Overview: Research grants on reducing inequality fund research studies that examine programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5–25 in the United States, along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, sexual or gender minority status (e.g., LGBTQ+ youth), language minority status, or immigrant origins.  Note that William T Grand Foundation does not fund studies that focus primarily on physical health outcomes (e.g., physical illness, clinical trials, etc.), nor studies that focus primarily on the causes, extent, or consequences of inequality.  The work must have a strong focus on determining effectiveness in reducing inequality.

Types of Grants:

• Major Research Grants: $100,000-$600,000 for projects lasting 2-3 years
• Officers' Research Grants: $25,000-$50,000 for projects lasting 1-2 years

Resources:

• 2026 Application Guidelines
• Informational Webinar (2024)
• To assist with developing your idea, ORD developed a one-pager exercise*.  This exercise helps you to write a brief summary of your research project, emphasizing its alignment with William T Grant Foundation priorities and how it addresses the required criteria (population, theory of change, etc.).

Letters of Inquiry Overview:

Please remember to let OSP know of your intention to apply and send a copy of your submitted LOI to them.

• Project Information (includes total requested funding amount and 1500-character summary)
• One-page CV
• Project Narrative
  ORD-developed LOI template*

If you are applying for an Officers' Research Grant, you must also include:

• Budget and budget justification form: You are required to use the templates available in the online application portal; see an example form.  Please work with OSP to develop your budget.
• JMU's IRS determination letter
• JMU's most recent audit

Even though you only need to submit an overall requested amount for a Major Research Grant, we recommend working with OSP to confirm this amount, as you may not be able to modify it if you are invited to prepare a full proposal.  Forgetting a cost (such as the 15% IDC or fringe benefits) may hinder your ability to complete the proposed project.

Full Proposals: If you are invited to prepare a full proposal, the Office of Research Development would be please to assist you.  Please complete our assistance form or reach us at researchdevelopment@jmu.edu.

*: JMU log-in required 

Overview: This program funds research studies that examine strategies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that benefit young people ages 5-25 in the United States. We seek proposals for studies that advance theory and build empirical knowledge on ways to improve the use of research evidence by policymakers, public agency leaders, organizational managers, intermediaries, community organizers, and other decision-makers that generally shape youth-serving systems in the United States.

Note that they do not fund studies that aim solely to understand how individuals and organizations access research, make sense of research findings, and apply evidence; the research must look at how to improve the use of research evidence.  They also do not fund studies that focus solely on improving data-driven decision-making, although studies looking at the intersection of data, data use, and research use are welcome. 

Finally, they do not fund studies about improving research use among frontline practitioners, at the point of service; this means that studies of strategies to improve research use among teachers, clinicians, and others in similar roles are not considered a fit.

Types of Grants:

• Major Research Grants: $100,000-$600,000 for projects lasting 2-3 years
• Officers' Research Grants: $25,000-$50,000 for projects lasting 1-2 years

Resources:

• 2026 Application Guidelines
• Informational Webinar (2024)
• To assist with developing your idea, ORD developed a one-pager exercise*.  This exercise helps you to write a brief summary of your research project, emphasizing its alignment with William T Grant Foundation priorities and how it addresses the required criteria (type of use, etc.).

Letters of Inquiry Overview:

Please remember to let OSP know of your intention to apply and send a copy of your submitted LOI to them.

• Project Information (includes total requested funding amount and 1500-character summary)
• One-page CV
• Project Narrative
  ORD-developed LOI template*

If you are applying for an Officers' Research Grant, you must also include:

• Budget and budget justification form: You are required to use the templates available in the online application portal; see an example form.  Please work with OSP to develop your budget.
• JMU's IRS determination letter
• JMU's most recent audit

Even though you only need to submit an overall requested amount for a Major Research Grant, we recommend working with OSP to confirm this amount, as you may not be able to modify it if you are invited to prepare a full proposal.  Forgetting a cost (such as the 15% IDC or fringe benefits) may hinder your ability to complete the proposed project.

Full Proposals: If you are invited to prepare a full proposal, the Office of Research Development would be please to assist you.  Please complete our assistance form or reach us at researchdevelopment@jmu.edu.

