Overview
Philanthropic funders, including private foundations, family foundations, community foundations, and disease-focused nonprofits, provide flexible support for scientific and humanities-based research. Many opportunities are mission-driven, may use Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) or invitation-only processes, and often prioritize alignment, measurable impact, and relationship-building. Common funding mechanisms include:
- Investigator-initiated research grants (pilot, standard, or multi-year awards)
- Targeted Requests for Proposals (RFPs/RFAs) in priority topic areas
- Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) and invitation-only submissions
- Career awards and fellowships (postdoctoral through mid-career)
- Programmatic or community-based awards and implementation grants
- Equipment/infrastructure support
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UAB Supports
The Research Development Office offers robust support for faculty seeking non-profit or foundation funding, including funding mechanism identification and assessment, proposal ideation or draft review, multi-PI team development and proposal project management, and limited submission coordination where applicable. Faculty are encouraged to contact our office with any requests for support, and we will do our best to connect you with available resources.
Additional UAB resources and trainings include:
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Limited Submission Opportunities
Philanthropic funders often require institutional nomination and limit the number of applicants an institution may submit per cycle. All active limited submission competitions can be found on InfoReady. Please contact the Research Development Office
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested in an opportunity not currently listed.
UAB Supports
Limited Submission Opportunities
Essential Philanthropic Funders for UAB Faculty
| Funder | Research Focus | Funding Mechanisms |
|---|---|---|
| Alfred P. Sloan Foundation | STEM and economics; early-career fellowships | Fellowships; targeted RFPs |
| Alzheimer’s Association | Alzheimer’s and related dementias; brain health | International Research Grant Program; multiple career-stage grants |
| American Association for Cancer Research | Cancer research | Career development awards; independent research grants; fellowships |
| American Cancer Society (ACS) | Cancer research across the continuum | Research Scholar Grants; fellowships; targeted mechanisms |
| American Diabetes Association (ADA) | Diabetes research and translation | Pathway to Stop Diabetes (long-term investigator support); grants |
| American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) | Biology of aging;geroscience | Junior faculty grants; fellowships; targeted programs |
| American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) | Suicide prevention research | Focus grants; innovation grants fellowships |
| American Heart Association (AHA) | Cardiovascular; cerebrovascular research | Fellowships; career awards; investigator-initiated and topic-focused grants |
| American Lung Association | Lung health and disease | Awards and grants; early-career and independent investigator programs |
| Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association | ALS basic and clinical research; drug development | Assistive technology grants; clinical fellowships; postdoctoral fellowships; clinical trials; research grants |
| Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation | Chemical and life sciences; methods/instruments/material | Young Investigator program |
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Grand Challenges) | Global health and development innovation | Grand Challenges RFPs; staged grants; challenge-based calls |
| Brain and Behavior Research Foundation | Mental health research; autism; addiction; depression; anxiety; PTSD | Young investigator grants; independent investigator grants; distinguished investigator grants |
| Brain Research Foundation | Neuroscience | Seed grants (institutional eligibility/invitation) |
| Breakthrough T1D | Type 1 diabetes; complications; devices and therapies | RFAs; Strategic Research Agreements; training; industry partnerships |
| BrightFocus Foundation | Alzheimer’s; macular degeneration; glaucoma | RFAs; standard awards; postdoctoral fellowships |
| Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) | Biomedical research; interfaces of science; career development | Career awards; training/career transitions |
| Cancer Research Institute (CRI) | Cancer immunotherapy | Postdoc fellowships; STAR; clinical/translational awards |
| Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation | Inflammatory bowel diseases | Fellowships; career development; senior awards; clinical investigator-initiated awards |
| Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) | Cystic fibrosis basic and clinical research | Research grants; clinical research awards; pilot and feasibility |
| Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Fund | Cancer research; early-career investigator research | Fellowships; career development; research grants |
| Doris Duke Foundation | Medical research; child well-being; environment; arts | Primarily invitation; occasional open calls; LOI |
| Foundation Fighting Blindness | Vision loss; eye disease; translational research; genetic technologies; restorative therapies | Individual investigator research awards; clinical trials; career development awards; postdoctoral fellowships |
| Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation | Scientific discovery; environmental conservation | Primarily proactive/invited; occasional inquiries |
| Health Resources in Action | Public health; biomedical research; community health | Postdoctoral research fellowships; research grants; transformational awards; programmatic grants |
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) | Basic biological and biomedical sciences | Investigator program; long-term support programs (cycles vary) |
| Human Frontier Science Program | International collaboration in basic research; mechanisms of living organisms | Research grants; postdoctoral fellowships |
| Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) | Blood cancer research | Discovery + translational grants; career programs; special initiatives |
| Mellon Foundation | Humanities; arts; cultural heritage | Project grants; research grants; fellowships |
| Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) | Parkinson’s disease | Open programs; targeted RFAs; pipeline programs |
| National Multiple Sclerosis Society | Multiple sclerosis research | Research grants; fellowships; targeted RFAs; commercialization support |
| Parkinson’s Foundation | Parkinson’s research and clinical innovation | Fellowships; independent investigator awards; centers |
| Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) | Patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research | CER research projects engagement awards dissemination implementation funding |
| Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) | Health equity; public health policy and systems | Targeted RFAs; project grants; evidence-to-action oriented |
| Simons Foundation | Math & physical sciences; life sciences; autism/neuroscience | RFAs; collaborations; fellowships |
| Susan G. Komen | Breast cancer research | Research grants; career transition awards |
| The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation | Basic biomedical sciences | Postdoctoral research support; research fellowships; career development awards |
| W. M. Keck Foundation | High-risk, high-impact science/engineering and medical research | Concept papers; limited submissions at many institutions |