Grant-writing resources
This page contains resources to help support your grant-seeking efforts such as commonly requested institutional informational, ways to find funders, and writing and budget creation advice.
- Academic Funding Sources:
- Duke Opportunity Search (Use the simple or advanced search feature to locate current funding opportunities.)
- Harvard Funding Announcements (Select an academic division or research area to view newsletters listing current funding opportunities.)
- Wellesley College Database (Select one of the colored buttons to view a list of long-term, typically annual funding opportunities.)
- Community Projects:
- Philanthropy News Digest (View current requests for proposals. To sort by area of interest, go to the “RFPS” tab and select the appropriate area.)
- Earlham College Libraries Grant Writing Guides
- General Advice Articles
- Chasan-Taber, Lisa. “10 Tips for Successful Grant Writing.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. February 14, 2018.
- Mikal, Jude P. and Rumore, Gina. “10 Common Grant Writing Mistakes.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. January 4, 2018.
- Crow, James M. “What to Do When Your Grant is Rejected.” Nature. February 18, 2020.
- Funder Specific Advice
- National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): Advice on Preparing Your Grant
- National Institutes of Health (NIH): Quick Guide for Grant Applications
- NIH’s Office of Extramural Research (OER) Podcasts: All about Grants Podcast
- National Science Foundation (NSF): A Guide for Proposal Writing
- Schuman, Rebecca. “Are You Writing?” The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 13, 2019 Special Report.
- Roig, Miguel. “Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing.” NIH Office of Research Integrity. 2015.
- Earlham’s business expense policy
- Indirect Costs – See the policy Recovery and Distribution of Indirect or F&A Costs for an explanation of indirect costs and institutional treatment.
- US Government Per Diem Rates by location
- Ruben, Adam. “‘Twas the Night Before Grant Deadline.” Science. December 21, 2016.
Tips and FAQs
While each grant or sponsored project is inherently unique, the Office of Sponsored Programs & Foundation Relations (SP&FR) offers here some guidance on shared commonalities.
Accepting a grant award means entering into a contractual agreement with the funder to accomplish the activities outlined in the proposal and spend money in accordance with the submitted budget. Many funders, especially the federal government, require compliance with applicable rules and regulations upon submission and acceptance of grants. As the PI/PD, you agree to abide by all these obligations when submitting or accepting a grant.
If you have questions about expectations, the Office of SP&FR is here to help.
Narrative edits offered by the Office of SP&FR come in multiple flavors: Ensuring College compliance, alignment with funder requirements, and suggestions for clarity, tone/audience, structure, and grammar. As in any author-editor relationship, there should be an understanding that these are suggested changes and that the author is welcome to reject, counter, and further rework edits while recognizing that some items may be more negotiable than others.
When it comes time for editing, as the author, you are welcome share upfront what kind of edits you are hoping to get back. If you would prefer that the Office of SP&FR restrict edits only to an administrative review for College and funder compliance, please ask and focus will be only on needed edits.
As soon as you receive word of your award or declination, please let the Office of SP&FR know. The award letter and check must be submitted to the Controller. The Office of SP&FR files these notices for College records and, in the event of an award, will initiate the next steps in the acceptance process.
The Office of SP&FR typically sends out reminders regarding your report dates to help ensure timely reporting. Accepting grant funds includes agreeing to honoring a reporting schedule. Submitting reports on-time is essential for maintaining a positive relationship with the funder. Failure to submit reports on time may jeopardize your access to grant funds and, in some cases, institutional access to that funder’s money.
After the College receives notice of your award, the Controller will set up an account for your grant that will enable you to access the funds. Spending must align with your proposal budget, funder terms and conditions, and Earlham accounting guidelines such as those outlined in Earlham’s Business Expense Policy.