Internal Funding Sources

Management/Economics (p. 2)

• HSS--Margaret W. Rossiter History of Women in Science Prize
• Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Grants Program
• JSPS--Fellowship for Research in Japan--Short-Term Program
• Joyce Foundation Employment Grants
• Kellogg Foundation Grants Program
• Kennedy Library Foundation--Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Research Fellowship
• Kennedy Library Foundation--Marjorie Kovler Research Fellowship
• KPMG Peat Marwick Fndn.--Professorships
• McDonnell Fndn.--21st Century Sci. Collab. Awds.--Studying Complex Systems
• Mott Foundation Grants Program
• NAFSA Cooperative (COOP) Minigrants
• NASA--Unsolicited Proposals
• NCIIA--Advanced E-Team Grants
• NCIIA--Course and Program Grants
• NREL Research Associates Research Participation Program
• NSF--Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER)
• OPP--Arctic Social Sciences Program
• RGK Foundation Grants Program
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation--Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research
• Rockefeller Family Fund--Grants Program
• Rockefeller Foundation--Working Communities Program
• Russell Sage Foundation--Research Grants
• SBE--INT--Joint Seminars and Workshops
• Sloan Foundation Grants Program
• Smith Richardson Foundation--Grants Program
• Spencer Foundation Grants Program
• Svenska Institutet--Exchange of Experts
• Truman Library Institute--Research Grants
• VSF--Global Structures and Governance
• VWF--Unity Amidst Variety? Requirements for an Enlarged Europe
• Urban Fellows Program

Sponsor:History of Science Society
Deadline(s): April 1, annually

Objectives:
The prize is given to recognize an outstanding book on the history of women in science. Included in the topic "women in science" are discussions of women's activities in science, analyses of past scientific practices that deal explicitly with gender, and investigations regarding women as viewed by scientists. These may be related to medicine, technology, and the social sciences as well as the natural sciences.

Sponsor:Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission
Deadline(s):March 1, August 1, annually

Objectives:
The sponsor supports training, education and information to help prepare Americans to meet the challenges and opportunities in the current U.S.-Japan relationship. It supports grants under the following six areas: Japanese Studies in the U.S.; Public Affairs/Education; Study of the U.S. in Japan;and the Arts.

Eligibility:
Any non-profit organization (think tank, research institute, university, etc.) that deals with policy research, Japanese studies, the study of the U.S., public affairs or the arts may apply.

Sponsor:Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Deadline(s):May and November annually

Objectives:

This programme provides the opportunity for special short-term visits for a quota of ten young pre- and post-doctoral researchers for cooperative research with leading research groups at Japanese Universities and Institutions.  The programme is designed to provide the opportunity for researchers to experience firsthand the research and living environment in Japan, whilst expanding academic exchange between Japan and the United Kingdom.  Researchers of all fields of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences are eligible to apply.

Restrictions:
Eligible candidates are senior scientists, university professors, and other persons with substantial professional experience. The applicant must also be a citizen of a country that has diplomatic relations with Japan. Applications must be filed by a Japanese scientist who seeks to invite a foreign scientist for a research visit to Japan. Applications submitted directly by foreign scientists or through diplomatic channels are ineligible. Foreign scientists who wish to participate are advised to contact Japanese researchers in the same field and to have them submit an application to the sponsor.

Fellowship duration is fourteen to sixty days. The fellowship includes round-trip air fare, a daily maintenance allowance of 18,000 yen, a domestic research travel allowance of 150,000 yen, and accident and sickness insurance coverage. In FY 2001 a total of 195 fellowships will be granted. Application forms and guidelines are available from the Japanese scientist. Applicants in the U.S may also contact the sponsor's Washington Liaison Office, Suite 920, 1800 K. Street N.W., Washington, DC 20006, telephone 202-659-8190, fax 202-659-8199, email: webmaster@jspsusa.org.

Sponsor:Joyce Foundation
Deadline(s): April 13, August 19 and December 8, annually
Objectives:
The sponsor supports initiatives that promise to: improve state job-training and welfare-to-work policies to provide high-quality workforce preparation for low-income people; help translate lessons about successful workforce preparation strategies into policy; make sure that welfare policies incorporate effective education and training strategies that can move people not just off the welfare rolls but toward economic self-sufficiency; explore development of publicly-funded jobs programs for people who lack skills and work experience to break into the private job market; and assess the impact of state and federal welfare policies on the economic prospects of poor people to help guide the policymaking process. The sponsor does not provide operating support for direct services, such as job training and placement services for individuals.

Eligibility:
Eligible applicants are tax-exempt, public organizations that have an impact on the Great Lakes region, specifically the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Sponsor:Kellogg (W. K.) Foundation
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor supports educational and service projects of potential national or international importance that emphasize the application of new knowledge in addressing significant human problems. Awards generally provide seed money for pilot projects to organizations and institutions that have identified and analyzed problems and have designed constructive action programs and practical solutions. The sponsor provides funding support in the following areas:

RURAL DEVELOPMENT--support projects to fund collaborative, comprehensive approaches to rural development that emphasize community problem solving, leadership development, delivery of human services, and training of local government officials. Strategies include: supporting comprehensive rural community development efforts through leadership development for citizens and public officials, programs linking (health, education, agriculture, leadership, youth development, and philanthropy and volunteerism) to address complex, community-based issues, and efforts that enhance economic development; supporting the development of a well-integrated policy network to overcome the negative impacts of distance, isolation, and separation by funding models for using new technologies, education of rural development professionals and ongoing support through national networks, and development, testing, and dissemination of policies appropriate to rural areas.

