Disability
Disability studies, access, supports, and the rights and participation of disabled people.
75 opportunities · 50 traditional · 25 nontraditional
Traditional (50)
- Health services research grantsFederal grantAgency for Healthcare Research and QualityFunds research on how care is organised, delivered, paid for and made safer — including the social care integration and care-coordination questions social workers own in practice.Amount not published · Several times a year · Feb, Jun, Oct
- Education Research GrantsFederal grantInstitute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of EducationThe main federal source for education research, structured around exploration, development, efficacy and replication. The natural home for school social work and school-based intervention work.$100k–$4M · Annual cycle · Aug
- Congressionally Directed Medical Research ProgramsFederal grantU.S. Department of DefenseDisease- and topic-specific programmes set annually by Congress, several of which fund psychosocial, caregiving and military-family research that has no obvious NIH home.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Apr, May, Jun, Jul
- Disability and aging research and demonstration grantsFederal grantAdministration for Community LivingCommunity living, independent living and long-term services research, including the NIDILRR portfolio — the largest federal funder of disability research led with disabled people rather than about them.$200k–$4M · Annual cycle
- Patient-centered outcomes research fundingFederal grantPatient-Centered Outcomes Research InstituteComparative effectiveness research where patients and caregivers are partners in the study team from question-setting onward — a structure that rewards the engagement skills social work already teaches.$500k–$10M · Several times a year · Jan, May, Sep
- Grants in aging and serious illness careFoundation grantThe John A. Hartford FoundationImproving care for older adults — age-friendly health systems, family caregiving, and serious illness care. Historically the single most important private funder of gerontological social work.$250k–$3M · By invitation
- Grants and open callsFoundation grantOpen Society FoundationsRights-based funding across justice, migration, health and democratic practice in many countries, including research done with movements rather than only about them.Amount not published · Periodic calls
- Broad Pragmatic Studies PCORI Funding Announcement — Cycle 3 2026Foundation grantPatient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)PCORI's largest open competition for patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research: randomised trials, natural experiments or observational studies. Cycle 3 2026 names special emphasis areas including perinatal mental health and substance use, cancer survivorship, diabetes, and pain management in people with IDD or dementia.up to $12M · Several times a year · Jan, May, Sep
- Angelman Syndrome Foundation Call for Research ProposalsFoundation grantAngelman Syndrome FoundationAn open annual call funding one- and two-year Angelman syndrome projects at up to $100,000 a year. The published roadmap centres on UBE3A biology, therapeutic development, biomarkers and endpoints, and clinical care and innovation. That fourth cornerstone, covering symptom management, standardized protocols and care delivery, is the realistic entry point for a social work investigator, and the Foundation names seizures, sleep and motor challenges as priority problem areas. Be candid with yourself about fit: the Foundation does not advertise a dedicated behavioural, family or caregiver track.up to $100k per year · Annual cycle · Sep
- CURE Epilepsy Research Grants (Taking Flight Award and Rare Epilepsy Partnership Award)Foundation grantCURE EpilepsyCURE Epilepsy runs two open competitions. The Taking Flight Award gives $125,000 over 18 months to launch an independent epilepsy research program. The Rare Epilepsy Partnership Award gives $100,000 over one year to build research tools, model systems and data collection platforms for rare epilepsies, which is the mechanism that can carry registry, patient-reported outcome and family-facing data infrastructure work. Both awards fund salary, supplies and conference travel to present funded work, but neither pays equipment or indirect costs. International applicants are welcome if materials are $100k–$125k · Annual cycle · Jan, Mar, Jun, Sep
- Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Small Research Grant (R03 Clinical Trial Optional) — PAR-25-370Federal grantNational Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), NIHThe small-grant companion to NHGRI's ELSI R01, built for self-contained projects that a single investigator can carry: focused conceptual, normative or legal analysis, secondary analysis of existing data, a bounded qualitative study, or a pilot that establishes feasibility before a larger application. For a social work researcher without a large team or an existing genomics portfolio, this is the lowest-barrier entry point into the ELSI program — two years and a modest budget, with the same broad methodological welcome as the R01. Useful for work on how genetic information is used in child welup to $50k per year · Several times a year · Feb, Jun, Oct
