The William T. Grant Foundation invests in high-quality research focused on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people in the United States.

Focus Areas

We are focused on programs, policies, and practices that can reduce inequality in youth outcomes, and strategies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that benefit youth.

Grant Programs

Our grant programs support research that builds stronger theory and empirical evidence in our focus areas. Funding opportunities include grants for mid-career researchers and career-development awards for promising early-career scholars.

About Us

We begin with a set of questions, not preconceptions. And we focus our support on learning more about long-term, fundamental challenges. This means looking beyond the front page, asking big questions, and being open to unexpected answers.

Our History

Since our founding in 1936, the William T. Grant Foundation has worked to further the understanding of human behavior through research.

Upcoming Funding Opportunities

Research Grants

The online application is now closed. The next deadline for letters of inquiry is January 9, 2020 at 3:00 pm EST. 2020 application guidelines are forthcoming.

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Institutional Challenge Grant

The online application is now closed. The next deadline for applications is T.B.D.

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Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants

The online application is now closed. The next deadline for applications is T.B.D.

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Featured Resource

WEBSITE

Research-Practice Partnerships Microsite:
Guiding tips, work samples, and resources from successful research-practice partnerships

Featured Updates

NEWS & EVENTS

Five New Research Grants to Build Theory and Evidence in our Focus Areas

We are proud to announce four new grants to support research on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and one new grant to support research on improving the use of research evidence.
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NEWS & EVENTS

2019 Mentoring Grants to Support Junior Researchers of Color

Three research grantees and four William T. Grant Scholars have been awarded grants to support their development as mentors to junior researchers of color. The awardees will mentor promising doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows in enhancing their methodological skills, publication records, and career networks.
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For Applicants

Social Movement Research to Reduce Inequality for Young People

The Foundation is interested in funding studies that examine social movements as a strategy to target macro-structural inequalities that affect youth outcomes. Such studies might focus on youth-led movements or on adult-led movements that affect youth, but the central focus should examine the conditions or mechanisms through which movements can reduce inequality in youth outcomes.

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Grantee Writing

Lead Remediation: A Surprising Policy Solution for Reducing the Educational Achievement Gap

Given the well-established association between IQ and educational achievement, one wonders: How do changes in risks of lead exposure affect population-level education outcomes? And what can policy do to interrupt this link?

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Insight & Analysis

Vivian’s Voice: Evidence Use Across Sectors, Around the Globe, and Back at Home

Senior Vice President of Program Vivian Tseng shares reflections on the past decade of work on the use of research evidence.

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Featured Work

Seeing the Light of Evidence in Dark Times

There are signs that data, evidence, and rigorous evaluation persist even in these dark times for science and public policy in the United States. What will it take to keep the light of evidence burning and ensure that the best science informs important decisions of our time? Adam Gamoran shares some ideas in this week’s Science magazine.
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Insight & Analysis

Forming and sustaining a research-practice partnership: Lessons from our experience at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The value of RPPs can increase with each successive year, as long as they are sustained. Here, former and current staff from two respective offices within the federal department of Health and Human Services share insights from their experiences forming a partnership and keeping the work moving forward amid change and evolution.

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