Certain funding interests of the sponsor are referred to as cross-cutting themes. Requests for funds in these areas often are a part of a request within one of the major programming areas:

LEADERSHIP--support programs that improve the ability of leaders in a variety of fields to find creative solutions to problems that face institutions and communities. The sponsor also helps new and established leaders develop broad perspectives about local and national issues and problems.

CAPITALIZING ON DIVERSITY--supports efforts that help society to maximize the human resource potential of diversity, and capitalize on the opportunities it presents. The aim is to give voice to underrepresented populations by enabling them to share their needs and concerns with other citizens and with policymakers.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT--support comprehensive approaches which integrate resources and foster cooperation at the family, neighborhood, community and policy levels.

Restrictions:
Grants are made to nonprofit organizations and institutions in the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean, and southern Africa. Funding varies from proposal to proposal. The sponsor does not make loans and does not provide grants for operational phases of established programs; capital facilities, equipment, or conferences; publications, films, or television or radio programs unless they are an integral phase of a project being funded; endowments or development campaigns; religious purposes; or individuals (except for fellowships in specific areas of sponsor programming).

The sponsor funds research only as part of a broader, sponsor-supported, program of action, including investigation of the effects of the funded project's results. Application forms are not used by the sponsor. Instead, grant applicants are required to write a one- or two-page pre-proposal letter describing the basic problem and the applicant's plan for solving the problem. If the proposal is within the sponsor's guidelines and interests, a detailed proposal will be requested. Guidelines are available.

Sponsor:Kennedy (John F.) Library Foundation
Deadline(s): August 15, annually

Objectives:
The sponsor supports research and use of the archival, manuscript, and audiovisual holdings of the Kennedy Library. Fellowships are intended to support scholars in the production of substantial works on the foreign policy of the Kennedy years, especially with regard to the western hemisphere, or on Kennedy domestic policy, especially with regard to racial justice and to the conservation of natural resources. Successful candidates will develop at least a portion of their work from original research in archival materials from the collections of the Kennedy Library and related materials.

Sponsor:Kennedy (John F.) Library Foundation
Deadline(s): March 15, annually

Objectives:
The sponsor supports research and use of the archival, manuscript and audiovisual holdings of the Kennedy Library. The fellowship is intended to support a scholar in the production of a substantial work in the area of foreign intelligence and the presidency or a related topic. The successful candidate will develop at least a portion of his or her work from original research in archival materials from the collections of the Kennedy Library.

Sponsor:KPMG Peat Marwick Foundation
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor establishes and awards professorships to honor outstanding faculty who have demonstrated quality accounting education and research at colleges and universities in the U.S.

Restrictions:
Eligible applicants are accounting faculty at colleges and universities in the U.S.; there are no citizenship restrictions. Professorships are awarded based on availability. Approximately forty-five professorships have been established. Interested applicants should contact the sponsor for more information about this program.

Sponsor:McDonnell (James S.) Foundation
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor provides support for collaborative activity awards to initiate interdisciplinary discussions on problems or issues, to support interdisciplinary research networks on specific topics, or to fund communities of researchers/practitioners dedicated to developing new methods, tools, and applications of basic research to applied problems. Grants in this program area will support scholarship and research involving the development of theories and models that can be applied to the study of complex, nonlinear systems. It is anticipated that research funded in this program will address issues in bio-diversity, energy, climate, demography, epidemiology, technological change, economic development, governance, or computation. However, the program's emphasis will be on the development and application of theoretical models used in these research fields and not on the particular fields per se.

Restrictions:
Eligible applicants are researchers/practitioners. All proposed activities must involve multi-institutional collaboration. The lead applicant must be sponsored by a nonprofit institution; international applications are encouraged. The size of and budgets for collaborative activities will vary greatly depending on the scope of the proposed problem or project and on the number of people involved. The sponsoring institution must agree to waive all indirect and administrative costs. Applications and guidelines are available.

Sponsor:Mott (Charles Stewart) Foundation
Deadline(s):Open

Objectives:
The sponsor is particularly interested in fresh approaches to solving community problems; approaches that, if proven successful, can generate long-term support from other sources and/or that can be replicated in other communities when appropriate; public policy development as well as research and development activities to further existing programs as well as to explore new fields of interest; and approaches and activities that lead to systemic change. The sponsor's four areas of support are:

CIVIL SOCIETY--This program seeks to strengthen citizen and nonprofit sector engagement in support of free and pluralistic democratic societies, with primary geographic focus on the United States, Central/Eastern Europe and Russia, South Africa, and at the global level. Programming addresses three thematic objectives that provide coherence across program areas: strengthening the nonprofit sector; promoting citizen rights and responsibilities; and improving race and ethnic relations.

