The program goal is to empower researchers by supporting the development and adoption of new resources for managing the increasingly diverse array of digital communication channels, enabling scientists to more effectively locate relevant research, network with other researchers, and disseminate their work to the scientific community and the public.
• Better Software for Science: The program goal is to develop practices, norms and institutions that can better promote the development and adoption of discovery-enhancing software.
• Exploratory Grantmaking in Technology: The program goal is to identify areas at the intersection of research and technology where a strategic investment of Foundation resources might be leveraged to empower scholarship.

Emailed application: https://sloan.org/programs/digital-technology

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HEALTH

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RESEARCH

Foundation: William T. Grant Foundation
Topic: Research
Program Name: Scholars Program
Deadline: 7/1/2025
Award Amount: $425,000

Must Coordinate with Foundation Relations; concepts due to FR by 5/26/2025. The William T. Grant Scholars Program supports career development for promising early-career researchers. The program funds five-year research and mentoring plans that significantly expand researchers' expertise in new disciplines, methods, and content areas.

Applicants should have a track record of conducting high-quality research and an interest in pursuing a significant shift in their trajectories as researchers. We recognize that early-career researchers are rarely given incentives or support to take measured risks in their work, so this award includes a mentoring component, as well as a supportive academic community.

Awards are based on applicants potential to become influential researchers, as well as their plans to expand their expertise in new and significant ways. The application should make a cohesive argument for how the applicant will expand his or her expertise. The research plan should evolve in conjunction with the development of new expertise, and the mentoring plan should describe how the proposed mentors will support applicants in acquiring that expertise. Proposed research plans must address questions that are relevant to policy and practice in the Foundation s focus areas.

Online Application: https://wtgrantfoundation.org/funding/william-t-grant-scholars-program

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Foundation: William T. Grant Foundation
Topic: Research
Program Name: Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence - Officers' Research Grants
Deadline: 8/6/2025
Award Amount: $25,000- $50,000

Must Coordinate with Foundation Relations. Deadline is for Letter of Intent; Officers research grants are awarded on the merit of the letter of inquiry alone. Research grants on improving the use of research evidence fund research studies on strategies focused on improving the use of research evidence in ways that benefit young people ages 5-25 in the United States. We want to know what it takes to get research used by decision-makers and what happens when research is used. We welcome letters of inquiry for studies that pursue one of these broad aims.

Studies may be stand-alone projects or may build off larger projects. The budget should be appropriate for the activities proposed.

Online Application: https://wtgrantfoundation.org/funding/research-grants-on-improving-use-of-research-evidence

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Foundation: William T. Grant Foundation
Topic: Research
Program Name: Research Grants on Reducing Inequality - Officers' Research Grants
Deadline: 8/6/2025
Award Amount: $25,000- $50,000

Must Coordinate with Foundation Relations Deadline is for Letter of Intent; Officers research grants are awarded on the merit of the letter of inquiry alone. Research grants on reducing inequality fund research studies that aim 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. We prioritize studies that aim to reduce inequalities that exist along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, sexual or gender minority status, language minority status, or immigrant origins.

Studies may be stand-alone projects or may build off larger projects. The budget should be appropriate for the activities proposed.

Online Application: https://wtgrantfoundation.org/funding/research-grants-on-reducing-inequality

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Foundation: William T. Grant Foundation
Topic: Research
Program Name: Research Grants on Reducing Inequality - Major Research Grants
Deadline: 8/6/2025
Award Amount: $100,000- $600,000

Must Coordinate with Foundation Relations. Deadline is for Letter of Intent; full proposals are by invitation only and are due subsequently. Grant term 2-3 years, including up to 15% indirect costs. Research grants on reducing inequality fund research studies that aim 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. We prioritize studies that aim to reduce inequalities that exist along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, sexual or gender minority status, language minority status, or immigrant origins.

Online Application: https://wtgrantfoundation.org/funding/research-grants-on-reducing-inequality

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Foundation: William T. Grant Foundation
Topic: Research
Program Name: Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence - Major Research Grants
Deadline: 8/6/2025
Award Amount: $100,000- $1,000,000

Must Coordinate with Foundation Relations. Deadline is for Letter of Intent; full proposals are by invitation only and are due subsequently. Grant term 2-4 years, including up to 15% indirect costs. Research grants on improving the use of research evidence fund research studies on strategies focused on improving the use of research evidence in ways that benefit young people ages 5-25 in the United States. We want to know what it takes to get research used by decision-makers and what happens when research is used. We welcome letters of inquiry for studies that pursue one of these broad aims.

