Best Seed Grants for Nonprofits in New Jersey

The Lawrence W. & Francis W. Cox Scholarship, established by Mrs. Wahneta T. Hinrichs in 2008, honors the legacy of her husband and father-in-law. This scholarship is awarded annually to one undergraduate civil engineering student enrolled in an ABET-accredited program. It aims to support students with tuition expenses, furthering their education in civil engineering disciplines, thus contributing to the profession's growth and sustainability.

The BRAIN Initiative aims to advance innovative neurotechnologies by funding early-stage clinical studies for devices that record or stimulate the human central nervous system. This initiative encourages collaborations between clinical researchers and device manufacturers to facilitate groundbreaking studies. By addressing the challenges of obtaining safety and utility data, this program supports both non-invasive and significant risk devices, providing essential insights into their functionality and design. Applications are currently not being solicited, allowing time for meaningful project development.

The Robert B. B. and Josephine N. Moorman Scholarship, established in 2008 by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), provides financial support for undergraduate students pursuing degrees in civil engineering or related fields. This scholarship honors Robert B.B. Moorman, a dedicated civil engineering professor. Eligible applicants must be enrolled in an ABET-accredited program and maintain good standing with ASCE. This award aims to alleviate tuition costs for deserving students committed to the civil engineering profession.

The Robert P. Wadell Transportation Engineering Scholarship, established in 2022 by Robert P. Wadell, P.E., MSCE, F.ASCE, supports undergraduate students in civil engineering with a focus on transportation. Funded through the ASCE Foundation, the scholarship aims to aid up to two deserving students annually with tuition and fees. Eligible applicants must be U.S. citizens enrolled in an ABET-accredited program and members of the ASCE. Preference is given to those in their final two years of study.

The Collins Medical Trust Grant, established in 1956, supports health-related research and professional education for tax-exempt organizations. Eligible applicants include institutions with approved tax status and a commitment to equal opportunity. Early career investigators are encouraged to apply, but funds cannot be used for individual benefits or political activities. The Trust prioritizes projects in Oregon and does not support product development for industry. Applications are accepted thrice yearly, with specific deadlines for timely consideration.

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund's Career Awards at the Scientific Interface provide $560,000 over five years to support early-career researchers transitioning from physical and computational sciences to biological sciences. Launched in 1999, these awards aim to enhance academic research careers for U.S. and Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents, fostering a diverse and innovative scientific workforce essential for advancing human health.

The Louisville Institute offers the Grant for Researchers to support academic research in North American Christianity and related fields. Grants of up to $55,000 are available for sabbatical leaves, research projects, and necessary resources. This flexible program combines previous grants to meet contemporary academic needs. Applicants can apply individually or as teams of up to three, provided they are based in the U.S. or Canada. Projects bridging scholarship and church life are of particular interest.

The Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) program, established by NIGMS, aims to enhance research funding efficiency by providing stable financial support to investigators. This allows for greater scientific flexibility and encourages innovative studies. MIRA is pivotal for distributing funding among promising researchers, fostering groundbreaking research. The program invites applications from eligible NIGMS-funded and NIH-defined New Investigators, as well as current MIRA grantees seeking renewal, ensuring a broad and inclusive approach to advancing science.

The Kazanjian Economics Foundation Grant focuses on enhancing economic literacy across various educational settings. With a history of over 70 years, the foundation supports projects that deliver economic education to youth, particularly in non-school environments. It emphasizes teacher training and initiatives for underserved communities, while also promoting behavioral economics and entrepreneurship. The foundation welcomes letters of interest year-round, with recommended deadlines of March 10th and September 10th for grant cycles.

The Outstanding Earth Science Teacher (OEST) Award recognizes exceptional K-12 educators for their contributions to Earth Science education. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, the award aims to stimulate interest in Earth Sciences among students. Eight national finalists are chosen annually, ensuring broad recognition and encouraging teaching excellence. Nominees can apply themselves or be nominated by colleagues, allowing for two awards in an educator's career to honor both early and late career achievements.

The John K. Fairbank Prize in East Asian History, awarded by the American Historical Association, recognizes exceptional scholarly work in the history of East Asia, particularly focusing on books published after 1800. Eligible works must demonstrate high literary merit and can be nominated by authors or publishers. The prize aims to highlight significant contributions to the historical disciplines, with recipients announced in October 2025 and honored at the January 2026 AHA annual meeting in Chicago.

Chautauqua Region Community Foundation

Mission: In partnership with our community, we ignite positive change and create a legacy of impact.

Scholarships

The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation annually awards more than $2 million in scholarships to students pursuing higher education, job training and certification. The Foundation hosts several different scholarship opportunities throughout the year. 

Space Camp Scholarship

Open to students (grades 4-12) or adults from Chautauqua County, NY or Warren County, PA to support the cost of attending U.S. Space Camp. 