PATHWAYS OUT OF POVERTY--The program seeks to identify, test, and help sustain pathways out of poverty for low-income people and communities. The sponsor emphasizes grantmaking in four areas:

• the improvement of community education by building a continuum of quality learning opportunities that stretches from the preschool years through preparation for higher education and the work force
• the expansion of economic opportunity for those in or at risk of persistent poverty by promoting policies and programs that increase income security, help people connect to the labor market and enable them to advance into better-quality, higher-paying jobs
• the building of organized communities to enhance the variety, geographic spread, power, and effectiveness of the community-organizing field in order to strengthen and sustain the involvement of low-income communities in democratic processes of social engagement
• the reduction of poverty through special initiatives that sustain promising practices and promote innovative and multidisciplinary approaches, including transitions to maintain a critical presence in the fields of micro-enterprise and teen pregnancy prevention.

ENVIRONMENT--This program is to support the efforts of an engaged citizenry working to create accountable and responsive institutions, sound public policies, and appropriate models of development that protect the diversity and integrity of selected ecosystems in North America and around the world.

EXPLORATORY AND SPECIAL PROJECTS--The sponsor supports exploratory initiatives that may lead to a formal program area over time or unexpected opportunities that address significant international and/or national problems. This program was established as a home for innovative and experimental grantmaking. In addition, strategic planning for the sponsor's future efforts to support the field of historically black colleges and universities is continuing under this program.

Restrictions:
Applications may be submitted at any time; however, applications should be submitted at least four months prior to the start of the proposed grant period. Grant decisions for any given year are made by September 1 of that year; applicants are encouraged to submit proposals during the first quarter of which funding is requested. Eligible applicants are tax-exempt organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Grants are not made to individuals. The sponsor accepts both multi- and single-year proposals, as well as those for shorter periods. Available grant funds vary among the sponsor's programs and program areas. The sponsor makes grants in the U.S., and on a limited basis internationally.

About twenty-five percent of the sponsor's grants are international. Support is generally provided for demonstration, action-oriented projects. Previous support has included funding for research and development activities to advance concepts to the demonstration stage or to explore new interests; support may also be provided for program-related investments, as direct technical or fundraising assistance, or to assist with the dissemination of findings. Outside the Flint, MI area, capital and endowment support is only available when it is necessary to carry out or advance the sponsor's other objectives. Research is supported only when it is instrumental for planning, implementing, or evaluating grantmaking activities in a particular program area or for strengthening relevant public policy.

Grants are not provided for religious activities. Grants are not made for local projects outside the Flint area, unless projects are part of a national demonstration or sponsor-planned network of grants and have clear and significant implications for replication in other communities. Application guidelines are available. Videotapes are discouraged; letters of inquiry are encouraged. The sponsor's publication request line for U.S. and Canada is (800) 645-1766.

Sponsor:NAFSA: Association of International Educators
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor provides seed money for campus- or community-initiated projects that creatively involve international and U.S. study abroad students in U.S. campuses and communities. Support is provided for innovative projects that encourage foreign students and scholars attending U.S. colleges and universities to become involved in and knowledgeable about U.S. culture and society apart from their study/research programs. Projects must also enhance the experience of U.S. students involved in study abroad programs prior to their departure or upon their return and/or stimulate and strengthen interaction among international students, their U.S. peers, faculty, and communities.

While all proposals are considered, the sponsor is particularly interested in proposals related to the following theme, titled "The New Millennium: Shared Realities and Responsibilities." The themes are designed to foster mutual exploration by international students, U.S. students and community members of the issues and possibilities facing humankind in the new millennium. The four themes are: the changing global and local economies; the environment and sustainable development, the Information Revolution; and social values. Support is provided for new projects that will serve as models for adaptation and replication in other settings. Ongoing programs, accredited courses, basic services of an institution, or activities constituting an essential part of the mission of an organization involved in international educational exchange are not supported by the sponsor.

Restrictions:
Grants are awarded to higher education institutions and nonprofit and community organizations. Applications may be submitted by community volunteer organizations, community nonprofit organizations, international student and U.S. study abroad campus offices, residence hall programs, health and counseling services, disabled student services, faculty departments, and student organizations. The sponsor is particularly interested in receiving proposals from minority-serving institutions, community organizations, and two-year/community colleges. Grants are not awarded to individuals or K-12 institutions. Only one grant per office within an institution or community group will be funding during a given grant cycle. Membership in NAFSA is not required. All funds must be spent in the U.S.

Award amounts range from $101 to $2,000. Duration of the grant is a maximum of one year; all projects must be completed by June 30. Cost sharing of one hundred percent is expected either through cash contributions or in-kind support. Funding for the following items will not be considered by the sponsor: academic activities/costs, including credit-bearing activities, tuition, scholarships, and research/dissertations/theses; entertainment; fundraising; non-expendable items; refreshments for stand-alone receptions or receptions tangential to the project; curriculum development; indirect expenses/overhead; long-distance travel (domestic or international); miscellaneous items, including contingency items; production of videos; and salary for full-time paid staff. Application forms and guidelines are available. Applications submitted by fax are not accepted. For general inquiries, e-mail the sponsor at inbox@nafsa.org.