Studies may be stand-alone projects or may build off larger projects. The budget should be appropriate for the activities proposed.

Online: https://wtgrantfoundation.org/funding/research-grants-on-improving-use-of-research-evidence

 

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SCIENCE

Foundation: Carls Foundation
Topic: Science
Program Name: Preservation of natural areas, open space and historic buildings
Deadline: 7/1/2025
Award Amount: <$50,000

The Carls Foundation has broadly defined charitable purposes, but the principal purpose and mission of the Foundation as outlined by its donor-founder and its Trustees is as follows:

Preservation of natural areas, open space and historic buildings and areas having special natural beauty or significance in maintaining America’s heritage and historic ideals, through assistance to land trusts and land conservancies and directly related environmental educational programs.

Online Application: https://carlsfdn.org/application-procedure

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Foundation: Americana Foundation
Topic: Science
Program Name: Agriculture & Food Systems
Deadline: 8/14/2025
Award Amount: $10,000- $25,000

When choosing an open grant opportunity, please consider whether you will have enough time to prepare a full grant application by the applicable due date if an application is invited. We do the best we can to respond promptly to LOIs and generally respond Our Current Focus: Our current priority in the Agriculture and Food Systems program area is to support projects and programs that work to transform food systems in Michigan so that they focus on growers, processors, and distributors and provide healthy and culturally appropriate food through ecologically sound and sustainable methods. The goal is for all Michiganders - rural and urban - to be connected to a sustainable local food economy. The program area seeks to benefit those who traditionally have lacked power over and resources to access healthy locally or regionally produced food.

Online Application: https://americanafoundation.org/program-areas-overview/agriculture-and-food-systems/

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Foundation: Americana Foundation
Topic: Science
Program Name: Natural Resources
Deadline: 8/14/2025
Award Amount: $10,000- $25,000

When choosing an open grant opportunity, please consider whether you will have enough time to prepare a full grant application by the applicable due date if an application is invited. We do the best we can to respond promptly to LOIs and generally respond Our current priority in the Natural Resources program area is to focus on projects and programs in Michigan that help ensure that the Great Lakes remain healthy or address significant threats to Great Lakes water quality. We prioritize projects and programs that receive relatively few resources and attention and communities that are most likely to experience disproportionate harm.

Online Application: https://americanafoundation.org/program-areas-overview/natural-resources/

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Foundation: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Topic: Science
Program Name: Environment
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $50,000

Rolling deadline for Letters of Inquiry; full proposals are by invitation only. Average grant size is $50,000. For more than three decades, the Mott Foundation’s Environment program has supported stewardship of the world’s natural resources. This work has taught us that such grantmaking must seek practical ways to simultaneously build strong economic, environmental and social conditions for all people — in a word, sustainability.

Program Areas:

• Addressing the Freshwater Challenge
• Transforming Development Finance
• Advancing Climate Change Solutions
• Special Initiatives

Online Application: https://www.mott.org/work/environment/

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Foundation: Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation
Topic: Science
Program Name: Science
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $50,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Since the base of the Foundation's assets have been products of scientific achievement, the trustees seek to encourage projects that include advanced research and new applications of science and/or technology.

Online Application: https://hhgadowfdn.org/grants/

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Foundation: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Topic: Science
Program: Energy & Environment
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $500,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. The goal of the program is to inform the societal transition toward low-carbon energy systems in the United States by investigating economic, environmental, technological, and distributional issues.

Programs:

• Energy Markets and Policy Analysis
• Net Zero Innovation and Negative Emissions Technologies
• Transportation and Mobility
• Energy and Distributional Equity
• Industrial Decarbonization
• Energy Systems and Climate Adaptation

Online Application: https://sloan.org/grants/apply

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Foundation: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Topic: Science
Program: Technology
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $1,250,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Grant-seekers with a relevant research project or meeting idea should submit a Letter of Inquiry of no more than two pages to Program Director Joshua M. Greenberg at greenberg@sloan.org. When Alfred P. Sloan Jr. created this foundation in 1934, he envisioned it would serve as a vehicle for the creation and dissemination of scientific and economic knowledge. Few technological advances have revolutionized those activities more than the development of modern computing and the subsequent explosion in our ability to collect, manipulate, store, analyze, and transmit data. Sloan's programs in Digital Technology explore how the internet and computing technology are creating new opportunities to empower the scientific enterprise and expand the public's access to knowledge.

