Office of Academic Affairs

Faculty Funding

Searching for Funding

A funding search can be a daunting task, but it is not insurmountable. Review the suggestions below on how to get started.

• Prepare a brief summary of your project. Include catagories such as goals, initiatives, timeline, the amount of money needed, and other pieces of infomration integral to your project. Identifying your needs and goals will help you identify good funding matches.
  

 

• Utilize your network. Speak with others in your field to discover who sponsored their research.

 

• Contact your professional organization to see if it offers fellowships or grants.

 

• Review the acknowledgements of journal articles on which your research builds. Some agencies may be interested in funding the “next step” of research they found interesting in the past.

• The college has two grants databases through which private and federal foundations can be searched by keyword, geographic focus, types of support, and other categories. Click here to learn more about the SPIN and Foundation Directory Online databases.

• Some institutions have clearinghouse sites. Duke University, Michigan State University, and Kenyon College have funding sources that are searchable by discipline, types of support, and many of those opportunities are open to those beyond the institution.

 

• The federal government also has a clearinghouse for ALL federal funding programs (www.grants.gov). Agency pages list opportunities specific to those funding sources (some examples include NSF, NEH, NEA, and NIH).