Sponsor:National Aeronautics & Space Administration
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor provides support for the submission of unique and innovative unsolicited proposals which will further the Agency's mission. In general, the unsolicited approach is most appropriate for research of a fundamental nature which has potential for advancing the state of the art in a particular area, contributes to knowledge of a specific phenomenon, or provides fundamental advances in engineering or the sciences. At the Kennedy Space Center, unsolicited research proposals will be accepted in the following areas:

• Fluids and Fluid Systems
• Materials Evaluation
• Process Engineering
• Command, Control, and Monitor Systems
• Range Systems
• Logistics
• Safety and Mission Assurance
• Environmental Engineering and Management
• Workforce Development and Management Systems
• Information Systems
• Simulation
• Biological Payload Processing

Restrictions:
There are no specific dates for the submission of unsolicited proposals. However, funding availability is greater during the start of the Government's fiscal year cycle beginning October 1 of each year. All proposals should be submitted at least six months in advance of the desired starting date. Eligible applicants are educational, nonprofit, industry and for-profit private sector institutions. Foreign organizations are also eligible. Collaborative applications are also acceptable; however the proposal should be submitted by only one of the organizations.

Proposals must state the funding level being requested accompanied by a cost plan with sufficient detail to permit an understanding of the basis of the funding request. As applicable, include separate cost estimates for the following:

• salaries, wages, and fringe benefits for each participant
• equipment
• expendable materials and supplies
• services
• domestic and foreign travel
• ADP expenses
• publication or page charges
• consultants; subcontracts with budget breakdowns
• other miscellaneous identifiable direct costs
• indirect costs.

By statute, cost sharing is usually required on contracts for basic or applied research projects resulting from unsolicited proposals. However, colleges and universities need not propose cost sharing.

The sponsor advises that contact between the proposer and NASA technical personnel is encouraged before an extensive effort is expended in preparing a detailed proposal. Organizations or individuals desiring more specific information relative to unsolicited proposals should contact the procurement office of the NASA Field Installation (listed above) or NASA Headquarters, Contract Management Division, Code HK, Washington, DC 20546-0001, phone 202-358-2090.

Sponsor:National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance
Deadline(s): May 8, 2009

Objectives:
Advanced E-Team Grants support later-stage development of an idea and the commercialization of an idea or concept. E-Teams may emerge from courses that received a Course and Program Grant, or may come from a non-related NCIIA-related source. E-Teams are groups of students working with faculty and mentoring professionals who join together to pursue the development of an idea, product, or invention, or to solve a problem in a way that has the promise of creating a licensable technology, product, or developing an enterprise that will generate jobs and social benefits.

Eligibility:
Students and/or faculty advisors may apply for Advanced E-Team grants. An E-Team should consist of at least two graduate or undergraduate students and a faculty advisor. In addition, the team should include industry and business development advisors and mentors. If members of an E-Team come from different schools, at least one of these schools must be an institutional member of the NCIIA and must administer the grant. E-Teams may form as part of a course or on the independent initiative of students, faculty, or other eligible members.

Sponsor:National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance
Deadline(s): May 8, 2009

Objectives:
Support is provided to generate and institutionalize E-Team programs and support existing efforts to teach invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship at schools across the country. This funding goes primarily to early stage E-Teams that form within a course. E-Teams are groups of students working with faculty and mentoring professionals who join together to pursue the development of an idea, product, or invention, or to solve a problem in a way that has the promise of creating a licensable technology, product, or developing an enterprise that will generate jobs and social benefits.

Eligibility:
Eligible applicants are faculty members, managers and administrators of business development and technology transfer entities affiliated with a university or college that is an institutional member of the NCIIA.

Sponsor:National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
Support is provided for an in-residence research program designed for scientists, engineers, and other professionals. The sponsor's research programs include:

• basic energy research
• photovoltaics
• wind energy
• building technologies
• biomass power
• biofuels
• fuels utilization
• solar industrial technologies
• solar thermal electric
• hydrogen
• geothermal power
• superconductivity
• economic and policy analysis of renewable technologies
• advanced vehicle technologies.

Eligibility:
Eligible applicants are senior scientists, engineers or other professionals with four to twelve years of experience.

Sponsor:National Science Foundation
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
Proposals for small-scale, exploratory, high-risk research in the fields of science, engineering and education normally supported by the sponsor may be submitted to individual programs. Such research is characterized as: preliminary work on untested and novel ideas; ventures into emerging research ideas; application of new expertise or new approaches to "established" research topics; having a severe urgency with regard to availability of, or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural disasters and similar unanticipated events; or efforts of similar character likely to catalyze rapid and innovative advances.

All areas supported by the sponsor are eligible, including biological sciences, computer and information sciences and engineering, education and human resources, engineering, geosciences, mathematics and physical sciences, and social, behavioral, and economic sciences.

Restrictions:
Scientists, engineers, and science educators may initiate proposals, which are typically submitted by their employing organizations, including colleges and universities, nonprofit, non-academic institutions (including research organizations), and for-profit organizations. The award amount will be substantially less than a given program's average award amount. The amount will not exceed $100,000. The project's duration will normally be one year, but may be up to two years. Renewed funding may be requested only through submission of a non-SGER proposal. For participating directorates, a small fraction of especially promising awards may be extended for a period of six additional months and supplemented with up to $50,000 in additional funding.

Award extensions will be possible for awards of two-year initial duration as well as for those of shorter duration. Indirect costs are allowed. The sponsor generally requires cost sharing on unsolicited research projects. Investigators are strongly encouraged to contact the NSF program(s) most germane to the proposal topic before submitting an SGER proposal. Submission of proposals through FastLane is encouraged.