•   Data & Computational Research: The program goal is to accelerate scientific discovery by helping researchers fully exploit the opportunities created by recent advances in our ability to collect, transmit, analyze, store, and manipulate data.

•   Scholarly Communication: The program goal is to empower researchers by supporting the development and adoption of new resources for managing the increasingly diverse array of digital communication channels, enabling scientists to more effectively locate relevant research, network with other researchers, and disseminate their work to the scientific community and the public.

•   Better Software for Science: The program goal is to develop practices, norms and institutions that can better promote the development and adoption of discovery-enhancing software.

•   Exploratory Grantmaking in Technology: The program goal is to identify areas at the intersection of research and technology where a strategic investment of Foundation resources might be leveraged to empower scholarship.

Emailed Application: https://sloan.org/programs/digital-technology

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Foundation: Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation
Topic: Science
Program Name: Environment Grants
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $2,000,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Letters of Intent may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a Rolling basis. Full Proposals by invitation only. Primary Topics: Great Lakes: Stewardship; Agricultural Runoff. Environmental Health, Justice & Equitable Development: Lead; Asthma; Sustainable Development.

Online Application: https://www.erbff.org/programs/

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Foundation: David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Topic: Science
Program: Conservation and Science
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $47,500,000

The Conservation and Science Program invests in actions and ideas that conserve and restore ecosystems while enhancing human well-being. The Foundation welcomes ideas for funding requests under the following programs:

• Climate
• Ocean
• Land
• Science
• Agriculture
• Livelihoods
• Conservation

Online Application: https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/for-grantseekers/

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Foundation: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Topic: Science
Program: Matter-to-Life Program
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: Varies

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Grant-seekers with a relevant research project or meeting idea should submit a Letter of Inquiry of no more than two pages to Program Director Ernie Glover at mattertolife@sloan.org. Sloan's Matter-to-Life program aims to sharpen our scientific understanding of life by supporting curiosity-driven research falling within three focus areas: Building Life, Principles of Life, and Signs of Life. These areas define a broad scientific scope for understanding the physical principles and mechanisms governing living systems, while also highlighting an openness to exploring life broadly conceived by instantiating the distinctive functions of living systems in entities built using various matter platforms. The program will also support scientific meetings that promote information exchange, the development of collaborations, and self-organizing efforts aimed at making a case to other funders for supporting matter-to-life research.

Emailed Application: https://sloan.org/programs/research/matter-to-life

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Foundation: Simons Foundation
Topic: Science
Program Name: Targeted Grants in Mathematics
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: Varies

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. The deadline is Rolling, and an LOI can be submitted at any time. Full proposals are by invitation only. The program is intended to support high-risk theoretical mathematics, physics and computer science projects of exceptional promise and scientific importance on a case-by-case basis.

Online Application: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/targeted-grants-in-mps/

 

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SOCIAL SCIENCE

Foundation: Arnold Ventures
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Building Evidence: Support for QEDs to Evaluate SocialPrograms and Policies
Deadline: 6/13/2026
Award Amount: $5,000,000

Deadline is for Letter of Intent; full proposals are by invitation only and are due 9/26/2025. The Evidence and Evaluation team aims to identify, evaluate, and scale evidence-based solutions targeting the nation’s most pressing social problems. This funding targets the first two phases of that goal – identifying and evaluating potential solutions – and is geared toward studies examining the causal effects of a policy, program, or intervention that aligns with key AV policy areas. Causal research employing strong, quasi-experimental methods are a critical component of the evidence-building process and are important for increasing the knowledge base for decision-makers and stakeholders. Examples of causal research methods include natural experiments, regression discontinuity, difference-in-differences, and instrumental variable designs. If you are thinking about a study employing random assignment, you should check out our other RFP focused on randomized controlled trials, and if you are focused on criminal justice outcomes see our separate RFP.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) aims to bolster the knowledge base about potentially effective policies, programs, and interventions by funding researchers to conduct rigorous, causal research using quasi experimental methods that aligns with key AV policy areas. We seek studies that will advance the knowledge base within key AV policy areas, including higher education, career education and training, infrastructure, contraceptive choice and access, and public finance.