- IRSF Rett Syndrome Bridge AwardsPilot / seed fundingInternational Rett Syndrome FoundationA rescue mechanism rather than a standing programme: up to $75,000 for one year to keep Rett syndrome research alive when its existing funding has been disrupted. Eligibility is written broadly, with no stated restriction excluding caregiver, family, quality-of-life or psychosocial projects, which makes it unusually open among rare-disease foundation awards. The same page lists the Rett Syndrome Innovation Awards for seed-stage therapeutic work, a rolling compound-testing Scout Program, and rolling clinical research awards restricted to IRSF Centers of Excellence.up to $75k · Several times a year · May, Aug
- National Ataxia Foundation Research Grants and Fellowships (FY2027)Foundation grantNational Ataxia FoundationNAF runs seven parallel mechanisms on one calendar, spanning the whole career ladder: a Graduate Research Fellowship, a Pre-doctoral Fellowship aimed at diversity, a Post-doctoral Fellowship, an Early Career Investigator Award, a Research Seed Money Grant, the Pioneer SCA3 Translational Award and the Michael Lundquist MSA-C Grant. The Foundation funds basic, translational and clinical ataxia research. It does not say on this page whether patient and caregiver quality-of-life studies qualify, so confirm scope with staff before writing a psychosocial proposal.$25k–$100k · Annual cycle · Nov, Mar
- Addressing Health Outcomes for Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and/or Rare Diseases (RD) PCORI Funding Announcement — Cycle 3 2026Foundation grantPatient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)Funds patient-centered comparative effectiveness research on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or rare diseases. Emphasis areas include access to person-centered care and health-system approaches to care transitions, including the pediatric-to-adult transition.up to $12M · Several times a year · Jan, May, Sep
- NICHD Small Research Grant Program (R03 Clinical Trial Required)Pilot / seed fundingNational Institutes of Health — Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)NICHD-only small grant for discrete two-year projects that involve a clinical trial: pilot and feasibility trials, secondary analysis of trial data, and methodology development within the NICHD mission on child health, families, adolescence, pregnancy and disability.up to $50k per year · Several times a year · Feb, Jun, Oct
- Leveraging Network Infrastructure to Conduct Innovative Research for Women, Children, Pregnant and Lactating Women, and Persons with Disabilities (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional)Federal grantNational Institutes of Health — Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)NICHD-led two-phase, milestone-driven award for investigator-initiated multisite clinical trials and observational studies that use existing NICHD clinical research network infrastructure. Populations covered are women, children, pregnant and lactating people, and people with disabilities.up to $6.3M · Several times a year · Mar, Jul, Nov
- Prevention and Intervention Approaches for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (R34 Clinical Trial Optional)Pilot / seed fundingNational Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), NIHPlanning grant for pilot or feasibility work on preventing prenatal alcohol exposure and on interventions for people living with FASD across the lifespan. Pilot data are not required to apply.up to $450k · Several times a year · Feb, Jun, Oct
- Partnership GrantsFoundation grantAlaska Mental Health Trust AuthorityThe Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority is a state corporate authority that administers a dedicated trust for Alaskans experiencing mental illness, developmental disabilities, substance use disorders, traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer's disease. Partnership Grants fund capacity building, planning, outreach, workforce and service development against four priority areas: prevention and early intervention, crisis response, treatment and recovery, and ongoing support and wellbeing. For a social work researcher this is a route to funded planning, needs assessment and programme development work Amount not published · Several times a year · Feb, May, Aug, Nov
- Investigator Initiated Clinical Trials of Complementary and Integrative Interventions Delivered Remotely or via mHealth (R01 Clinical Trial Required) — PAR-25-268Federal grantNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), NIHAn R01 for fully remote efficacy or effectiveness trials of complementary and integrative interventions, with a strict design constraint: there must be no in-person contact at all between research staff and participants. Everything — recruitment, consent, delivery, assessment, retention — happens at a distance or through mobile health tools. That constraint is the point, because it tests whether these interventions can reach people who cannot get to a clinic: rural residents, unpaid caregivers, people with disabilities or transport barriers, and people whose work hours make in-person research Amount not published · Several times a year · Feb, Jun, Oct
