GRANT FUNDING RESOURCES FOR
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
For PIs searching for funding opportunities to support educational initiatives, we recommend using the following resources to identify appropriate grant programs:
General Funding Sources
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The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) – Postsecondary Education Program – This Department of Education research program contributes to “improving access to, persistence in, and completion of postsecondary education,” particularly for at-risk students.
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Henry Luce Foundation – Higher Education Grants – “The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to bring important ideas to the center of American life, strengthen international understanding, and foster innovation and leadership in academic, policy, religious and art communities.”
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The Spencer Foundation – This foundation’s mission is to “investigate ways in which education, broadly conceived, can be improved around the world.” It funds grants focusing on several different aspects of higher education.
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Ford Foundation – Educational initiatives that align with Ford Foundation goals “to reduce poverty and injustice and to promote democratic values, international cooperation and human achievement” might apply for grants or fellowships.
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Lumina Foundation – This foundation provides funding for initiatives designed to “to increase awareness of the benefits of higher education, improve student access to and preparedness for college, improve student success in college and increase productivity across the higher education system.” You can follow the Lumina Foundation via monthly or daily emails or RSS feeds.
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The Teagle Foundation – This foundation is “committed to promoting and strengthening liberal education.” Their programs “generally encourage collaboration among institutions, seeking to generate new knowledge on issues of importance to higher education.”
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John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation - Funding priorities of MacArthur change, but the foundation is currently seeking grants on “Technology in the Public Interest” that could pertain to higher ed projects.
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Education Philanthropy Division of Ascedium Education Group - The funding division of Ascedium Education Group, a foundation with the “mission to make education and training beyond high school a reality for learners from low-income backgrounds.” Their funding division is “working to change postsecondary and workforce training systems so that low-income learners have the same opportunities for academic and career success. To that end, we award exploration, validation and scaling grants in four focus areas that foster upward social mobility.”
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Funding for Humanities Education
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National Endowment for the Humanities – Division of Education Programs – “Through its programs devoted to teachers and their students, the division strives to cultivate intellectual curiosity, so that students can deepen their reflections on human experience; increase their understanding of different cultures and societies, past and present; and achieve the knowledge and wisdom necessary for democratic citizenship.”
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National Endowment for the Humanities – Office of Digital Humanities – “Digital technology has changed the way scholars perform their work. It allows new questions to be raised and has radically changed the ways in which materials can be searched, mined, displayed, taught, and analyzed.” See the office’s list of grant opportunities for those that might have educational components.
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Note: Rutgers-Newark is an accredited Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). RU-N affiliates are encouraged to consider and apply to NEH grant programs with special funds or incentives.
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Funding for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Education
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National Institutes for Health (NIH) – R25 Education Projects – These grants are “For support to develop and/or implement a program as it relates to a category in one or more of the areas of education, information, training, technical assistance, coordination, or evaluation.” For currently available R25 grants, search here using the keyword “R25.” You can also subscribe to the NIH’s weekly email of all NIH grant opportunities.
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National Science Foundation (NSF) – Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) – This directorate includes the Division of Graduate Education (DGE), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), and Division of Research on Learning (DRL), all of which offer funding opportunities of potential interest to the Rutgers-Newark science, engineering, and mathematics community. The most recent EHR program announcements are available, and you can subscribe to these announcements via email or RSS.
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The Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program may be worthy of special consideration for RU-N affiliates.
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Alfred P. Sloan Foundation - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in STEM Higher Education – These grants are “To create diverse, equitable, and inclusive pathways to and through STEM graduate education and the professoriate.”
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