Online Application: https://assets.arnoldventures.org/uploads/AV_RFP_Building-Evidence.pdf?_gl=1*19d6fli*_gcl_au*MjI2MTY4NTM1LjE3NDc2NjM5Nzc.*_ga*OTU3ODk5NjQ3LjE3NDc2NjM5Nzc.*_ga_J00GFVDRJS*czE3NDc2NjM5NzckbzEkZzEkdDE3NDc2NjQwMDAkajM3JGwwJGg2MTU3NzMzMjIkZFliTVk0c2RnbmlVdV9ab

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Foundation: The Nathan Cummings Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Economic Justice
Deadline: 6/30/2025
Award Amount: $750,000

Deadline is for Letter of Intent; full proposals are by invitation only and are due subsequently. To advance economic justice, we support organizations that address the following focus areas:

Economic Security: Economic security is a necessary baseline for people to survive and thrive, especially amidst conditions of rising inequality. We support efforts that systemically mitigate economic precarity and secure a path to a more stable future for poor and low-income people.

Access to Capital: Generations of discriminatory lending and investment practices have prevented BIPOC and women from accessing the capital required to bring their innovative ideas to the marketplace and profit from them. We support efforts to provide more access to capital for historically excluded entrepreneurs and to cultivate an ecosystem in which they can prosper.

Monopoly Power: Monopoly power drives many of the corrosive and pressing problems in our political, economic, and social systems. We support efforts to decrease corporate power and create a level playing field for workers, marginalized communities, and small businesses.

Online Application: https://nathancummings.org/our-focus/economic-justice/

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Foundation: The Nathan Cummings Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Environmental Justice
Deadline: 6/30/2025
Award Amount: $750,000

Deadline is for Letter of Intent; full proposals are by invitation only and are due subsequently. To advance environmental justice, we support organizations that address the following focus areas:

Environmental Harms: BIPOC and low-income communities are disproportionately harmed by environmental hazards. We focus on efforts to prevent and repair these environmental disparities and ensure the affected communities can meaningfully engage in forging solutions.

Inclusive Participation in the Green Economy: A Green Energy transition is well underway, but the economic opportunity that goes along with it is not distributed equitably. We focus on efforts to ensure that BIPOC-led environmental organizations and diverse companies can fully take advantage of the investments, benefits, and opportunities of the Green Economy.

Regenerative Economic Models: Achieving environmental justice and addressing climate change requires a shift from extractive to regenerative economic models. We focus on social entrepreneurs and innovators who are building regenerative projects and models based on sustainability, ecological restoration, and community wealth-building and resilience.

Online Application: https://nathancummings.org/our-focus/environmental-justice/

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Foundation: The Nathan Cummings Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Racial Justice
Deadline: 6/30/2025
Award Amount: $750,000

Deadline is for Letter of Intent; full proposals are by invitation only and are due subsequently. To advance racial justice, we support organizations that address the following focus areas:

Civic Engagement: BIPOC and other marginalized communities face long-standing and concerted efforts to restrict and suppress their participation in the public sphere, especially in civic processes. We support efforts to ensure these communities have the access and capacity to participate freely in shaping the policies, practices, and institutions that impact their everyday lives.

Racial Wealth Gap: As a product of centuries of policies and practices, extreme racial wealth inequality persists in the United States, especially among Black communities. We support efforts to repair this harm, build wealth, and address the root causes of the racial wealth gap.

Racism + Oppression: White supremacy is at the root of our society’s most unequal systems, institutions, and policies. We support efforts to build the infrastructure and capacity necessary to create systems that are free from oppression and allow us all to thrive.

Online Application: https://nathancummings.org/our-focus/racial-justice/

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Foundation: Paul M. Angell Family Foundation (PMAFF)
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Social Impact
Deadline: 7/10/2025
Award Amount: $50,000

Deadline is for Letter of Inquiry; Full Applications are by invitation only and are due 8/14/2025. Average grant amount $50,000. The PMAFF Social Impact program promotes equitable, safe, and thriving communities, particularly for low-income African, Latino/a, Asian, Arab and Native American (ALAANA) individuals. Achieving this goal requires long-term, comprehensive approaches led by those closest to the challenges and the possibilities.