BJA FY 25 Invited to Apply for Transforming Prison Cultures, Climates, and Spaces

Basic Information

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is committed to advancing work that furthers the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) mission to keep our country safe and secure and uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of American citizens. OJP provides federal leadership, funding, and other critical resources to directly support law enforcement, combat violent crime, protect American children, provide services to American crime victims, and address public safety challenges, including human trafficking and the opioid crisis.

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the BJA FY 2025 Invited to Apply for Transforming Prison Cultures, Climates, and Spaces. Originally released in FY23, BJA's Transforming Prison Cultures, Climates, and Spaces program funded the development and initial implementation of the Safe Inside Initiative, which supports state departments of corrections (DOC) in their efforts to improve safety, security, and reduce recidivism, particularly among prisons facing acute workforce challenges. Through the Safe Inside Initiative funded via this program, state DOCs will receive highly specialized and technical training to help them effectively recruit, train, and retain qualified staff, and streamline operations in response to workforce trends.

The Burton and Erma Lewis Structural Engineering Scholarship, established by the estate of Mr. Lewis in 2025, aims to support students pursuing degrees in structural engineering. Awarded annually, the scholarship is available to undergraduate students enrolled in ABET-accredited programs who demonstrate a commitment to the field. Recipients can use the funds for tuition and academic fees, facilitating their education and career development in civil engineering.

Every Battle Creek area resident shall have the resources to access post-secondary education and training.

Your dreams matter — and we want to help you achieve them. Whether you’re a graduating high school senior, an adult returning to school, or a graduate student pursuing advanced education, we’re here to support you by opening doors to opportunity.

Beyond tuition, many funds support total cost of attendance — books, fees, equipment, and in some cases childcare or transportation.

Checks are made payable to the educational institution indicated on the follow-up and mailed directly to the educational institution. Checks are typically mailed in early August.

Ronald Clark McDaniel Memorial Scholarship Fund

To honor the life and legacy of Ronald Clark "Ron" McDaniel, family and friends established the Ronald Clark McDaniel Memorial Scholarship Fund in 2008. Ron, born in Harlan, Kentucky, moved to Battle Creek, Michigan at the age of 5. He was involved in the National Honor Society, Boys State, played baseball and football and graduated in the top ten of his class at Pennfield High School. He then served in the United States Air Force obtaining presidential awards and honors before he made his home back in Battle Creek. Ron managed to balance his commitment and love for his family and sports while exhibiting an unequaled work ethic, often working 7 days a week, at the same company for 38 years. This fund was established to carry on his value of education. He believed that all young adults should participate in extra-curricular activities in or outside of school while focusing on education. Most of all Ron McDaniel believed education was the key to success. Scholarships in memory of Ron will be awarded to graduating seniors who have participated in high school athletics and are seeking educational opportunities in teaching/education.

American Physical Society

The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance physics by fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and global community dedicated to science and society. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and around the world.

APS Honors recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of the global physics community. Guided by our core values, APS Honors encourages nominations that reflect the full range of talent, distinction, and experience in our field, and supports broad canvassing for professional achievement across diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise.

Joseph A. Burton Forum Award

The Joseph A. Burton Forum Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the public understanding or resolution of issues involving the interface of physics and society. The award consists of $5,000, a certificate citing the contributions of the recipient, and an allowance for travel to the meeting of the Society at which the award is presented. It will be awarded annually.

Nominations will be considered for three review cycles provided the nominator re-certifies the nomination before the next deadline.

The Jim and Shirley Cook Scholarship offers a $750 award for graduating high school seniors pursuing higher education at accredited institutions. Applicants must demonstrate financial need through FAFSA-SAI and provide evidence of community service and extracurricular involvement. Preference will be given to candidates with leadership experience in FFA or the GO CAPS program, specifically those studying Mechanical Engineering, CNC programming, Welding, or Machine Tool Technology. This scholarship aims to support students who embody commitment and community engagement.

The I9 Sports Association provides scholarship grants to support youth sports participation for children under 18 in the U.S. Grants of up to $150 help offset registration fees for various recreational activities. With a focus on inclusivity and access, the association aims to foster athletic development and participation among young athletes. Applications are accepted year-round, with grants awarded in February, May, August, and November, ensuring ongoing support for youth sports engagement.

Communities Foundation of Oklahoma

The Communities Foundation of Oklahoma stems from the vision of Tom McCasland Jr., and Gene Rainbolt. Two decades ago, these gentlemen formed a shared vision to create a single philanthropic organization to serve the charitable needs to rural communities across the great state of Oklahoma. Today, CFO has grown to assist hundreds of efforts in more than 45 counties.

Scholarship Opportunities

CFO offers over 100 diverse scholarship opportunities, empowering students across the state to pursue their educational goals. Each scholarship is tailored to meet unique needs, making higher education more accessible for all.

Ashley Parks Creative Scholarship

Supports continued education in the arts or creative fields for non-traditional students.