Sponsor:National Science Foundation
Deadline(s):October 15 Annually

Objectives:
The sponsor supports arctic research within the social sciences. The program is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, encompassing anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, linguistics, political science, psychology, science studies, sociology, and related subjects. Although unsolicited proposals in any of the social sciences mentioned above are welcome, areas of particular interest include culture and environment, resources and economic change, development of social and political institutions, ethnic and regional identities, and knowledge systems.

The sponsor especially encourages projects that are circumpolar and/or comparative; involve collaborations between researchers and those living in the Arctic; or form connections among disciplines, regions, researchers, communities, and/or students (K-12, undergraduate, or graduate). Dissertation research proposals will be accepted.

Restrictions:
Proposals for field work should be submitted well in advance. Eligible applicants are those normally supported by the sponsor, including universities and colleges; non-profit, non-academic organizations; for-profit organizations; state and local governments; and unaffiliated researchers. For all Arctic Research Opportunities, approximately one hundred thirty to one hundred sixty awards, totaling $20-25 million, per year, are expected to be made, with a combination of standard and continuing awards. Sizes will vary depending on the type of work proposed. Indirect costs are allowed based on agreed upon rates. Cost-sharing at a minimum of one percent is required.

Application forms and guidelines are available. Proposals should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the Grant Proposal Guide (00-2), which may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, 301-947-2722, pubs@nsf.gov. Preliminary inquiry is encouraged. FastLane use is required.

Sponsor:RGK Foundation
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor supports research in the areas of medicine and education, with a focus on three main components: Educational, Medical and Community. Grants in these areas include support for research and conferences as well as support for programs that promote academic excellence in institutions of higher learning; programs that raise literacy levels; programs that attract minority and women students into the fields of math, science and technology; and programs that promote the health and well being of children.

The sponsor has supported studies in several areas of national and international concern including health, corporate governance, energy, economic analysis and technology transfer. Conferences supported by the sponsor have been designed to enhance information exchange as well as to develop linkages among business, academia, community and government.

Restrictions:
Eligible applicants are tax-exempt organizations. No funds are provided to individuals or to organizations limited by race or religion. Foreign organizations are eligible. Previous awards have ranged greatly, from less than $1,000 to $5 million. Support is generally provided for research and conferences. Funds are not available for facilities or equipment. Indirect costs are not allowed. Application forms and guidelines are available. Medical grant proposals should follow NIH guidelines. Requests from universities must be transmitted by the office of Chancellor, President, or Director of Development.

Sponsor:Johnson (Robert Wood) Foundation
Deadline(s): March 25, 2009

Objectives:
The program is intended to challenge investigators to think creatively about the policy implications and approaches to the most important problems affecting the health and health care of Americans. Examples include: exploring the underlying values, historical evolution, and interplay among the social, economic, and health policy in the U.S.; applying new perspectives from a variety of disciplines to analyze the underlying principles, organization, and functions of the health care and public health systems; analyzing social, political, and economic factors that influence the population's health; developing innovative ideas that hold promise for improving the performance of the health care system; and exploring the policy significance of existing studies concerning the functioning of the health care system and its participants.

Eligibility:
Applications are encouraged from investigators in diverse fields, including economics, sociology, political science, education, anthropology, history, health and social policy, public health, medicine, nursing, allied health, law, business, philosophy, ethics, journalism, social work, and the management sciences.

Sponsor:Rockefeller Family Fund
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor provides support for advocacy efforts in the following programs areas that are action-oriented and likely to yield tangible public policy results:

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY--encourages the organized participation of citizens in government, and seeks to make government more accountable and responsive. Grants in this program area support the efforts of nonpartisan organizations to help citizens exercise the right to vote, advocate for structural improvement to systems of government, and otherwise increase opportunities to participate in public policy formation. Particular emphasis is placed on the electoral process, but grants are not restricted to this arena.

Past projects have included support for public education and registration drives aimed at under-represented communities; organizing to build public support for campaign finance reform; advocacy to promote electronic disclosure of campaign contributions; and a broad range of program initiatives aimed at holding various government agencies accountable for their actions.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE FOR WOMEN--supports projects which promote economic justice. In particular, the program seeks to provide women with equitable employment opportunities and to improve their work lives. Past projects have included national advocacy, research, and public education effort aimed at achieving pay equity; support to state-level "economic agenda" coalitions to train women in leadership and public policy skills; advocacy efforts on behalf of contingent and part-time workers; a public education campaign designed to increase awareness of economic inequities women face in retirement; and advocacy designed to eliminate sex discrimination in the insurance industry.

INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIVENESS--helps provide organizations with the means to affect the policies and actions of public and private institutions. Previous awards have supported advocacy designed to reduce wasteful government spending; support for efforts to ensure that government records are open to the public and parallel efforts to oppose government secrecy; support for efforts to protect citizen privacy in the development of policies governing the Internet and electronic record keeping; funding to help non-profit advocacy groups gain access to or expand work-place giving programs; and grants to promote greater accountability of financial institutions to consumers and their communities.