- Mentor-Based Postdoctoral Fellowship in Rehabilitation ResearchTraining & capacityNational Multiple Sclerosis SocietySupport goes to a mentor-institution combination that recruits, selects and trains postdoctoral fellows for careers in rehabilitation research applied to MS and similar disorders. The Society states mentor and fellow may come from a variety of fields including medicine, physical, occupational or speech therapy, psychology, rehabilitation engineering, nursing or other fields, and training may be fundamental or applied.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Aug
- Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 — Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)Early-career awardNational Institutes of Health — Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD, participating IC)Three-to-five years of salary and research support with protected time and a mentor, aimed at reaching research independence. NICHD accepts K01 applications in only three areas: rehabilitation research, child abuse and neglect, and population research — the last two being direct social work research fields.Amount not published · Several times a year · Feb, Jun, Oct
- SSCR Career Development Awards (Round 3)Training & capacityNIHR School for Social Care Research (SSCR)Training and development awards for social care researchers and practitioners to build the skills needed to reach the next step of their research careers. Run by the NIHR School for Social Care Research, a research and capacity-building partnership of English universities with its directorate at the University of York, focused on adult social care. One of the very few UK awards aimed squarely at practitioner-researchers rather than established academics.Amount not published · Periodic calls · Sep
- RR&D Research Career Development Program (CDA-1, CDA-2, CDEA)Early-career awardU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development — Rehabilitation Research and Development ServiceMentored career development awards giving clinically and non-clinically trained researchers protected time to become independent VA investigators, on projects relevant to the health and function of veterans with disabilities.Not a cash award · Several times a year · May, Nov
- Research Training Programs in Special Education — 84.324BTraining & capacityInstitute of Education Sciences (IES), National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), U.S. Department of EducationFunds programmes that prepare researchers to conduct special education and early intervention research. FY 2027 competes two topics: Early Career Development and Mentoring in Special Education, and Methods Training for Special Education Research.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Aug, Sep, Oct
- Spinal Cord Injury Research on the Translational Spectrum (SCIRTS)Foundation grantCraig H. Neilsen FoundationTwo- to three-year grants for research on functional outcomes and complications after spinal cord injury, plus two-year Postdoctoral Fellowships preparing researchers for independent SCI research careers.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Apr, May, Nov
- RR&D Research Career Scientist AwardFederal fellowshipU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development — Rehabilitation Research and Development ServiceProvides a career track and salary support for outstanding non-clinician scientists with sustained research productivity and commitment to VA rehabilitation research relevant to veterans' care.Not a cash award · Several times a year · May, Nov
- Post-Doctoral S.O.S. Grant ProgramEarly-career awardAutism Science FoundationA support mechanism for autism postdoctoral researchers, created in response to disruption in the research funding climate. Listed alongside ASF's Suzanne Wright Research Accelerator Awards, profound-autism pilot grants and pre-doctoral fellowships.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Jul, Oct
- Using Longitudinal Data to Support State Education Policymaking in Special Education — 84.324SFederal grantInstitute of Education Sciences (IES), National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), U.S. Department of EducationFunds state agencies to use statewide longitudinal data systems to produce evidence for state and local decisions about learners with, or at risk for, disabilities.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Aug, Sep, Oct
- Parkinson's Foundation Community GrantsFoundation grantParkinson's FoundationA $1 million annual pool for locally operated programs serving people with Parkinson's disease and their care partners. Two of the three published focus areas are squarely social-work territory: mental health and emotional wellbeing (anxiety, depression, social isolation) and care partner support, training and resources. The Foundation asks that funded programs be impactful, sustainable, scalable and measurable, which is the opening for an evaluation component designed with a researcher. Since 2011 the program has put more than $13.9 million into 1,065 community-based programs.$10k–$25k · Annual cycle · Jan
- HDSA HD Human Biology Project (and companion HD Human Experience Project)Foundation grantHuntington's Disease Society of AmericaHDSA's flagship fellowship funds research on Huntington's disease as it occurs in people, using patient samples and clinical data. Read the scope carefully before applying as a social scientist: psychosocial, quality-of-life and behavioural projects are explicitly out of scope for the Human Biology Project itself. HDSA states on this same page that it launched a companion stream in 2026, the HD Human Experience Project, aimed at the cognitive, psychiatric and behavioural features of HD and at rehabilitation approaches, which is where a social work investigator's project belongs. A meaningful cup to $90k per year · Annual cycle · Apr, May, Jul