The Charles Lathrop Parsons Award, presented by the American Chemical Society, honors exceptional public service by ACS members. This prestigious award includes a $5,000 monetary prize and a certificate. Up to $2,500 can be reimbursed for travel expenses related to the award ceremony. It is awarded every two years, although the interval may be shortened at the discretion of the ACS Board for deserving nominees. All eligible members are encouraged to apply.

The Guru Krupa Foundation Grant supports charitable causes in social, educational, and religious/cultural areas, rooted in Hindu values. The foundation prioritizes projects that aid the underprivileged, enhance education, and preserve cultural heritage, particularly in India and the US. Eligible organizations must be tax-exempt and demonstrate a commitment to effective accounting practices. The foundation seeks specific projects with measurable outcomes, focusing on direct funding for programs rather than administrative costs.

The GoodRx Helps Community Catalyst Grants support community-led nonprofits dedicated to enhancing health and well-being for under-resourced groups. This funding aims to improve healthcare access, education, and essential services, addressing systemic barriers faced by these communities. Eligible organizations must demonstrate a commitment to community empowerment and possess a minimum annual operating budget of $250K. This initiative underscores the importance of fostering sustainable health improvements through targeted, inclusive support.

The Lenora Jane Perdue Scholarship, offered by the North East Community Foundation, supports graduating seniors from Westfield Academy, Ripley Central School, and North East High School pursuing a degree in education. Applicants must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher. This scholarship aims to encourage and assist students dedicated to a career in teaching, fostering the next generation of educators in their community.

Mission: A non-profit, charitable, Private Foundation established in 1959 by the Long family to support local charities, schools, education events and general community needs.

Grants

Our approach to grant requests focuses on fostering local neighborhood vitality and excellence. The John F. Long Foundation supports local non-profit organizations that promote this objective. The Foundation looks for groups who are working to help themselves, help their own communities, and help others like themselves through self-empowering, community organizing efforts. To be eligible for consideration, the grant request must meet the following criteria:

• Funds’ use must have measurable benefits
• Your organization must have good management, a solid financial background, well-established administration policies and Board of Directors
• The grant request must be precise and complete, providing necessary detail
• The Foundation Questionnaire is to be completed in its entirety
• The grant request amount and time frame must be clearly communicated, i.e. one-time grant, ongoing support, or special project
• If your request is for a particular event or program, providing a budget is always helpful
• Requests for grants of $1,000.00 or more, as well as groups we have not funded within the past two years, must: (i) Provide financial reports/statements for past and current fiscal year; (ii) Provide a list of past donors going back no more than two years.

The Air Force Fiscal Year 2027 Young Investigator Program (YIP) is designed to support early career scientists and engineers who have recently obtained their Ph.D. This initiative aims to promote innovative basic research in science and engineering while enhancing the professional growth of promising investigators. Awards are available to U.S. institutions where the principal investigator is a full-time employee. Eligible candidates must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents.

Innovation in Religion and Spirituality Seed Grants Call for Proposals

The Religion and the Public Sphere program at the Social Science Research Council aims to foster research on the wider implications of new forms of religious and spiritual life. This program is offered with the support of the Luce Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

Overview

In recent years, scholars have noted that religious and spiritual life is being substantively reshaped. “Innovation” is one way of framing these changes, but it remains a partial and contested analytic lens, and is popularly associated with the sudden emergence of a “new” element introduced into an otherwise static tradition. Scholarship on religion and spirituality, however, points to a more complex set of processes. The essays in an ongoing forum for The Immanent Frame have set out some initial parameters of these dynamics: rather than invention ex nihilio, what we often see is the strategic recombination of existing elements within a broader context of social, political, and cultural change.

Research Themes

This request invites proposals that examine the dynamics of religious and spiritual change that fall within the frame of “innovation.” Possible topics include, but are not limited to: 

• Explorations of innovations within transnational or diasporic religious and/or spiritual communities within the United States, particularly related to the circulation of ideas and culture from or to the Global South.   
• Gendered knowledge of innovation. 
• Studies of the process by which an innovation attains—or does not attain—legitimacy, relevance, or authority within a given community or institution. 
• The relationship between contemporary economic conditions—poverty, economic insecurity, and competitive pressures for time and money—and innovations in religion and spirituality. 
• Historical studies of innovations in religion and spirituality; the creation, reception, transformation, and longevity of an innovation over time.  
• Civic participation and the social mobilization of new or innovative religious identities, as well as the reinterpretation of religious or spiritual traditions or ideas in the service of particular political or ideological projects.

Program Terms 

The program offers research support over a period of up to 6 months. The grant funds will be up to $10,000 per award.

The Capacity Accelerator for Tribal Offshore Wind Engagement, launched by the U.S. Department of Energy, aims to empower Tribal Nations in offshore wind energy decision-making. This initiative offers up to $7.1 million in cash prizes and technical assistance through three phases: Capacity Needs, Capacity Development, and Engagement. Each phase is designed to support Tribes in outlining their priorities, building capacity, and implementing impactful projects in offshore wind energy.