Private Research Funding

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) awards grants for research that is relevant to critical care nursing practice.

American Council of Learned Societies
The American Council of Learned Societies is a private non-profit federation of sixty-four national scholarly organizations. The mission of the ACLS, as set forth in its Constitution, is "the advancement of humanistic studies in all fields of learning in the humanities and the social sciences and the maintenance and strengthening of relations among the national societies devoted to such studies."

American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society began assisting research by individual scholars in 1933. Today, the Society supports several major grant or fellowship programs to continue in the promotion of useful knowledge.

Awards are made for research only. The Society makes no grants for study; for travel to conferences or workshops; for journalistic or other writing for general readership; for assistance with translation or the preparation of materials for use by students. The purpose of the various programs is to enable scholars to perform research.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funds local stations and diverse programming that wishes to inform, educate and inspire.

Folger Shakespeare Library Research Fellowships
Long-Term Fellowships application deadline is November 1
Short-Term Fellowships application deadline is March 1

Foundation for the Future
The Foundation For the Future is engaging in a broad range of activities that are focused on this purpose, including the sponsorship of basic research into those social, genetic, biological, medical, psychological, physiological, cultural, and environmental factors that have or will have an impact on the quality of human life during coming millennia. The Foundation For the Future focuses its attention on the long-term survivability of humanity and supports research and sponsors symposia whose purpose is to identify the most critical factors that may affect future human life on Earth.

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation provides fellowships for advanced professionals in all fields (natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, creative arts) except the performing arts. Fellowships are not available for students.

The Foundation only supports individuals. It does not make grants to institutions or organizations.

National Endowment for Financial Education
The National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) is a Denver-based, non-profit foundation dedicated to the mission of helping individual Americans acquire the information and gain the skills necessary to take control of their financial lives. NEFE accomplishes its mission by partnering with other concerned organizations and individuals to provide financial education to young people; underserved segments of society whose financial concerns are not being addressed by others, or that have special needs; and the general public.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats on which they depend. Among its goals are species conservation, habitat protection, environmental education, natural resources management, habitat and ecosystem rehabilitation and restoration, and leadership training for conservation professionals.

National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society (NGS) awards grants for scientific field research and exploration through its Committee for Research and Exploration. All proposed projects must have both a geographical dimension and relevance to other scientific fields. Applications are generally limited to the following disciplines: anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, biology, botany, geography, geology, oceanography, paleontology, and zoology. 

Research Corporation
Research Corporation is one of the country's first foundations, established before the term "foundation" came into popular use (the Carnegie Corporation is another nonprofit that shares this terminology). Research Corporation was established in New York State in 1912 as a stock-issuing corporation that would own all of its own stock and could never pay dividends. Its original objectives were to develop donated inventions and to use any income for grants for scholarly research.

Russell Sage Foundation
The Russell Sage Foundation is the principal American foundation devoted exclusively to research in the social sciences.

The Spencer Foundation
The Spencer Foundation is a private foundation that grants funds to support research which contributes to the understanding of education and improvement of its practice.

Humanities Washington
Humanities Washington, formerly known as Washington Commission for the Humanities, is dedicated to improving individual and community life through public programs that interpret culture and provide a forum for civic dialogue. The humanities are the stories, ideas and writings that help us make sense of our lives and enhance our ability to think creatively and critically about our world.