*: JMU log-in required 

Overview: The William T. Grant Scholars Program supports career development for promising early-career researchers. The program funds five-year research and mentoring plans that significantly expand researchers’ expertise in new disciplines, methods, and content areas.  Applicants must direct their applications to either the Reducing Inequality or Improving the Use of Research Evidence focus areas and so we recommend looking at the materials for those research grants as well.

Applicants must be nominated by their colleges, and each college can nominate only a single applicant per year.  Please communicate with your college's dean's office about their nomination practices.

Key Information:

• Eligible applicants must have received their Ph.D. in the past seven years (except in medicine, in which the date of completion of first residency is used instead).
• Eligible applicants must be in a tenure-track appointment.
• Awards are $425,000 for four years.
• Four to six scholars are selected each year.

Resources:

• 2026 Application Guidelines
• Annotated Excerpts from Successful Applications (annotated by WTGF staff)
• Informational Webinar
• Informational Webinar (on Improving the Use of Research Evidence specifically)
• ORD-developed one-pager exercises can help you frame your research project in a way that is responsive to William T Grant Foundation's interest.  Please select the one-pager exercise for your focus area:
  • Reducing Inequality*
  • Improving the Use of Research Evidence* (coming soon!)

Proposal Materials:

• Mentor and Reference Letters: Submitted directly by mentors/references into the online portal.
  • One or two mentor letters
    ORD-developed text to send to potential mentors*.  Use of this resource is completely optional; however, it does outline the requirements of the letter which are strictly enforced.
  • Three reference letters (may not overlap with mentors)
• Budget and Budget Justification: You are required to use the templates available in the online application portal; see an example form.  The budget must total exactly $425,000.  Please work with OSP to develop your budget. 
• Abridged AND full CV:  Please use the required form for the abridged C.V.
• Abstract: Please use the required form for the abstract; 6 page maximum.
• Research and Mentoring Plan (40 pages max):  ORD-developed template*
  • Five-year Research Plan (20 pages max)
  • Mentoring Plan (4 pages max)
  • Bibliography (8 pages max)
  • Appendices (8 pages max)
• Two publications: Each one 20 pages max; may be published or in press.  Ideally should be relevant to the proposal.
• Nominating Statement (from dean's office): This statment must describe why the applicant was selected; an assessment of the applicant’s plan; the applicant’s current and expected future roles in the division; the supporting resources available; the applicant’s current source and amount of salary; and the appointment, promotion, and institutional support plans for the applicant, including a guarantee that 50 percent of the applicant’s paid time will be devoted to research.
  A sample annotated nominating statement is provided by the William T Grant Foundation.
• Endorsement of Project (from OSP): This confirms that JMU is aware of your proposal and contains general information about your status at JMU.  It is signed by one of JMU's AORs (Authorized Organizational Official).
• Letter of Independence of Multiple Applicants (if applicable, from OSP): This is provided by JMU's Office of Sponsored Programs when there are multiple applicants, confirming to the foundation that the applicants represent distinct major divisions, which for JMU means different colleges.
• Resubmission Statement (if applicable): No required format or page limit; ORD-developed template*
  Applicants who have applied previously should describe their response to reviewer comments on the prior application and the major ways this application differs from the prior one. Applicants should prepare the statement in whatever way best suits the nature of their revisions.

*: JMU log-in required 

Overview: The Institutional Challenge Grant supports long-term research-practice partnerships between research institutions and public agencies or nonprofit organizations serving youth in areas such as education, justice, child welfare, mental health, immigration, and workforce development. It aims to address the disconnect between academic research and the needs of policymakers and practitioners through collaborative partnerships that produce relevant, actionable evidence to reduce youth inequality.

This program challenges research institutions to revise policies, practices, and incentives that discourage collaborative work or undervalue partnership-based research.  Proposals that include African American, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American leaders are particularly encouraged by the foundation.

Key Information:

• In 2026, at least two awards will be issued.
• The award will provide $650,000 for three years; after this awardees are able to apply for a funded two-year continuation.
  • Up to $60,000 for 9 months of join planning activities.
  • Funding for two years of a full-time mid-career fellow.  Universities must cost-share a third year.  (This may be distributed in several ways, e.g., a different fellow each year or one fellow for all three years.)

