The following is a “starter list” of governmental agencies and foundations that provide support specifically for education research, project evaluation, student training, and program development. Funding priorities frequently change: please visit the organization’s website for the most current information.
Selected public funding sources
- U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides funding to students, institutions of higher education, local and state education agencies, and non-profit organizations. See ED’s funding page for information about current grant opportunities, forecasts for upcoming opportunities, instructions for being included on the contract bidders mailing list, and other useful documents.
- Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. The IES Education Research Grants Program has established 13 programs of research (topics), each of which accepts applications once per year. Application deadlines are announced in the Federal Register and on the IES website.
- National Science Foundation (NSF) – Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) includes the Division of Graduate Education (DGE), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), and Division of Research on Learning (DRL), all of which offer funding for rigorous research and evaluation that advances excellence in U.S. STEM education at all levels. The most recent EHR program announcements are available here.
- National Institutes for Health(NIH) – R25 Education Projects provide support for biomedical education, training, technical assistance, coordination, and evaluation projects. For currently available R25 grants, search here using keyword “R25.”
- National Endowment for the Humanities – Division of Education Programs – supports humanities education through programs aimed primarily at program and curriculum development and through professional development opportunities for K-12 and higher education faculty.
Selected private funding sources
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation – Science Educationprovides grants that promote access to the scientific enterprise, disseminate information about scientific and technical careers, and encourage innovation in the structure of scientific training.
- American Educational Research Association (AERA) provides small grants, fellowships, and training for researchers who conduct studies of education policy and practice using quantitative methods and including the analysis of data from the large-scale data sets sponsored by National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
- Annenberg Foundationfocuses on the restructuring and reform of grades k-12.
- Annie E. Casey Foundation focuses on funding education initiatives that support underserved children and their families.
- Association for Institutional Research(AIR),in conjunction with the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC), sponsors a grant program titled: Improving Institutional Research in Postsecondary Educational Institutions. The goals of this program are to provide professional development opportunities to doctoral students, institutional researchers, educators and administrators, and to foster the use of federal databases for institutional research in postsecondary education.
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports education programs that prepare students for college, work, and citizenship through academic rigor and personal attention.
- Carnegie Corp of New York supports efforts to improve teaching and learning that have the potential to make a lasting and long-term contribution to the field of education. Funding is focused on three major areas: 1) advancing literacy, 2) urban school reform, and 3) teacher education reform.
- Charles Stewart Mott Foundation funds efforts to expand learning opportunities and supports for children, particularly those from low‑ and moderate-income communities.
- Ford Foundation. Ford's Youth Education and Opportunity program is its vehicle for funding K-12 education organizations.
- Howard Hughes Medical Instituteoffers grants to students and institutions to advance science education.
- Lumina Foundation for Education supports and expands access to postsecondary education in the United States, particularly for students of low income or other underrepresented groups. The three main themes focused on are: access, success, and adult learners.
- National Education Association (NEA) Foundationprovides grants and assistance to teachers, education support personnel, and higher education faculty and staff to improve student learning in the nation’s public schools.
- Robertson Foundation currently targets high impact grants in three principal areas within the United States: 1) education 2) environment and 3) medical research.
- Spencer Foundation supports high-quality, innovative research with the potential to advance the understanding and improvement of education.
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation funding spans pre-natal care through college and career readiness, with a primary concentration on birth through age eight.
- Wallace Foundation concentrates its grantmaking activities on fostering effective school leaders, supporting afterschool and other enrichment programs, and building appreciation for the arts. It tends to favor research-based project ideas.
- William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Education Program makes grants to help students succeed in college, work and civic life by building towards deeper learning competencies and expanding access to open educational resources.
- William T. Grant Foundationinvests in educational research, policy analyses, and evaluations of interventions that use evidence-based approaches.