External Funding

There are a wide range of opportunities for SSU faculty and administrators to find external funding for their research, scholarship, and creative activities. We recognize that navigating these funding opportunities and identifying which one is the best match can be challenging, so we have included a wealth of resources below to help guide your process. This listing is not exhaustive, but includes a wide variety of opportunities within the US federal government, the state of California, non-profit foundations, and corporations.

Funding Sources

Foundation and Independent Sources

Following are some funding sources for research opportunities offered by foundations and independent sources: 

Akonadi Foundation

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation 

Annie E. Casey Foundation 

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations 

Beaumont Foundation of America 

Ben & Jerry's Foundation

Benton Foundation 

Bernard Osher Foundation 

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

California Endowment 

California HealthCare Foundation 

California Wellness Foundation 

Carnegie Corporation of New York 

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teach 

Century Foundation 

Clarence E. Heller Foundation 

Coleman Foundation 

Columbia Foundation 

Community Foundation Sonoma County 

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation 

Council on Foundations 

Dirksen Congressional 

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation 

EntreWorld Resources for Entrepreneurs 

Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc. 

Finding Funders - Web Sites of Private Foundations 

Five Bridges Foundation 

Ford Foundation 

Foundation Center 

Foundation Center West - San Francisco 

Gaia Fund 

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation 

Grantmakers In Health 

Hearst Foundations 

IBM Center for The Business of Government 

James Irvine Foundation 

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation 

Kresge Foundation 

Lumina Foundation 

MacArthur Foundation 

Marin Community Foundation 

Mary A. Crocker Trust 

Max and Anna Levinson Foundation 

Nathan Cummings Foundation 

NEA Foundation 

Northern California Grantmakers 

Pew Charitable Trusts 

PwC Charitable Foundation Inc. 

Robert Wood Johnson 

Russell Sage Foundation 

S. H. Cowell Foundation 

San Francisco Foundation 

SERDP Funding & Opportunities 

Silicon Valley Community Foundation 

Skoll Foundation 

Surdna Foundation 

Threshold Foundation 

US Soccer Grants 

Van Loben Sels/RembeRock Foundation 

W. M. Keck Foundation 

Weeden Foundation 

Whitehall Foundation 

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 

William T. Grant Foundation

To find more foundation and independent funding sources, please visit our SPIN subscription service, the world’s largest database of sponsored funding opportunities.

SPIN Subscription Service

ORSP subscribes to SPIN, the world’s largest database of sponsored funding opportunities which provides you intuitive and easy access to an extensive list of funding opportunities, including automated searches and daily opportunity notifications. Please see links to SPIN below and contact orsp@sonoma.edu with any questions.

SPIN Search 

SMARTS/GENIUS Profile (to request email alerts)

Grants Resource Center

ORSP subscribes to Grants Resource Center (GRC). GRC’s proprietary search engine, GrantSearch, includes approximately 1,500 private and federal funding opportunities screened for recurrence and for higher education eligibility. Search results provide a high proportion of viable opportunities because the database excludes solicitations that are limited to a specific region, that make fewer than three awards annually, and for which higher education institutions are not eligible to apply or partner. Please see links to GRC below and contact orsp@sonoma.edu for login information and any questions you may have.

GRC's GrantSearch

Request Assistance

Reference these key questions below to determine your research or sponsored programs interests, and contact ORSP:

What is your interest in developing grant/contract proposals?

  • Scientific research

  • Provide training/professional development

  • Receive training/professional development 

  • Curriculum development

  • Development demonstration

  • Public service

  • Creative works (i.e. the Arts and Humanities)

  • Performances

  • International Projects 

  • Technology/Instrumentation Development

  • Collaborate with Other Organizations

What are keywords to describe your proposal interests? 

  • List any possible funding sources you believe may fund your areas of interest.

Have you submitted grant/contract proposals before? 

  • Describe any/all services that would facilitate your grant-seeking efforts, (funding search, idea development, proposal development, help in writing, review, budget, etc.).

  • Describe services for facilitating grant seeking opportunities at SSU.