The PMAFF is committed to understanding and addressing the root causes of persistent inequities for ALAANA families and communities, including the profoundly harmful impacts of structural racism and white supremacy. We fund efforts that promote access to meaningful life opportunities, such as quality education, networks of support and healing, and financial assets and employment. We also support antiracist education, organizing, and advocacy efforts that have strong potential to advance meaningful systemic change.

Public and private disinvestment has created unjust inequities in almost every realm of social, economic, and civic life of many ALAANA communities. At the same time, every neighborhood is home to creative and resilient individuals, families, businesses, and institutions. The PMAFF Social Impact program seeks to recognize both of these realities while it learns from and supports thoughtful and strategic changemakers. Our priority areas are Education, Economic Empowerment, and Justice.

Emailed Application: https://pmaff.org/for-applicants/our-funding/

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Foundation: Russell Sage Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context
Deadline: 7/16/2025
Award Amount: $200,000

Deadline is for Letter of Inquiry; Full Applications are by invitation only and are due 10/27/2025. The Russell Sage Foundation’s (RSF) core program on Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context merges its long-standing program on Behavioral Economics and its special initiative on Decision Making and Human Behavior in Context. This program encourages perspectives from multiple disciplines, including economics, psychology, political science, sociology, law, public policy, and other social sciences, to further our understanding of economic, social, and political decision-making processes, attitudes, behaviors, and institutional practices in public and private contexts such as policing/criminal legal systems, employment, housing, politics, racial/ethnic relations, and immigration.

The term “behavior” is used in multiple ways across disciplines. Behavioral observation has long been used for psychological research on human behavior. Experimental psychologists conduct experiments to learn more about why people take certain actions. Behavioral economists focus on the decision-making processes of individuals and institutions. In political science, the subfield of political behavior focuses on attitudes. Sociologists study how human behavior is shaped by the groups to which people belong and by the social interactions that occur within those groups. Social scientists across these areas have evaluated interventions in ongoing policies and programs to test the effectiveness of their theories and models. The foundation seeks applications from all of these perspectives regarding how they affect individual, group, and institutional behaviors and social structures.

Online Applications: https://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/behavioral-science-decision-making

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Foundation: Russell Sage Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Future of Work (Fow)
Deadline: 7/16/2025
Award Amount: $200,000

Deadline is for Letter of Inquiry; Full Applications are by invitation only and are due 10/27/2025. The Russell Sage Foundation’s program on the Future of Work supports innovative research on the causes and consequences of changes in the quality of jobs for low- and moderately paid workers and their families in the U.S. We seek investigator-initiated research proposals that will broaden our understanding of the role of changes in employer practices, the nature of the labor market and public policies on employment, earnings, and job quality. We are especially interested in proposals that address questions about the interplay of market and non-market forces in shaping the wellbeing of workers.

RSF prioritizes analyses that make use of newly available data or demonstrate novel uses of existing data. We support original data collection when a project is focused on important program priorities, projects that conduct survey or field experiments and qualitative studies. RSF encourages methodological variety and inter-disciplinary collaboration. Proposed projects must have well-developed conceptual frameworks and rigorous research designs. Analytical models must be well-specified and research methods must be appropriate.

Online Applications: https://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/future-work

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Foundation: Russell Sage Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration
Deadline: 7/16/2025
Award Amount: $200,000

Deadline is for Letter of Inquiry; Full Applications are by invitation only and are due 10/27/2025. The Russell Sage Foundation’s program on Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration supports innovative investigator-initiated research that examines the roles of race, ethnicity, nativity, legal status —and their interactions with each other and other social categories—in the social, economic, and political outcomes for immigrants, U.S.-born racial and ethnic minorities, and native-born whites.

RSF encourages multi-disciplinary perspectives and methods that both strengthen the data, theory, and methods of social science research and improve our understanding of how to foster the ideals of a pluralist society. Proposals may focus on any one or more of the issues—race, and/or ethnicity, and/or immigration.

Online Applications: https://www.russellsage.org/research/race-ethnicity-immigration

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Foundation: Russell Sage Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Social, Political, and Economic Inequality
Deadline: 7/16/2025
Award Amount: $200,000

Deadline is for Letter of Inquiry; Full Applications are by invitation only and are due 10/27/2025. The Russell Sage Foundation’s (RSF) program on Social, Political, and Economic Inequality supports original research on the factors that contribute to social, political, and economic inequalities in the U.S., and the extent to which those inequalities affect social, political, psychological, and economic outcomes, including educational and labor market opportunities and consequences, social and economic mobility within and across generations, and civic participation and representation.

