Deadline: 15-Aug-25
Applications are now open for the Sociological Initiatives Foundation’s Grant Program to support social change by linking research to social action.
It funds research projects that investigate laws, policies, institutions, regulations, and normative practices that may limit equality in the U.S. It prioritizes projects that address racism, xenophobia, classism, gender bias, exploitation, or the violation of human rights and freedoms. It also supports research that furthers language learning and behavior and its intersection with social and policy questions.
In the context of social and racial inequality dating back centuries, the Foundation supports projects that address institutional rather than individual or behavioral change. It seeks to fund research and initiatives that provide insight into sociological and linguistic issues that can help specific groups and or communities expand opportunities and challenge injustices.
Focus Areas
- The Foundation supports research that focuses on improving services and systems and increasing positive social and physical conditions through:
- Policy development
- Placement and shaping of the policy agenda
- Policy adoption or implementation
- Policy blocking
- Increasing advocacy capacity and political influence
- Shaping public sentiment
- Addressing challenges related to language and literacy
- Language issues include literacy, language loss and maintenance, language policy, language and national security, bilingualism, language and gender, language and law, language disabilities, language and health, language and education, different language cultures, and second language acquisition.
Funding Information
- Grant sizes normally range from $15,000 to $25,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Preference is given to providing support in areas that tend to be underfunded and for projects of a size where a Sociological Initiatives Foundation grant can make a difference.
- For nonprofits, grants are restricted to organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code and classified as “not a private foundation” under section 509(a).
- The Sociological Initiatives Foundation does not make grants directly to individuals for any purpose.
- SIF also welcomes applications from academic institutions and other qualified organizations wishing to sponsor research projects by individual scholars or practitioners.
- No awards are made for dissertation research, honoraria, or political purposes.
- The Foundation does not provide operating support or capital grants.
- The geographic focus is limited to the United States.
- Some examples of desired applicants are:
- community-led academic partnerships
- advocacy or community groups that conduct research that can withstand challenges in academic and policy arenas
- academics allied with a constituency through their research
Ineligibility Criteria
- Generally, the Foundation will not consider proposals that:
- represent the work of a lone academic without an ongoing partnership with a community organization
- do not demonstrate the capacity or intent to carry out bona fide research, as indicated by either a past track record or a credentialed researcher partner
- are led by government/municipal agencies,
- result only in reports, publications, websites, gatherings, films, theatrical productions, concerts, conferences, or the like that are not part of a larger explicit social change strategy
- only evaluate existing programs. Program evaluation is not a priority.
For more information, visit Sociological Initiatives Foundation.