ENVIROMENT-- supports program that emphasizes public education on the risk of global warming and implementation of sound solutions, conservation of natural resources, protection of health as affected by the environment, meaningful implementation and enforcement of the nation's environmental laws, and public participation in national environmental policy debates.

Restrictions:
Letters of inquiry may be sent at any time. Those applicants asked to submit a full proposal will then be provided with guidelines. Eligible applicants are U.S. tax-exempt organizations engaged in activities of national significance. In every program area, preference is given to entrepreneurial organizations that seek to maintain or expand their activities by raising money in innovative ways or from non-foundation sources. Grants are rarely made to organizations that traditionally receive popular support, such as universities, museums, hospitals, or endowed institutions.
The sponsor does not make grants for academic or scholarly research, or for social or human service programs. Grants are not made for individuals, scholarships, international programs, domestic programs dealing with international issues, profit-making businesses, construction or restoration projects, or efforts to reduce an organization's debt. The sponsor ordinarily does not consider projects which pertain to a single community, except in the rare instance where a project is unique, strategically placed to advance a national issue, or might clearly serve as a national model.

Recent grants ranged from $25,000 to $100,000. Grants are made for general support, which could include administrative expenses. Grants are normally made for no more than two years at a time, and except in extraordinary cases, are not given for more than three or four consecutive years. Guidelines for the letter of inquiry are available.

Sponsor:Rockefeller Foundation
Deadline(s): closed

Objectives:
The sponsor will provide support to transform poor urban neighborhoods into working communities (safe, healthy, and effective) by increasing employment rates, improving all urban schools, and enhancing participation of people who are poor and excluded in a democratic society. The program's objectives are to: keep equity and social justice on the public agenda, challenging social, economic and political barriers that continue to fuel poverty and racial exclusion; and enable poor and excluded communities to increase employment among its members, improve their public schools and strengthen democratic processes by enhancing meaningful participation of the poor and excluded in decisions that affect their lives.

The program will promote democracy in the United States through research, dialogue, and public policy analysis. This program has three subthemes:

SETTING A MORE EQUITABLE PUBLIC AGENDA--will fund research on: the consequences of economic, technological and demographic trends on the structure of work, and their impact on the least skilled, through a request for proposal process sponsored with the Russell Sage Foundation; and the structural components of racial and ethnic exclusion and their implications for democracy.

BUILDING COMPETENT ORGANIZATIONS--grantmaking is made through national initiatives that support community development corporations, by invitation to participate in city-specific initiatives to increase the scale and impact of reform in poor school districts, or work-force development providers serving very poor communities.

TESTING INNOVATIONS--will support well-designed and rigorously evaluated models to improve: employment access and advancement opportunities; the quality of education for poor and limited English-speaking children; and innovative solutions that increase voice and participation of the poor and excluded as an antidote to racial and ethnic exclusion.

Restrictions:
Eligible applicants are individuals and institutions who have the capabilities to meet the goals of the sponsor. Comparative international studies and exchanges to inform the U.S. agenda are also eligible. The sponsor does not give or lend money for personal aid to individuals, support attempts to influence legislation, or, except in rare cases, provide general institutional support, fund endowments or contribute to building and operating funds. Application guidelines are available. The sponsor recommends that the applicant send a brief letter of inquiry to determine whether the program permits consideration of the request.

Sponsor:Sage (Russell) Foundation
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
Grants support scholars at other institutions to pursue research projects that advance the sponsor's interests. The sponsor's grants are restricted to support for basic social science research within the announced programs. These currently include research on the future of work, immigration, cultural contact and social inequality.

Restrictions:
Proposals are reviewed throughout the year. However, all major proposals must be approved by the sponsor's Board of trustees, which meets at the end of February, June and October. Proposals must arrive at least eight weeks prior to a Board meeting in order to permit time for review. Grants generally average about $50,000 with a range running roughly from $10,000 to $200,000. The sponsor tends to provide support for analyzing data and writing up results more frequently than data acquisition. Indirect costs are allowed up to fifteen percent for grants over $35,000. No overhead is allowed on Presidential Authority grants. Awardees are generally expected to offer the sponsor the right to publish any book-length manuscript resulting from sponsor-supported research. A letter of inquiry is the preferred method of initial contact. Application guidelines are available.

Sponsor:National Science Foundation
Deadline(s):vary by country of cooperating institution

Objectives:
The Division of International Programs (INT) contributes to NSF's mission by promoting new partnerships between U.S. investigators and their colleagues in other countries, or new cooperative projects between established collaborators. Such activities may be in any field of science and engineering research and education supported by NSF.

Joint workshops and seminars are usually small and focused on a specific, well-defined research area. They are designed to identify common research priorities, and to explore possible areas of joint research cooperation. Workshops/seminars typically involve a U.S. co-organizer and an international co-organizer, who collaboratively design and implement the meeting, which can be held at either a U.S. or foreign location. INT provides support for ten to fifteen U.S. participants, with no more than two from the same U.S. institution. When workshops/seminars are held in the United States, support may also be provided for participants from developing countries or from those countries whose currency is not convertible.

Workshops/seminars normally involve a total of twenty-five to thirty-five participants. Foreign participants may come from more than one country. The pool of U.S. participants should include junior researchers, women and members of underrepresented groups, and/or graduate or undergraduate students. Participant diversity will be considered in making award decisions for support of workshops. The results should be broadly disseminated and, wherever possible, displayed in a workshop/seminar Web site.

