Grants and Funding Opportunities

The Conservation, Food & Health Foundation

Amount: $20,000 Deadline: Concept Application January 1, July 1

The Conservation, Food and Health Foundation seeks to protect natural resources, improve the production and distribution of food, and promote public health in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The foundation helps build the capacity of organizations and coalitions with grants that support research or improve the learning and generation of local solutions to complex problems. The foundation supports projects that demonstrate local leadership and promote professional development in the conservation, agricultural, and health sciences; develop the capacity of local organizations; and address a particular problem or question in the field. It prefers to support projects that address under-funded issues and geographic areas. Geographic Focus The foundation supports low- and lower-middle-income countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. It prefers to support organizations located in low- and middle-income countries or organizations located in upper-income countries whose activities are of direct benefit low- and middle-income countries. The foundation does not support the states of the former Soviet Union or former Eastern Bloc countries.

CIGNA World of Difference Grant Program: Community Navigation Grant

Amount: $50,000 to $150,000 Deadline: rolling

Overall - World of Difference program focus is Health Equity, helping people overcome barriers to their health and well-being related to factors such as ethnicity, race, gender, age, geography, or economics. World of Difference Grants emphasize partnership: sharing the knowledge and expertise of Cigna's professionals with dedicated non-profit partners. Seek to make "A World of Difference" in both individual and community health. Organizations located outside the USA should send a brief (maximum 250 words) project description.

International Foundation Grant

Amount: Up to $25,000 Deadline: rolling

International Foundation funds grants in three key areas—health, education and incomes. However, each of these areas represents a range of investment opportunities that, if integrated with other program areas, can lead to broader, more balanced and more sustainable results. In any given program area, we fund approaches that focus on building local leadership, delivering measurable results, and ensuring the sustainability of program benefits over time. Health: Health, nutrition, sanitation, and water for health. Incomes: Agriculture, food security, environment and entrepreneurship.

Walmart Foundation: Letter of Inquiry

Amount: Unspecified Deadline: rolling

Eligibility: Organizations should be eligible 501(c) 3 or international equivalent organizations. Philanthropy focused on: Access to Healthier Food and support programs that provide nutrition education to increase people's confidence in selecting, preparing and serving healthier foods. While food security exists in all communities we seek to fund organizations that have the capacity to administer sub-grants and build capacity across networks ot scale proven strategies, test and evaluate place-based efforts or innovative apporaches that could have the potential to scale in the future.

Catalyst Fund

Amount: Up to $15,000 Deadline: rolling

The Catalyst Fund awards small grants for early-stage, innovative, and unconventional ideas that address serious global challenges.The Catalyst Fund makes grants between $2,500- $15,000 to anyone, anywhere in the world who has an idea or early-stage project that has a high potential for large-scale impact and sustainable change. We know that $5k or $10k won’t necessarily be enough to launch a new product, build a great program, or even form a new organization. But it is enough to kick-start early stage ideas, pilot projects, or prototypes and help those of you who have an innovative idea for real change to take the first step(s) in doing so. The Fund accepts applications on a continuous basis with no deadlines.

Eppley Foundation for Research – Support for Advanced Scientific Research

Amount: $10,000 to $40,000 Deadline: Letter of intent (not to exceed 1,000 words): Sept. 15 or Mar. 15 (annually)
Invited proposals: Oct. 15 or Apr. 15 (annually)

Grants may be awarded for research in foreign countries when primary applicants are U.S. based or associated with a US institution qualified to administer the grant.

CALS Integrated Internal Competitive Grants Program

Deadline: TBD

What: To enhance the integration of missions in the College, the Associate Deans and Directors have established an internal competitive grants program using a portion of one-time funding available to our college. Periodically initiated by the College. Who should apply: Faculty assembling interdisciplinary teams that will enhance CALS scholarship and improve competitiveness for extramural grants. Goal: A major objective of this grants program is to encourage further integration of research, Extension and education programs within and among units in CALS, including academic departments, ARECs, and county extension offices.

John Lee Pratt Animal Nutrition Program Research Proposals

Deadline: Every two to three years

What: To “promote the study of animal nutrition, provide equipment and materials for feeding experiments and the preparation of livestock and poultry feeds, and to publish and disseminate the practical results from this re-search” CALS offers internal grants for support of personnel (graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, or visiting scientists), small equipment, and associated tuition and research supplies. Who should apply: Faculty who are supporting Graduate Students, Post-doctoral Scholars, or Visiting Scientists. Goal: The support aids in the establishment of new interdisciplinary and/or externally-funded research, augments established funded research programs, or bridges gaps in projects between periods of extramural funding. https://www.cals.vt.edu/academic-programs/current/graduate/pratt.html 

Development and submission of large, interdisciplinary and/or integrated proposals

Amount: Typically $10,000 per project Deadline: Prior to the due date of the RFP to which the team is submitting a proposal.

What: Funds are available to facilitate the development and submission of large, interdisciplinary and/or integrated team proposals in response to a specific Request For Proposals (RFP). These funds can be used for administrative costs associated with proposal development such as travel, graphic design, preliminary data, graduate student literature searches, workshops, etc. Who should apply: Faculty-organized interdisciplinary teams (multi-institutional teams encouraged). Purpose: Funds are available to facilitate development of broad, high-profile, interdisciplinary teams in the College priority areas. The goal is to form sustainable teams able to respond to large, interdisciplinary proposals on short notice. Supported activities could include: holding a mini-symposium to organize the team, seeking an external facilitator to assist with development of the team’s vision, or traveling to other institutions to expand the team membership. This initiative can support two different approaches, both those teams that are formed in a response to an RFP and those that are formed around a concept with the idea of applying to a future RFP.

Capacity Building Grants

Amount: Amounts vary per proposal Deadline: Rolling

What: Capacity Building grants provide seed funding to help assemble interdisciplinary teams, to improve competitiveness for extramural grants and to provide opportunities to more fully utilize and support selected AREC facilities. Who should apply: Faculty interested in assembling interdisciplinary teams with AREC participation and support. Goal: These grants stimulate basic and translational research, foster agricultural outreach and enhance research and Extension activities at the Southwest Virginia, Shenandoah Valley, and Southern Piedmont ARECs.

Student Travel Award (requires matching funds from the Faculty Mentor, Department, or AREC)

Amount: $750 Domestic, $1000 International

Deadline: Rolling

What: This award provides $750 for domestic and $1000 for international travel for graduate students who have an abstract or poster accepted for presentation at a conference. Faculty Mentor, Department, or AREC must provide matching funds for the student to travel. To inquire- please email kgantt@vt.edu . Students should put their mentor on the email, provide whether they are MS or PhD, and indicate what conference they are traveling to and the title of their work that has been accepted. 30 days after the conference they should provide a picture of the themselves at the conference and short blurb about how it helped their professional development.

Student Fellowship Applications Incentive Travel Award

Amount: Up to $750 Deadline:

Prior to the due date of the fellowship to which the faculty-student team is submitting a proposal. The proposal must be submitted to the CALS Grant personnel (Kira Gantt kgantt@vt.edu ) a week before the due date so it can be reviewed prior to submission.

What: This incentive provides 1) Assistance to eligible students and their advisor during the fellowship application process; and 2) An award of up to $750 to each qualified student who completes and submits a fellow-ship application. Who should apply: Graduate students interested in applying for fellowships. Goal: The award funds are to be used by the student to participate in any national conference related to the student’s discipline. Advisors and graduate students can contact the CALS personnel described above for support.