We seek innovative investigator-initiated research that will expand our understanding of social, political, and economic inequalities and the mechanisms by which these inequalities influence the lives of individuals, families, communities, and the country. We welcome projects that explore the relevance of socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, gender, geographic, immigration or other statuses for the distribution of social, political, and economic outcomes within and across different status groups.

Online Applications: https://www.russellsage.org/research/funding/social-inequality

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Foundation: John Templeton Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Dynamics of Religious Change
Deadline: 8/15/2025
Award Amount: $250,000
Deadline is for Online Funding Inquiry; Full Proposals are by invitation only and are due 1/16/2026. Average grant amount $250,000. We catalyze scientific research into the trends and dynamics of religious and spiritual beliefs, practices, and identities. We value research that explores religious change from numerous disciplinary perspectives and at multiple scales, ranging from individual religious expressions to global religious patterns. We encourage proposals to apply innovative methodological approaches to describing and explaining the complexities of religious change and the transmission of religious information. Building on earlier grant-making, we seek to support researchers from across the social, cognitive, and behavioral sciences in examining four themes:

• Individual change
• Information transmission.
• Institutional innovation
• International trends

Online Application: https://www.templeton.org/project/dynamics-of-religious-change

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Foundation: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Civil Society
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $50,000

Rolling deadline for Letters of Inquiry; full proposals are by invitation only. Average grant size is $50,000. Local communities are where people most directly relate to the social, economic and political processes taking place in their countries, and where they can be most active in shaping them. That’s why our Civil Society grantmaking focuses on building vibrant communities where all people can engage in decision-making that affects their day-to-day lives.

We work with grantees to strengthen the space for civic engagement, enhance local philanthropy and increase access to justice so all communities can address challenges and seize opportunities that lie ahead.

Program Areas:

• Strengthening Civic Space
• Enhancing Community Philanthropy
• Increasing Access to Justice
• Special Initiatives

Online Application: https://www.mott.org/work/civil-society/

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Foundation: Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Community Life
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $50,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Trustees support programs and projects that add an important dimension to community life. The Foundation affirms the importance of local initiatives, which encourage economic development and promote job creation.

Online Application: https://hhgadowfdn.org/grants/

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Foundation: Hearst Foundations
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Social Service
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $100,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. The Hearst Foundations fund direct-service organizations that tackle the roots of chronic poverty by applying effective solutions to the most challenging social and economic problems. The Foundations prioritize supporting programs that have proven successful in facilitating economic independence and in strengthening families. Preference is also given to programs with the potential to scale productive practices in order to reach more people in need.

Preference will be given to:

• Affordable housing
• Domestic violence victims
• Economic development with a focus on environmental sustainability
• Food banks and food delivery, provided services are program-related
• Job creation and job training
• Legal services for those in need of legal representation
• Prison education and reentry programs
• Youth development
• An organization’s national headquarters for wider initiatives instead of local chapters

Online Application: https://www.hearstfdn.org/social-service/funding-priorities

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Foundation: Social Science Research Council
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Arnold Ventures Criminal Justice Innovation Fellowships
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $120,000

The Fellow may reside in a location of their choosing and will receive a stipend of $120,000 with an additional supplement of $30,000 for benefits, research expenses, and travel. To secure more effective and equitable criminal justice practices, we need to innovate and evaluate new policy solutions that can be adopted by local, state, and federal policy makers.

The Arnold Ventures Criminal Justice Innovation Fellowships support post-doctoral fellows who are pursuing policy-relevant causal research designed to innovate and evaluate cost-effective and scalable policy solutions that advance the efficacy and equity of criminal justice practices.

We invite applications for a fellowship to begin in September 2025, for a period of up to two years. The Fellow will be expected to conduct research relevant to criminal justice practices in the United States, and will be required to devote up to 25% of their time to work on Arnold Ventures research projects.

The Fellow will need to have received a Ph.D. no earlier than September 2020 and no later than September 2025. The Fellow may reside in a location of their choosing and will receive a stipend of $120,000 with an additional supplement of $30,000 for benefits, research expenses, and travel.

