The Basics
Although the process of finding external research support can be difficult and intimidating, it can be broken down into four basic steps: (1) coming up with an idea; (2) finding the proper funding source; (3) identifying the appropriate funding mechanism; (4) and writing the proposal. The Office of Associate Dean for Research and Sponsored Projects can help researchers through every step of this process.

Time Frame
The entire process from idea conception to receipt of award should take approximately one year, if the proposal is funded in the first round. Once a funding source and submission deadline have been identified, the researcher will need up to 3 months to write the proposal and gather the necessary components. At the time when a funding source and submission deadline have been identified, the researcher should plan to meet with the ADR-OSP office to plan the submission process. See ADR-OSP timeline form for specific deadlines.


Databases
Grants.gov is THE single access point for over 900 grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies (including all federal agencies listed below). Allows applicants to electronically find and apply for competitive grant opportunities from all Federal grant-making agencies.

Sponsored Program Information Network (SPIN) contains grant opportunities from over 1,200 agencies. Works in conjunction with SMARTS/GENIUS listserv, matching grant opportunities with your individual profile.

The Foundation Directory Online provides descriptions of grant makers, including private grant-making foundations, community foundations, operating foundations, and corporate grant makers. Updated monthly, the directory contains information about the largest public and private foundations in the U.S. and links to foundation web sites.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) provides access to a database of all federal programs available to governments, institutions and individuals.

Federal Agencies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA)
US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)

Foundations
Ford Foundation offers grants focused on fields within Asset Building & Community Development, Peace & Social Justice and Knowledge, Creativity & Freedom.

William T. Grant Foundation supports research focused on improving the lives of young people, ages 8-25.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides grants focused on improving the health and health care of Americans.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation makes grants in the four areas of: Health, Food Systems and Rural Development, Youth and Education, and Philanthropy and Volunteerism. All programming in these four interest areas is tailored to meet the needs of each geographic region: the US, Southern Africa, Latin American and the Caribbean.

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a private, independent grantmaking institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the human condition. It seeks the development of healthy individuals and effective communities; peace within and among nations; responsible choices about human reproduction; and a global ecosystem capable of supporting healthy human societies.

Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS) is a voluntary mental health and social service agencies which has served the New York area for over a century.

The John A. Hartford Foundation seeks specifically to: enhance and expand the training of doctors, nurses, social workers and other health professionals who care for older adults, and promote innovations in the integration and delivery of services for all older Americans.

The Geriatric Social Work Initiative, supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation, collaborates with social work education programs to prepare needed, aging-savvy social workers and improve the care and well-being of older adults and their families.

Russell Sage Foundation funds programs of basic social science research in three program areas: research on the future of work, concerned with the causes and consequences of the decline in demand for low-skill workers in advanced economies; research on current U.S. immigration that focuses on the adaption of the second generation to American society; and social-psychological research on improving relations among racial and ethnic groups in schools, workplaces, and neighborhood settings.

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation offers grantmaking programs including Civil Society, Environment, Flint, MI Area and Pathways out of Poverty.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation will provide significant grants and other forms of assistance to a limited number of sites in a long-term effort to strengthen the support services, social networks, physical infrastructure, employment, self-determination, and economic vitality of distressed communities.

The Pew Charitable Trusts provides support funding for research in three main areas: informing the public, advancing policy solutions and supporting civic life.

The New York Community Trust has formal grantmaking programs in four areas: Arts, Education, and the Humanities; Children, Youth, and Families; Community Development and Environment; Health and People with Special Needs. Grants from these programs are made almost exclusively in New York City.

Listservs
Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research (IASWR)
RASCAL
Grants.gov
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Illinois Researcher Information Service (IRIS)
SMARTS/GENIUS (Works in conjunction with SPIN database)
Community of Science (COS)