- Tourette Association of America Young Investigator AwardEarly-career awardTourette Association of AmericaA career-development award of up to $75,000 a year for two years for researchers moving into Tourette syndrome and tic disorders. Applications must pair an independent research project with an explicit career development component. TAA states the award supports biological understanding, clinical research aimed at improving patient care, and the development and testing of new therapies; the Association has historically seeded a behavioural sciences consortium alongside its genetics, neuroimaging and DBS consortia, so behavioural and psychosocial work has a place, though the emphasis on this pagup to $150k · Annual cycle · Nov
- Quality of Life Grants ProgramFoundation grantChristopher & Dana Reeve FoundationTiered grants to nonprofits for projects serving people living with paralysis. Tiers run from open-purpose Direct Effect awards through targeted priority tiers (assistive technology, disaster preparedness, respite and caregiving, rural underserved populations, employment, nursing home transition) to Expanded Impact awards for proven prior grantees.$5k–$100k · Several times a year
- FY26 Autism Research Program (ARP) Career Development AwardEarly-career awardU.S. Department of Defense — Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), Defense Health AgencySupports early-career independent investigators, or established investigators transitioning into autism research, to pursue high-impact ideas or early-phase proof-of-principle trials addressing critical needs of the autism community. Preliminary data are required.$750k · Annual cycle · May, Jul, Oct
- New Ideas AwardFoundation grantSimons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI)Early-stage support for exploratory research testing novel hypotheses in autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Investigators who have not previously been funded by SFARI, including those new to autism research, are encouraged to apply.up to $600k · Rolling / open
- Academic Research Grants ProgramFoundation grantBorchard Foundation Center on Law and AgingSmall research grants for scholarship on new or improved public policies, laws and programmes that improve quality of life for older adults, especially those isolated by poverty, language, culture, disability or lack of education. Results must be publishable in academic journals.up to $20k · Annual cycle · Sep, Oct
- Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) ProgramFederal grantSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)Cooperative agreement to implement court-ordered community-based treatment for adults with serious mental illness, working with civil courts and community partners. Aims to reduce hospitalisation, homelessness and criminal justice contact.up to $750k per year · Periodic calls · Apr
- NIDCD Cooperative Agreement for Clinical Trials in Communication Disorders and NIDCD Clinical Trial RoutesFederal grantNational Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), NIHNIDCD's own routing page for clinical trial applications, and unusually concrete about where a trial belongs. Lower-risk trials go through the NIH parent R01 announcements (PA-25-305 for clinical trial required, PA-25-303 for basic experimental studies with humans) when the trial needs no FDA oversight, carries safety risks no greater than routine medical care, is not powered to change health policy or standard of care, and is not an NIH-defined Phase III trial — generally under $500,000 annual direct costs. Higher-risk or pivotal trials go through the NIDCD-specific cooperative agreement PAR-up to $500k per year · Varies by programme
- Research Grants and User Research GrantsFoundation grantMotability FoundationGrants to charities and organisations for accessible transport research, including a User Research strand explicitly created to fund research centred on disabled people's own perspectives where little funding has existed.$50k–$1M · Rolling / open
- Disability Justice FundFoundation grantTrust for LondonLong-term funding for Deaf and Disabled People's Organisations in London to run campaigning and advocacy that challenges injustice, including the research and evidence work that campaigns rest on.$10k–$180k · Rolling / open
- Prevention and Intervention Approaches for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)Federal grantNational Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), NIHTwo-phase award: an R61 pilot or secondary-data phase to establish feasibility, then a milestone-gated R33 phase to test FASD prevention or intervention approaches at scale.up to $500k per year · Several times a year · Feb, Jun, Oct
- Maternal and Child Health Secondary Data Analysis Research (MCH SDAR) ProgramFederal grantHealth Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal & Child Health BureauFunds applied maternal and child health research using secondary analysis of existing national data sets and administrative records. Findings must strengthen the evidence base behind Title V National Performance Measures and address health disparities; recipients must submit a dissemination plan and report sample diversity.Amount not published · Periodic calls · Jan