Online Application: https://www.ssrc.org/programs/arnold-ventures-criminal-justice-innovation-fellowships/

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Foundation: Henry Luce Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Democracy, Ethics, & Public Trust
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $150,000

Rolling deadline for Concept Form; full application is by invitation only. Average grant is $150,000. The Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust (DEPT) Initiative helps grantees ‌reimagine and reinvigorate democratic culture and practices by expanding networks and encouraging new research and approaches. DEPT turns its goals into reality by funding institutions and projects designed to create equitable and accessible media and information ecosystems, and by fostering enthusiastic community participation in policy development.

The Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust Initiative welcomes proposals related to its three focus areas:

• Information Ecosystems
• Communities and Governments
• Confidence in Democracies

Online Application: https://hluce.org/programs/democracy-ethics-public-trust/

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Foundation: Carnegie Corporation of New York
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: International Peace and Security Program
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $14,000- $1,800,000

Letters of Intent may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a Rolling basis. Full Proposals by invitation only. The goal of this program is to build a more secure, peaceful, and prosperous world through independent analysis and action addressing critical global challenges.

The focus areas are as follows:

• Nuclear Security: with the aim of reducing the risks posed by nuclear weapons;
• Global Dynamics: with the aim of reducing the risks to global stability;
• Transnational Movements and the Arab Region: with the overarching goal of bringing Arab-region expertise to bear on transnational issues;
• Peacebuilding in Africa: with the aim of bolstering Africa’s peacebuilding efforts;
• Cross-cutting challenges and Special Initiatives: to foster more informed policymaking.

Online Application: https://www.carnegie.org/programs/international-peace-and-security/

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Foundation: Hudson Webber Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Community & Economic Development
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $10,000- $2,000,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Letters of Inquiry are accepted on continuous basis; Full Proposals are by invitation only. The Hudson-Webber Foundation invests in community and civic efforts that provide high quality jobs for all Detroiters, strengthen neighborhoods to provide opportunities and quality of life for residents, and help achieve stable racial and economic diversity and interconnectedness.

Online application: https://hudson-webber.org/mission-areas/community-economic-development/

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Foundation: Hudson Webber Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Safe & Just Communities
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $10,000- $2,000,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Letters of Inquiry are accepted on continuous basis; Full Proposals are by invitation only. The Foundation invests in innovative, racially equitable strategies that reduce crime and victimization and that improve community well-being. The Foundation is particularly focused on deterring crime and reducing recidivism through diversion and re-entry interventions and by strengthening relationships between law enforcement and residents that enable the co-production of public safety.

Online application: https://hudson-webber.org/mission-areas/safe-just-communities/

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Foundation: Carnegie Corporation of New York
Topic: Social Science
Program: Democracy Program
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $3,500,000

The goal of the Democracy program is to foster a pluralistic, vibrant democracy through the civic integration of immigrants, support for nonpartisan voter registration and education, and voting rights. Under this program, Carnegie has the following Focus Areas:

• Field Building: We support national nonprofit groups that educate, coordinate, and strengthen a field made up of locally based organizations dealing with challenges to democracy, immigration, voting, and related issues. These challenges result from the dearth of effective federal policies needed to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all people in the United States.
• Strategic Communications: The Democracy program's support for strategic communications is designed to promote intelligent, unbiased, nonpartisan news coverage to deepen public understanding of civic issues like voting rights, voter engagement, immigration, and the census.
• Policy Development: The Corporation funds original research on important issues, including voting rights, voter participation, immigration, citizenship, and the census, in order to improve federal and state policies regarding immigrant integration and civic engagement
• Nonpartisan Voter Engagement and Voting Rights: Engaged citizens, those who care about and work to preserve our democracy help ensure that government policies reflect the concerns of constituents. A democracy, by definition, gives eligible citizens the right to vote for their elected representatives.

Online Application: https://www.carnegie.org/programs/strengthening-democracy/

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Foundation: Arnold Ventures
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Causal Research on Community Safety and the Criminal Justice System
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $5,000,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. First step in the Application is a Letter of Interest submitted through Survey Monkey; full applications are by invitation only. Arnold Ventures (AV) is a nonpartisan philanthropy whose core mission is to invest in evidence-based solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice. AV focuses on correcting system failures in the United States through evidence-based solutions.