Research Institutions:

• Eligible principal investigators are leaders at eligible research institutions (generally deans or higher).

Public Agencies/Nonprofit Organizations:

• Eligible public agencies include state or local agencies and their departments and divisions.
• Nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations are eligible if they are open to the general public and provide or coordinate services for youth ages 5 to 25 in the United States.
• Eligible agencies and organizations engage in work relevant to youth in the areas of education, justice, prevention of child abuse and neglect, foster care, mental health, immigration, or workforce development and have the resources needed to implement and optimize the award.
• Eligible leaders from the public agency or nonprofit organization have the authority and influence required to successfully institutionalize the partnership and the use of research evidence in the agency or organization’s work.

Fellows:

• All fellows must be mid-career.  (For researchers: terminal degree or completion of first medical residency in previous 8 to 20 years of the date that the application is submitted.)
• The research fellow does not need to be an employee of the research institution and can be recruited from another institution.
• You may appoint one mid-career fellow from the public agency or nonprofit organization, but all other fellows must be researchers. This should be a mid-career professional at the agency or organization who will be called on to facilitate the use of research. A mid-career professional has 8 to 20 years of cumulative experience in his/her current role.

Resources:

• 2026 Application Guidelines
• Annotated Excerpts from Successful Applications (annotated by WTGF staff)
• Informational webinar
• See WTGF's description of Research-Practice Partnerships, including structuring a partnership, developing a joint research agenda, etc.
• See WTGF's description of how to assess effectiveness of research-practice partnerships.  Please especially see their framework for assessing, including indicators, as well as this context information.
• To assist with developing your idea, ORD developed a one-pager exercise*.  This exercise helps you to write a brief summary of your project, emphasizing its alignment with William T Grant Foundation priorities and how it addresses the required criteria.

Proposal Materials:

• Budget and Budget Justification: You are required to use the templates available in the online application portal; see an example form.  The budget must total exactly $650,000.  Please work with OSP to develop your budget and follow the detailed requirements in the guidelines.
• Short CV/Resume of PI (5 pages max): Include education; position history; recent and relevant publications; grants, roles, and products related to work with policymakers and practitioners; and leadership roles within the institution.
• Short CV/Resume for lead from the public agency or nonprofit organization (5 pages max): Include education, position history, key roles and responsibilities at the current agency or organization, and positions or products related to work with researchers.
• Short CV of any identified Fellows (optional) (5 pages): Include education; position history; recent and relevant publications; and grants, roles, and products related to work with policymakers or practitioners (for research fellows) or with researchers (for policy or practice fellows).
• IRS Tax-Exempt Status Determination Letter (for the applying research institution): JMU's IRS determination letter
• Structured Abstract (4 pages max): ORD-developed template*
  Include sections providing sufficient detail about each of the following areas of the application: 1) the partnership; 2) joint research agenda, including research questions and design; 3) shifts in organizational practices at the university to elevate the status of partnership work among faculty; and 4) criteria for selecting mid-career fellows and activities to build fellows’ and public agency or nonprofit organization’s capacity.
• Narrative (25 pages max): ORD-developed template*
  See required components in the application guidelines.
• Partnership Agreement: This document articulates the partnership goals, key roles, governance, principles guiding joint work, and timelines, and must be signed by both the principal investigator at the research institution and the partnership leader at the public agency or nonprofit organization. See the resources above.
• Endorsement of the application from the research institution: This letter must come from the appropriate institutional office (e.g., university dean, provost, vice chancellor for research) and demonstrate support for the PI, partnership, research project(s), and changes in institutional policies and practices. The letter must also confirm the institution’s commitment to provide a match of one full-time equivalent fellow for one year and the presence of sufficient resources to carry out the proposed work. Strong letters explicitly spell out how the university will engage in institutional change to support community-engaged research-practice partnerships.
• Endorsement of the Application from the Public Agency or Nonprofit Organization: This letter must come from the appropriate institutional office (e.g., agency leader, director, or executive) and demonstrate support for the leader of the partnership within the agency or organization. The letter must also confirm that there are sufficient resources within the organization to carry out the proposed work. This attachment should be uploaded by the PI.

*: JMU log-in required