Where to Apply for Funding: Making the Right Choices

Abstract

The completion of a grant application is an immensely time-consuming and intensive process. It is therefore critical that you decide to apply for grants that you are most likely actually going to receive. But identifying those potential funding sources can often be truly daunting and a great deal more vexing. With an ever-growing number of foundations and other not-for-profits looking to spearhead research into a specific disease, a large and vast array of federal opportunities, and still other opportunities through universities and research institutions, deciding where to spend your effort in applying for funding is usually not simple. However, it is worth a great deal of time and effort to make the right decision about what to apply for. Submitting a grant application to an organization that is simply not interested in what you are doing is a tremendous waste of time and effort. Similarly, submitting a grant to the right organization but with the wrong funding mechanisms is equally self-destructive. And finally, not only do you need to think through whether the funders are on the same page, but you also have to consider whether the people reviewing the grants are also in sync with the goal of the funder. The truth is that before submitting any grant application, you should learn as much as you possibly can. If, after extended review, you have decided that this is indeed a real possibility, only then should you start piecing together the complexities of the application. Bottom line: don’t just start applying for the first grant that you come across or because you learn of a single promising solicitation.