- US Programs GrantsFoundation grantIslamic Relief USAGrants to small US nonprofits delivering food security, healthcare, livelihood and community development services. The community development category explicitly names domestic violence intervention, at-risk youth programmes, special-needs inclusivity, senior programming and nonprofit capacity building — a viable route for a community agency partnered with a social work researcher to fund service delivery and the capacity to evaluate it.Not a cash award · Rolling / open
- Research for Future Skills, Education and Working LifeFoundation grantResearch Council of Norway (Forskningsrådet)Norway's national research council runs this call off its welfare-and-education portfolio plan, and the four themes — education and working life in transition, competence and skills development, learning and inclusion in education, and inclusive and well-functioning working life — read as a social work and social policy agenda. Grants are substantial and long: three to six years of funding for a full project team. Relevant for school social work, transitions out of care and into employment, labour-market inclusion of disabled and migrant populations, and workforce studies of the welfare servicAmount not published · Annual cycle · May
- National MS Society Research GrantsFoundation grantNational Multiple Sclerosis SocietyAnnual investigator-initiated grant program tied to the Society's Pathways to MS Cures Roadmap. The page states the Society supports fundamental as well as applied studies, nonclinical or clinical, explicitly including projects in patient management, care and rehabilitation, and values proposals focused on underserved and understudied ethnic and racial MS populations.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Oct, Nov
- Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation Research Grants and FellowshipsFoundation grantMyotonic Dystrophy FoundationMDF funds three standing mechanisms in myotonic dystrophy. The Research Fellows Program supports pre- and postdoctoral fellows. The two-year Early Career Scholar Program is the one worth a social work researcher's attention: MDF states it supports basic, translational, clinical and care-focused projects, and care-focused is the wording that admits care delivery, support and outcomes work. A Pilot Grants Program runs semiannually for one-year studies. MDF also issues targeted RFAs for strategic initiatives and small grants for travel and open-access publication.Amount not published · Several times a year
- Psychosocial Research (PSR) GrantsFoundation grantCraig H. Neilsen FoundationFunds studies of psychological and social wellbeing after spinal cord injury, and the development and testing of interventions. Three mechanisms: Postdoctoral Fellowships, Investigational Grants (two years), and Interventional Testing Grants (up to three years).Amount not published · Annual cycle · Jan, Mar, Jul
- Grantmaking ProgramFoundation grantThe SCAN FoundationFoundation grantmaking on long-term care, Medicare-Medicaid integration, Medicare health and social supports, and multisector plans for aging, including data-driven research and work centring the lived experience of older adults from underrepresented communities.Amount not published · By invitation
- Switzer Research Fellowship ProgramFederal fellowshipNational Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), Administration for Community LivingFellowships awarded to individuals, not organizations, to carry out research on rehabilitation, independent living and the experiences and outcomes of people with disabilities. Two tiers: Merit for earlier-career researchers and Distinguished for senior researchers.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr
- Community Partnerships and InvestmentsFoundation grantWounded Warrior ProjectWWP makes grants and investments to military and veteran organisations across five focus areas, and separately funds applied research and white papers on caregiving, brain injury telerehabilitation and military family well-being.Amount not published · By invitation
- Special Education Research Grants — 84.324AFederal grantInstitute of Education Sciences (IES), National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), U.S. Department of EducationNCSER's main research grant programme, covering topics including autism spectrum disorders; early intervention and early learning; families of children with disabilities; social, emotional and behavioural competence; systems, policy and finance; and transition to postsecondary life.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Dec, Jan, Feb
Nontraditional (25)
- Grantmaking to organisations of persons with disabilitiesParticipatory grantmakingDisability Rights FundParticipatory grantmaking where disabled people sit on the panel that decides awards, funding disabled-led organisations in the global South to do their own research and advocacy.$5k–$60k · Periodic calls
- Pooled and participatory fundsParticipatory grantmakingBorealis PhilanthropyA set of pooled funds — including Black-led movement, disability inclusion and racial equity funds — where movement leaders help decide the grants, and where research is funded as a movement tool.$25k–$300k · By invitation