Eligibility:
Proposals must be submitted by a U.S. institution on behalf of the participant(s).

Sponsor:Sloan (Alfred P.) Foundation
Deadline(s):Open

Objectives:
Grant requests can be made for support of activities related to the following areas of interest:

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE--seeks to improve understanding of the basic forces affecting American economic progress and the U.S. standard of living in the increasingly competitive world economy. Topics include: industry centers, human resources/jobs/income, globalization, role of the corporation, higher education as an industry, performance assessment of municipal governments, and dual-career middle-class working families.

SELECTED NATIONAL ISSUES--for projects that contribute to other major issues in a way appropriate to the sponsor's expertise and size.

CIVIC PROGRAM--for civic projects aimed at enhancing the economic of New York City. Grants are usually in areas related to other parts of the sponsor's program. One aspect of the program assists educational institutions to provide specialized education or other assistance to sectors of the city's economy where they have relevant expertise. Another aspect of the program brings together clusters of local economic actors when their interaction would benefit both groups. In addition to the grants made by the Trustees, officer grants are made to enable the sponsor to respond quickly to proposals for many activities, such as workshops, symposia, and conferences.

Restrictions:
Eligible applicants are tax-exempt domestic organizations, including colleges and universities. In the past, officer grants have ranged from $500 to $45,000, with very few toward the upper end of the range. Officer grants may not include any overhead charge; for trustee grants, at most, fifteen percent of direct project costs can be budgeted for overhead. The sponsor's activities normally do not extend to religion, the creative or performing arts, elementary or secondary education, medical research or health care, the humanities, or activities outside the U.S. Grants are not made for endowments or for buildings or equipment. The sponsor has no standard application forms. Often a brief letter of inquiry, rather than a fully developed proposal, is an advisable first step for an applicant. Guidelines are available.

Sponsor:Richardson (Smith) Foundation, Inc.
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor supports public policy research to ensure the vitality of U.S. social, economic, and governmental institutions. The development of effective policies to compete internationally and advance U.S. interests and values abroad is also supported. The mission of the sponsor is embodied in their domestic and international grant programs. Descriptions of the two programs are as follows:

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY -- The sponsor supports research and policy projects on issues central to the strategic interests of the United States. The sponsor believes that, although today's international problems differ significantly from those of the cold war, the United States continues to face the fundamental challenges of enhancing international order and advancing American interests and values abroad.

The program has a number of priority areas of interest, including: the critical political and economic developments that affect U.S. interests in Europe, the former Soviet Union, East Asia, and the Middle East; defining and analyzing important new challenges in the post-cold war security environment, such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the revolution in military affairs; and examining potential reform or reorganization of the principal instruments of U.S. security and foreign policy, such as the military force structure, the intelligence community, and foreign assistance programs. Within the academic community, the sponsor supports policy-relevant security studies research and underwrite historical research with clear implications or lessons for current policy. The sponsor also has a special program to assist junior faculty who are engaged in policy relevant research.

DOMESTIC PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM -- The sponsor supports projects on the problems of contemporary governance, such as entitlement and regulatory reform. In addition, the sponsor seeks to address such problems as the quality of the political process, the content of the news and entertainment media, and the operation of the legal system. Research, writing, and analysis that inform the thinking of policy makers and the public are sought concerning these areas. The sponsor also seeks opportunities to support the creation of innovative institutions and solutions that directly address issues in its areas of interest.

Restrictions:
Applications are accepted throughout the year. Eligible applicants are tax-exempt organizations. No grants are made to individuals. The sponsor also makes small grants to organizations in North Carolina and Connecticut that provide innovative services for children and families at risk. However, such grants are customarily solicited by the sponsor's Governors. They are not renewable. Direct service organizations located outside those two states, as well as national direct service charities, will not be considered for support by the local grants program.

Most grants typically range from $25,000 to $150,000. Decisions for grants greater than $50,000 and multi-year grants are made quarterly. Proposals for grants of $50,000 or less are reviewed on an ongoing basis and are handled as promptly as possible. No grants are made for the following: deficit funding of previously established projects; building or construction projects; arts and humanities projects; historic restoration projects; research projects in the physical sciences; renewals of local grant awards; evaluations of direct service organizations conducted internally; or educational or other support to individuals. Application guidelines are available. For initial inquiries, a concept paper or letter of application is sufficient.

Sponsor:Spencer Foundation
Deadline:Open

Objectives:
The sponsor's mission is to fund activities, anywhere in the world, which foster new ideas in education and encourage creativity. The sponsor prefers to fund specific initiatives that conform to the mission statement.

Eligibility:
The sponsor funds activities from anywhere in the world

Sponsor:Truman (Harry S.) Library Institute
Deadline(s):April 1 and October 1, annually

Objectives:
The sponsor supports opportunities to conduct research on the career of Harry S. Truman or the Truman Administration and use the archival facilities of the Truman Library. Preference will be given to projects that have application to enduring public policy and foreign policy issues and that have a high probability of being published or publicly disseminated in some other way. The potential contribution of a project to an applicant's development as a scholar will also be considered.

