FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

NKU Faculty Travel Grant Program

The Office of Research, Grants & Contracts announces a call for applications for the NKU Faculty Travel Grant Program. Up to $10,000 is available in travel grants for the 2026 Spring/Summer semesters to be distributed among faculty who are selected for these awards (awards are anticipated to be in the range of $500 - $1,500, depending on need). These funds can be used for transportation, room, board, etc. The NKU Faculty Travel Grant Program is intended to enhance faculty collaboration that stimulates scholarly initiatives between other institutions in Kentucky and surrounding states (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri). It gives faculty from NKU the opportunity to travel to another campus to exchange ideas, develop grant proposals, and conduct research. General program procedures are as follows:

• An NKU faculty member may visit any academic or research institution within Kentucky or one of the seven identified surrounding States.
• One application per PI per grant cycle.
• Faculty members will be responsible for arranging coverage of their duties during their absence.
• A faculty member will contact a host unit (e.g., department, research center, school, etc.) that he or she wishes to visit to determine that unit’s receptivity and availability.
• The visiting faculty member may consult with faculty and/or students, offer lectures or symposia, or engage in whatever activities are agreeable to the visitor and host unit.
• Travel must occur between February 1, 2026 – June 30, 2026.
• After the visit, the faculty member will submit a brief report to the RGC office describing outcomes of the visit.

To apply for an NKU Faculty Travel Grant, please submit the following information electronically via this link: NKU Faculty Travel Grant by Friday, January 16, 2026, at 4:30 PM EST:

• Name and Title of Principal Investigator (PI)
• PI’s Department Name
• PI’s e-mail address
• PI’s campus address
• Host Institution
• Host Department/Unit
• Anticipated Visit Dates
• Project Summary (purpose of visit, etc.)
• Estimated Budget (transportation, lodging, per diem)
• Attachments to include:
  • Summary of impact of funding on current and future instructional and research activities
  • Maximum two (2)-page vitae for the principal investigator and collaborator must accompany the application
  • Host unit’s invitation letter to the visiting faculty member
  • Faculty member’s biography (no more than 125 words) 
    
    

Note: Distribution of awards will be via a budget transfer to the PI’s departmental cost center to be expended on allowable travel costs incurred.

Opportunities for Early Career Researchers:

• Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology (BRC-BIO) - Up to $450,000 over a 36-month period (plus up to $50,000 for equipment)
• Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) - $400,000 over a 60-month period
• Computer and Information Science and Research Initiation Initiative - Up to $175,000 over a 24-month period
• Launching Early Career Academic Pathways in Mathematical & Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) - Up to $250,000 over a 24-month period    

2025 NKU FUNDING FOCUS

Below please find a few potential external funding opportunities for your consideration. This Funding Focus listing is updated monthly with new opportunities for your review. Please double-check eligibility criteria and/or reach out to RGC for assistance.

National Institutes of Health (NIH):            

• Program: Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for
  Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• Link: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-134.html
• Due: February 25, 2026

Wenner-Gren Foundation:     

• Program: Conference & Workshop Grants
• Link: https://wennergren.org/program/conference-and-workshop-grant/
• Due: December 1, 2025 and June 1, 2026
• Program relates to Anthropology disciplines

Sundt Companies, Inc.:     

• Program: Grants Program
• Link: https://www.sundt.com/foundation/#apply
• Due: December 16, 2025
• The Foundation considers a broad range of social issues but gives special focus to youth development, military & veterans, hunger & nutrition, and other basic needs.
  
• Application must be through NKU Research Foundation [501(c)(3)]

Kentucky Commercialization Ventures:     

• Program: GOAL Fund
• Link: https://www.kycommercializationventures.com/goal-fund
• Due: 4 weeks before event OR registration closing date (whichever is earliest)
• Fund supports faculty, staff, and students from KCV partner institutions in attending conferences and events that promote innovation and commercialization. 
  

Mid-South REACH

The Mid-South REACH (Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub) program is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded program that extends across four states: Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. The primary goal of this grant program is to accelerate the real-world impact of biomedical and health related innovations through education, mentorship, and financial support for aspiring entrepreneurs. Click here to learn more.

National Endowment for the Humanities (Non-STEM Opportunities)

View Program Page

KY INBRE Development Core Research Programs & Opportunities

The Development Research Core provides an array of support programs to develop competitive biomedical research faculty in Kentucky’s Colleges and Universities eligible for NIH R15/R16 funding. The primary assumption underlying this program is that each Kentucky institution needs a critical mass of independent biomedical researchers as faculty (who publish on a regular basis and are competitive for NIH grant programs) in order to provide the highest quality biomedical research training  to undergraduate students.

To continue to increase biomedical research capacity in Kentucky, KY INBRE offers competitive support programs to recruit new researchers to Kentucky institutions (Start-Up Awards), assist existing faculty to develop competitive research programs (Investigator Development Awards), to train the next generation of research faculty (Postdoctoral Awards), and assist successful researchers to maintain their independent NIH funding (Bridge Awards). Investigators can only hold one KY INBRE grant at a time (Startup, Bridge, Postdoc, IDeA). 

• Research Project Awards (RPA) - NIH-AREA (R15) - Guidelines 
• Pilot Project Awards (PPA) - R15 or R16 proposals - Guidelines 
• Mentored Career Development Awards (MCDA) - Guidelines - Accepted Year-Round
• Student Diversity Research Awards (SDRA) - Guidelines - LOI Due: 3/7/2025 and Full Proposal Due: 3/31/2025        
• Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) Awards - Guidelines 
• Start-Up Awards - Guidelines - Accepted Year-Round

Kentucky Space Grant Consortium & NASA EPSCoR Opportunities

View Program Page

Compilation of Funding Opportunity Information & Links

This is a PDF listing of approximately 100 federal, state and non-profit links. Interested faculty should verify institutional and PI eligibility prior to developing a proposal.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Grant announcements for supporting research to improve the quality, effectiveness, accessibility, and cost effectiveness of health care.

Department of Defense
Funding opportunities from the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)

Grants.gov
Federal announcement page for grant opportunities.

Grants.gov Funding Email Alert Service
Offering email alerts of new opportunities.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

NIH Grants & Funding
Advanced funding opportunities & notices search page.

NSF
NSF funding opportunities search page.

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
Funding opportunities for patient-centered research in Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options; Improving Healthcare Systems; Communication and Dissemination; Addressing Disparities; and Accelerating Patient-Centered Outcomes Research and Methodological Research.

SPIN
Largest database of sponsored funding opportunities.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture grants and fellowships (pre and postdoctoral).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Grant funding opportunities.