- Cultivating Connected Communities Prize ChallengePrize or challengeAdministration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesA two-phase national prize competition for existing community garden projects that expand accessibility, healthy eating and social connection for people with disabilities and older adults, including accessibility upgrades, adaptive tools and inclusive programming.$4k–$8k · Periodic calls · May, Jul, Aug, Oct
- Wellcome Snakebite Innovation PrizePrize or challengeChallenge Works (prize funded by Wellcome)A challenge prize for innovations that strengthen community response to snakebite, speed access to appropriate care, or improve treatment delivery in high-burden settings. Runs on prize stages, not a grant application.up to $6.3M · Periodic calls · Sep
- Disability Frontlines FundParticipatory grantmakingThird Wave FundMulti-year unrestricted grants to disability justice work, awarded through what the fund describes as a participatory grantmaking process. Funds organizations, fiscally sponsored projects and individuals with projects.$10k–$50k per year · Annual cycle · Jul, Aug
- Disability Rights Fund 2026 Grant RoundParticipatory grantmakingDisability Rights FundGrants direct to organisations of persons with disabilities to advance disability rights advocacy. Decision-making is led by disabled people, and grants support 12 months of organisation-defined work.up to $50k · Annual cycle · Jun, Aug
- LymeX HealthathonPrize or challengeU.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) LymeX Innovation Accelerator, posted by NIHA $250,000 innovation sprint that pays for lived-experience narratives and community-identified priorities from patients, caregivers, and clinicians, then synthesises them into signals for federal decision-makers.$1k–$100k · Periodic calls · Aug
- CIVICUS Solidarity FundParticipatory grantmakingCIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen ParticipationA member-led and member-resourced granting mechanism inside the CIVICUS alliance, designed to move small amounts of money to constituency-led groups that structurally cannot reach institutional donors. Priority goes to organisations of women, youth, people with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ people, labour groups, Indigenous peoples and rural communities, and to applicants in countries the CIVICUS Monitor rates closed, repressed or obstructed — which covers much of francophone West Africa and the Sahel. Eligible costs include core operating costs, legal action, media coverage, safety measures and commu$1k–$10k · Periodic calls
- AARP Community ChallengePrize or challengeAARPAnnual competitive quick-action grants making communities more livable for people aged 50 and older. Three tracks: Flagship grants, Capacity-Building Microgrants paired with coaching and cohort learning, and Demonstration grants funding replicable local efforts.$3k–$25k · Annual cycle · Jan, Feb, Mar
- Disability Rights Fund — OPD GrantsParticipatory grantmakingDisability Rights FundA grantmaking collaborative in which persons with disabilities sit on the bodies that decide grants, funding organisations of persons with disabilities in the Global South to advance the CRPD, including their own advocacy research and documentation.$10k–$120k · Annual cycle · May, Jun
- PICAN Climate Justice FundRapid-response fundPacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN)A community-driven re-granting model that moves climate and disaster money directly to Pacific frontline communities on the vouching of a trusted local node partner, with no formal proposal required.$2k–$7k · Rolling / open
- Small Grant Opportunities (Growing Advocacy, Conference Access, Language Translation, Inclusive Transportation)Training & capacityNew York State Council on Developmental DisabilitiesA recurring set of small state-agency grants, including Growing Advocacy for organisations run and led by people with developmental disabilities, that can fund advocacy capacity, access costs and translation.$1k–$10k · Periodic calls
- Awesome Foundation micro-grantsParticipatory grantmakingThe Awesome FoundationNo-strings $1,000 grants awarded monthly by autonomous local chapters of roughly ten micro-trustees each, for community, social innovation, accessibility and public-interest projects. Useful for small pilot documentation or community data work that cannot wait for a grant cycle.$1k · Several times a year · Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
- Disability Inclusion Fund — Collaborative GrantsParticipatory grantmakingBorealis Philanthropy (Disability Inclusion Fund)Two-year support for joint projects between two or more disability-led, disability-justice organisations in the US. Grantees are chosen by a committee made up mostly of disability advocates.$75k–$150k · Annual cycle · May, Jun
- ED/IES Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) ProgramPilot / seed fundingInstitute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of EducationContracts for small businesses to develop and evaluate education technology. Includes a Direct to Phase II track specifically for commercialising evidence-based innovations originally created by university or non-profit researchers.$250k–$1M · Annual cycle · Apr, May, Jun