Restrictions:
Eligible applicants are graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and other researchers. Grants are up to $2,500 and are intended to cover round-trip travel and other expenses while grantees work at the Library for one to three weeks. Application guidelines are available.

Sponsor:VolkswagenStiftung Foundation
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
The sponsor wishes to support theoretical and empirical research into the possibilities of influencing and guiding global structures and patterns of order and the foundations, and problems and forms of transnational relations. Particularly welcome are projects which:

• Combine empirical research with the further development of concepts, methods and theories
• foster co-operation between scholars working on similar issues in different traditions and disciplines, including support for post-graduate training
• exchange of university and non-university based research, education and policy studies
• international scientific co-operation.

Applications are solicited not only from political scientists, economists and legal scholars, but also from the wider field of the social sciences and the humanities. Research into some questions may require interdisciplinary co-operation from scholars in the natural or technical sciences.

Priority has been assigned to underwriting projects which may provide insight into how processes of change can be managed on a global basis. Because the analysis of global processes, their susceptibility to managerial intervention, as well as the possibilities for global governance, may be addressed by different disciplines in somewhat different ways, the following research subjects are offered by way of example and should not be understood to exhaust the range of possible questions. The fragmented characterisation of the transformation process highlights the importance of ideas and norms for the development of analytical frameworks and categories for assessment. At the same time these images of the world and normative maxims serve as guideposts for actions.

Consequently they are important for the formation of order and for the management of relations. What needs to be examined empirically is how collectively held convictions influence international actors and how they provide solutions within and through the discourses of communicative action.

Restrictions:
The sponsor can only provide funding to academic institutions. Applications from abroad should give detailed information on the co-operation with academic institutions in Germany in the proposed project. The sponsor is willing to support: research projects (by provision of funds to cover personnel, running and non-recurrent expenditures, including travel allowances); scholarly meetings (workshops and summer schools) with a limited number of participants, and; junior scholars by the provision of research fellowships in research and training projects under the supervision of experienced scholars. Various possibilities may be combined in an application. Funding amounts will vary dependent on the proposal. Further details are available at the above address.

Sponsor:VolkswagenStiftung Foundation
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
Following the 1989/91 upheaval and the end of the East/West conflict, Europe is now presented with the opportunity to become an as yet unidentified unit with a single entity, comprising not only the countries of western, northern and southern Europe, but also the post-communist countries of eastern and south-eastern Europe. At the same time, a consensus has yet to be reached as to what exactly is constituted by Europe in geographical, historical and cultural terms. The sponsors new priority area supporting historical and contemporary research into eastern Europe is intended to provide new insights into the variety and heterogeneity of this cultural area with respect to its relations and connections with the rest of Europe, thereby enabling the foundations and requirements of current endeavours to enlarge Europe to be elucidated.

Political, social and economic considerations should be regarded as important aspects of intellectual and cultural life. The primary objective is to identify not only the similarities and parallels but also the differences and peculiarities with regard to developments in other parts of Europe and to examine processes of mutual influence and penetration of different cultures. For it is under the consideration of comparisons and the interactions between states and cultural areas that integration into a trans-national European context may become possible.

Since research into the requirements and bases of an extended Europe cannot be restricted to a national scale, but requires an international perspective, joint transnational research appears particularly appropriate. Emphasis will be placed on supporting joint research projects between German and foreign, in particular, East-European scientists. Funding will be available for all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. The sponsor attaches great importance to interdisciplinary co-operation.

Restrictions:
The sponsor can only provide funding to academic institutions. In the case of joint international projects, the sponsor expects the application to contain detailed information on a defined co-operation with academic institutions in Germany. The following are eligible for funding: research projects: by awarding personnel and non-personnel funding; scientific workshops for limited numbers of participants (max. 35) and involving young scholars; young (doctoral and post-doctoral) scholars by awarding grants within the framework of research and training projects, and; summer schools for teaching the basic methods and subjects while bringing together doctoral and post-doctoral scholars from different countries. Further information is available at the above address.

Sponsor:Blue Moon Fund (Jones (W. Alton) Foundation, Inc.)
Deadline(s): Open

Objectives:
Blue Moon Fund (BMF) is sponsoring a Fellows program aimed at cultivating cutting-edge approaches to the questions of human consumption, the natural world, and economic advancement. Fellows are chosen by the Fund based on their track record, progressive outlook and ability to engage in multi-disciplinary thinking. We intend to seek Fellows currently employed in the private sector or currently engaged with public benefit corporations and government. Fellows will be placed in non-profit organizations in an effort to expand their knowledge and gain hands-on experience. Additionally, it is hoped that the Fellow will operate as a catalyst for intellectual growth of programs within their placement organizations. Similarly these individuals will aid BMF in exploring new opportunities and growing the body of knowledge relevant to its other initiatives.

Restrictions:
The sponsor does not make grants to individuals or to conduit organizations that pass funds on to others. Organizations that have requested support and been declined within the previous calendar year are not eligible. The sponsor supports analyses, public education, public discussion and promotion of initiatives, and grassroots efforts. Support is not provided for building construction or renovation, scholarships, endowments, general support, international exchanges, conferences, basic research, or non-charitable purposes. Prospective applicants should first submit a brief letter of inquiry, describing the goals, proposed activities, and the amount of funding needed. If invited, full proposal guidelines will be provided.