AVs’ Criminal Justice Initiative seeks to generate new evidence to inform policies that will make communities safer and make the criminal justice system more fair and effective. This Request for Proposals (RFP) from the Criminal Justice Initiative (CJI) seeks letters of interest to conduct causal research projects of policies, practices, and interventions related to community safety and the criminal justice system.

Online Application: https://assets.arnoldventures.org/uploads/Causal-Research-on-Community-Safety-in-Criminal-Justice-System.pdf?_gl=1*14eq5sp*_gcl_au*MjI2MTY4NTM1LjE3NDc2NjM5Nzc.*_ga*OTU3ODk5NjQ3LjE3NDc2NjM5Nzc.*_ga_J00GFVDRJS*czE3NDc2NjM5NzckbzEkZzEkdDE3NDc2NjQzNDgkajYwJGw

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Foundation: Glaser Progress Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Independent Media
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $5,000,000

Mission: Strengthen democracy by making independent voices heard.

Description: In his book The Media Monopoly Ben Bagdikian writes, "The object of reform is not to silence voices but to multiply them, not to foreclose ideas but to awaken them." Without a strong and diverse community of independent voices, we cannot build a global democracy much less protect our own. The goal of independent media is not to comfort or sell but to inspire and mobilize. It currently serves what Howard Zinn calls the "unreported resistance," the "permanent adversarial culture" - but its real ambition is to give voice to the world's silent majority.

Mail or Email Application: https://www.glaserprogress.org/program_areas/independent_media.asp

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Foundation: Glaser Progress Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Measuring Progress
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $5,000,000

How we measure progress reveals our values and shapes our future. So what does America's portrait of progress tell us about our collective values and goals? The traditional portrait presented by most of our media and political leaders includes the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and stock market. But do such measures really reflect our most cherished values and aspirations? As we enter the 21st century, it is time to begin measuring what we value rather than valuing what we measure.

Mail or Email Application: https://www.glaserprogress.org/program_areas/measuring_progress.asp

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Foundation: Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Caregivers
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $6,000,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Rolling deadline for Letter of Inquiry;  full proposals are by invitation only and are due subsequently. There are more than 40 million family members—spouses, daughters, sons, grandchildren—and friends in the United States caring for older adults, a number that will grow dramatically in the coming years. And while many don’t call themselves “caregivers,” they often share that providing care for a loved is a rewarding, yet challenging journey—one they wouldn’t change, but one that requires broad communities of support to succeed.

The Foundation is investing in supporting their journey by elevating the importance of their efforts, strengthening those communities and networks, and by supporting providers whose resources and expertise can make the challenging journey more rewarding and easier to navigate. Similarly, paid caregivers are in more demand than ever as the “Boomer” generation ages. Family and friends rely on direct care workers to complement their support, provide opportunities for respite and bring expertise to the journey. We aim to elevate their critical roles by highlighting the often-hidden value and contributions they make to families and communities every day. We’ll do this by investing in efforts to make these jobs more desirable and rewarding with career paths designed to support their success and fill the growing demand.

Online Application: https://www.ralphcwilsonjrfoundation.org/our-focus/caregivers/

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Foundation: Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation
Topic: Social Science
Program Name: Entrepreneurship and Economic Development
Deadline: Rolling
Award Amount: $6,000,000

Must coordinate with Foundation Relations. Rolling deadline for Letter of Inquiry;  full proposals are by invitation only and are due subsequently. Several years into recovery after a decades-long economic slide in both Southeast Michigan and Western New York, the Foundation’s investments in Entrepreneurship & Economic Development look to leverage this momentum by spurring small business growth, place-based community and economic development, and talent attraction and retention.

In each region, the Foundation seeks to strengthen the entrepreneurial support system from grassroots to high growth by helping entrepreneurs access critical resources and technical assistance, so they can get what they need to start or grow their businesses. Such support can mean better access to capital and business planning resources, as well as capacity-building support and more. Lack of access to these resources is particularly acute with women and minority entrepreneurs, and the Foundation supports efforts to attain and sustain economic growth that is inclusive and equitable.

In addition, the Foundation focuses on place-based investments in key commercial corridors located in underinvested areas, all to help support neighborhood job growth, build community wealth, and generate regional economic development in our communities.

Online Application: https://www.ralphcwilsonjrfoundation.org/our-focus/entrepreneurship-and-economic-development/

 

 

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