Finding Funding

There are a wide range of funding opportunities for the DU community within federal, state, and local governments, foundations, international organizations, non-profit institutions and corporations.

Options to Find Funding

  • Search funding databases such as Grants.gov, The Foundation Center, and The Grantsmanship Center

  • In reviewing literature on a topic, look at the footnotes to see who funded the project. The organization may be willing to fund more projects.

  • Check professional association newsletters and magazine. Oftentimes, these sources announce grant competitions. You may also find tips or insights into organizations that fund similar projects.

  • Network with colleagues to see if they know sources of support.

  • Read through grant announcement descriptions carefully. Announcements could suggest other “keyword” areas to pursue. Also, grant guidelines may eliminate over half the potential sponsors. Since guidelines are not always descriptive, contact the program officer/contact person at the agency.

Federal Funding

The best resource for finding federal funding is through Grants.gov, which houses information on over 1,000 grant programs.

The University of Denver research community receives its funding from several federal sponsors, mostly from the  National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Internal Funding

Several times per year, the University provides opportunities for faculty to apply for internal funding to support their research and scholarly endeavors. Please review DU's Research & Scholarship website regarding internal funding opportunities.

Name Eligibility  Description $ Amount Deadline
Professional Research Opportunities for Faculty (PROF) Full-time faculty members whose job responsibilities include conducting research, scholarship or creative works  The goals of the fund are to support an increase in scholarly / creative activity by the faculty in a manner that strategically enhances the reputation of the University.  $20,000 (1 investigator)/$30,000 (2 or more investigators) Winter  
Faculty Research Fund Appointed faculty from all units Faculty Research Fund grants aim to stimulate research, scholarship and creative activity by the University of Denver Faculty.   $3,000 Spring 
Faculty Internationalization Grants All DU faculty  The Faculty Internationalization Grants are intended to provide support for significant international endeavors and/or as seed money for projects and pilots that should become self-sustaining.    $500-$8,000 Fall, Spring
Public Good Fund for Faculty All DU faculty The fund promotes and increases faculty public good research and outreach at the University.  $100,000 (split between all awardees)  Winter
Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (In)Equality All DU faculty, must illustrate interdisciplinary and community engagement IRISE provides support for faculty and students to engage in the development of cutting edge interdisciplinary research on racial equity in Colorado and the larger Rocky Mountain West. Such support can include 2 year pilot grants, postdoctoral fellows, grant writing consults, and student stipends. Projects must be inter or trans disciplinary and include a community collaborator. $10,000 - $20,000 (over two years)  On-going
Partners in Scholarship (PinS) Undergraduate students collaborating on a project with a faculty member  PinS provides a unique opportunity for students to collaborate on a project with a faculty member. Students should work with the faculty partner to develop a detailed project plan.  

$1,500 

 

 Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
Student Scholar Travel Fund Undergraduate students whose work has been accepted at an academic conference or meeting The travel should be for the purpose of presenting academic research. 

$1,000

 Rolling
Summer Research Grants Undergraduate students collaborating on a project with a faculty member The Summer Research Grants are intended to stimulate student/faculty collaborative projects.

$3,500

 Winter
Knoebel Institute Research Pilot Proposals Natural sciences, engineering and social sciences  Proposals for pilot research projects in the area of aging research   $250,000 (between 4-6 projects) Winter
Creative Arts Materials Fund (CAMF)  Professorial series faculty in the creative arts in the Divisions of Arts, Humanities $ Social Sciences In an effort to more fully meet the needs of faculty in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences whose professional work is located in the creative arts, the Dean's office of AHSS has established a fund to offset the expenses of arts materials for professorial series faculty in the two divisions.  $5,000 per faculty member Winter
Walter Rosenberry Fund & Indexing Grant Faculty in AHSS

The overarching theme for projects should be "Making Our Work Public." This would generally include costs associated with professional publications (e.g. copyright permissions, reproductions), theatrical productions, musical performances, art exhibitions, film presentations, and conference presentations. Highest priority will be given to projects with the greatest impact on professional development and that provide the greatest opportunity for public dissemination.

 $250-$1,500 Fall, Winter, Spring
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Faculty in AHSS  Additional funding opportunities can be found at the AHSS site  Various  Various