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Funding Sources Databases

Various resources to assist faculty in identifying and locating funding sources for research opportunities are listed below. These databases may include different funding opportunities, so you should use all that seem relevant to your interests

Sponsored Program Information Network - SPINMore Less

Sponsored Program Information Network - SPIN is an up-to-date listing of national and international government and private funding sources. It is the No. 1 database of its kind and is used by more than 800 colleges, universities and industry clients worldwide. SPIN has information on more than 1,200 sponsoring agencies and 11,000 separate funding opportunities. It also provides listings of upcoming deadlines and allows you to customize your own e-mail notifications of funding information.

Download a handout on using SPIN.

Grants.govMore Less

Grants.gov is maintained by the federal government and allows you to search for government - wide grant opportunities.

The American Educational Research Association (AERA)More Less

The American Educational Research Association (AERA)With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the AERA Grants Program has a Research Grants competition that seeks to:

  • Stimulate research on U.S. education issues using data from the large-scale, national and international datasets supported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Science Foundation, and other federal agencies
  • Increase the number of education researchers using these data sets.

The program supports quantitative research projects that incorporate analysis of existing data from NCES, NSF or other federal agencies and have U.S. education policy relevance.

Spencer FoundationMore Less

The Spencer Foundation awards grants that fit within one or more of these four areas of inquiry:

  • The relation between education and social opportunity
  • Organizational learning in schools, school systems, and higher education institutions
  • Teaching, learning, and instructional resources
  • Purposes and values of education

The Foundation will also continue to provide an opportunity to submit field-initiated proposals outside these areas. The Spencer Foundation has two grants programs:

Institute of Education Sciences (IES)More Less

National Science FoundationMore Less

US Department of State, English Language/Academic SpecialistMore Less

The English Language Specialist Program sends experts in the field of English language teaching around the world as a part of the U.S. Department of State's soft diplomacy. They are looking for academic specialists in different areas. For more information about eligibility visit https://elprograms.org/specialist/applicants/specialist-eligibility/.

Grantmakers for EducationMore Less

Grantmakers for Education is the nation's largest and most diverse network of education grantmakers dedicated to improving educational outcomes and increasing opportunities for all learners.

STEM Funders NetworkMore Less

STEM Funders Network is comprised of a diverse mix of more than 20 education-focused private and corporate foundations who are working together to increase the knowledge and expertise of grantmakers investing in STEM, leverage their collective resources, and collaborate on high-impact projects they could not undertake alone.