- Disability Futures FellowsPrize or challengeFord Foundation (with the Mellon Foundation, administered by United States Artists)An unrestricted award to disabled artists, journalists and documentary filmmakers, designed with disabled practitioners. Fellows are nominated rather than self-applying.$50k · By invitation
- The CARE FundParticipatory grantmakingThe CARE Fund (Care for All with Respect and Equity)A philanthropic collaboration pooling resources to improve the livelihoods of paid and unpaid caregivers and the quality of care across generations. Stated targets are public investment in paid family and medical leave, early care and education, aging and disability care, and quality care jobs, which is squarely the evidence terrain of care-work research.Amount not published · By invitation
- WorkSafeBC Research Grants Program (Innovation Grants, Research Training Awards, Ralph McGinn Postdoctoral Fellowships)Federal grantWorkSafeBC (Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia)A workers' compensation board research program funding occupational health and safety work through several streams: innovation grants for applied, prototype, and exploratory projects; training awards for master's and doctoral students; a postdoctoral fellowship; and commissioned work on specific priorities and systematic reviews.Amount not published · Annual cycle · Oct
- Elrha funding calls (R2HC research and Humanitarian Innovation Fund)Rapid-response fundElrhaThe single portal where Elrha posts its humanitarian research and innovation calls, including crisis-triggered R2HC calls for research responding to current or anticipated humanitarian health emergencies.Amount not published · Periodic calls
- Cultivating Connected Communities ChallengePrize or challengeAdministration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesA phased national challenge funding community-garden initiatives that improve accessibility and food access for older adults and people with disabilities, including accessibility upgrades, adaptive tools and inclusive programming aimed at reducing social isolation.Amount not published · Periodic calls · Jul, Aug, Oct
- DBHDS Procurement (Behavioral Health Solicitations via eVA)Evaluation contractVirginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS)Virginia's behavioral health and developmental services authority competes its service, analytic and study contracts through eVA, the Commonwealth's eProcurement marketplace. This page sets out the rules, registration route and term-contract postings.Amount not published · Rolling / open
- Global Genes RARE Patient Impact GrantsParticipatory grantmakingGlobal GenesA grant stream that puts money directly into rare disease patient advocacy organizations rather than into universities. Past cycles funded educational tools and resources to improve health equity in underserved and underrepresented rare disease populations, in-person convenings and community building, and programs addressing the health and mental wellbeing of the rare disease community, naming children, siblings, caregivers and care partners, and people who are grieving. That sibling-and-bereavement framing is rare in condition-foundation funding and maps directly onto family-systems social woAmount not published · Varies by programme
- Caregiver Artificial Intelligence Prize ChallengePrize or challengeAdministration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesA three-phase competition (design, implementation, scaling) for AI-enabled tools supporting family caregivers (Track 1) and expanding the direct care workforce (Track 2). Teams must develop, test and scale a working tool rather than propose a study.Amount not published · Periodic calls · Mar, Apr, May, Jul, Sep
- Disability Justice Funds (participatory grant-making)Participatory grantmakingADD InternationalFunds designed and awarded by panels of disabled women and young disabled people themselves, resourcing grassroots disabled people's organisations in Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Cambodia and Bangladesh.Amount not published · Periodic calls
- Disability Inclusion FundParticipatory grantmakingBorealis PhilanthropyA pooled fund for disability justice work — policy advocacy, community organising, art and narrative change — with collaborative grants, joy grants and capacity-building support alongside project money.Amount not published · Periodic calls
Other clusters
- Adolescent and Youth Development
- Aging Services and Gerontology
- American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Global Indigenous Populations (Indigenous Cluster)
- Asian and Asian-Pacific Islander Focused-Research
- Black and African Diaspora Focused-Research
- Child Welfare
- Communities and Neighborhoods
- Crime and Criminal Justice
- Gender
- Gender-Based Violence
- Health
- History
- Inequality, Poverty, and Social Welfare Policy
- International Social Work and Global Issues
- Immigrants and Refugees
- LatinX Focused-Research
- Mental Health
- Military Service Members, Veterans and Their Families
- Organizations and Management
- Race and Ethnicity
- Research Design and Measurement
- Research on Social Work Education
- School Social Work
- Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
- Social Work Practice
- Substance Misuse and Addictive Behaviors
- Sustainable Development, Environmental and Climate Justice
- Work and Work-Life Policies and Programs