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Private Higher Education Grant Program is a grant from The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVDF) that supports private colleges and universities prioritizing undergraduate education with an emphasis on the liberal arts. Grants typically range from ,000 to ,000 and may span multiple years to support projects that improve student outcomes or enhance faculty leadership. The Foundations do not fund capital projects or endowments.
Areas of special interest include advocacy for the liberal arts, civil discourse, and programs that strengthen undergraduate learning. Eligible applicants are private colleges, universities, and consortia supporting those institutions in their educational missions.
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Private Higher Education - The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Hello, you are using an old browser that's unsafe and no longer supported. Please consider your browser to a newer version, or downloading a The Private Higher Education Program Area supports colleges and universities that prioritize undergraduate education and emphasize the liberal arts.
The Foundations provide grants directly to private colleges and universities as well as to consortia that support those institutions in their educational mission. As a graduate of Amherst College, Arthur Vining Davis experienced first-hand the value of a liberal arts education.
The broad training that he received as a student equipped him to play a number of roles during his career: scientific innovator, corporate entrepreneur, real estate developer, and orchid farmer, to name just a few. His recognition of the transformative impact of liberal learning led him to give regularly to numerous private colleges and universities, and to encourage his Foundations to continue to provide this support.
Although the Foundations fund a variety of programs in higher education, grants typically support projects that improve student outcomes or enhance faculty leadership. The Foundations do not provide grants to support capital projects or endowment. Private Higher Education grants typically range from $25,000 to $300,000, although the Foundations will entertain larger requests.
Grants may support projects that span multiple years. Civil Discourse Grant Applicants The Foundations support several evidence-based programs that help students to improve in the skills needed for civil discourse across difference.
Applicants seeking grants that will focus primarily on students should review the work of the Constructive Dialogue Institute , while those interested in faculty training programs should review the work of the Greater Good Science Center and Duke University’s Civil Discourse Summer Seminar .
Applicants looking to support campus wide civil discourse programming should review the Campus Free Expression Project from the Council of Independent Colleges. We recommend, in addition, that all applicants in this area review the Better Discourse guide from Campus Compact as well as the recommendations provided here .
For projects that involve an intervention or program intended to improve a measurable outcome, a Full Proposal will require an evaluation plan that is overseen by a qualified evaluator. In cases where applicants do not have a qualified evaluator available to them, the Foundations can provide guidance on how to engage a qualified evaluator.
While the Foundations are open to any funding request aimed at supporting Private Higher Education, proposals are especially encouraged concerning the Areas of Focus described below. Advocacy for the Liberal Arts Advocacy for the Liberal Arts The Foundations are committed to the value of the liberal arts in undergraduate education.
As a result, AVDF encourages proposals that aim to provide more students with opportunities to engage the liberal arts regardless of their major or course of study. In addition, the Foundations invite proposals which seek to educate parents, students, and the general population about the nature and benefits of the liberal arts.
Featured Request for Proposals in “Advocacy for the Liberal Arts”: Transfer Pathways Program Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and the Teagle Foundation are partnering to provide grants that support the development of statewide, regional, or consortial academic partnerships between public two-year and private four-year colleges to facilitate transfer and completion of the baccalaureate in the liberal arts.
This grant program aims to bring the lifelong benefits of a liberal arts education to students who historically have been excluded from higher education—including low-income students, first-generation students, students of color, and immigrant students—who now constitute the “new majority” of undergraduates and depend on community college as their gateway to higher education.
Grants up to $25,000 over 6-12 months for planning and up to $350,000 over 24-36 months for implementation will be made to institutions participating in this initiative. The size of the grant award will be based on the number of institutions involved and the scope of the project. Planning grants are strongly encouraged.
We expect this grant program will remain open for approximately three to five years. For more information, click here . Civil Discourse on Campus Civil Discourse on Campus Learning and growth require the opportunity and ability to engage respectfully and empathetically across lines of difference and disagreement.
The Foundations encourage proposals to develop curricular and extra-curricular programs that promote civil discourse and dialogue across social, moral, political, and religious differences. This would include projects that help campus stakeholders to encourage and internalize characteristics that foster respectful, productive dialogue across differences, as well as programs that provide opportunities for such dialogue.
Strong candidates for funding will demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based methods for improving dialogue across disagreement, and will integrate such methods into their proposed project activities. Applicants are also encouraged to comment specifically on the evidence-based resources that they intend to use in their civil discourse programming.
Featured Grants: Teaching Civil Discourse in the Classroom As polarization increases across the United States, our interest in and ability to discuss important and sometimes divisive issues across lines of social, moral, political, and religious difference is under threat. And yet, history and experience makes it clear that a pluralistic democracy can thrive only when we are able to wrestle with such issues openly and respectfully.
A recent grant to Duke University expands upon the Foundations’ efforts in this space. With AVDF support, Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics will host a summer program in two consecutive years that will assist faculty members in developing courses that teach students how to dialogue constructively across lines of political disagreement. The project will be led by John Rose, Associate Director of the Civil Discourse.
In addition to his work through the Kenan Institute, Rose has taught several classes at Duke that have successfully promoted civil discourse and increased student understanding of differing viewpoints on a range of issues. Featured Grants in Private Higher Education Management as a Calling Program Teaching Civil Discourse in the Classroom OpenStax Liberal Arts Library Expansion
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: Private colleges and universities and consortia that support those institutions in their educational mission. Focus on undergraduate liberal arts education. Does not fund capital projects or endowment. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates $25,000 - $300,000 Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
Federal grant success rates typically range from 10-30%, varying by agency and program. Build a strong proposal with clear objectives, measurable outcomes, and a well-justified budget to improve your chances.
Requirements vary by sponsor, but typically include a project narrative, budget justification, organizational capability statement, and key personnel CVs. Check the official notice for the complete list of required attachments.
Yes — AI tools like Granted can help research funders, draft proposal sections, and check compliance. However, always review and customize AI-generated content to reflect your organization's unique strengths and the specific requirements of the solicitation.
Review timelines vary by funder. Federal agencies typically take 3-6 months from submission to award notification. Foundation grants may be faster, often 1-3 months. Check the program's timeline in the official solicitation for specific dates.
Many federal programs offer multi-year funding or allow competitive renewals. Check the official solicitation for continuation and renewal policies. Non-competing continuation applications are common for multi-year awards.
Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education & Human Resources (IUSE: EHR) Program is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). This program promotes novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. It supports projects that bring recent advances in STEM knowledge into undergraduate education, adapt, improve, and incorporate evidence-based practices, and lay the groundwork for institutional improvement in STEM education. Professional development for instructors to ensure adoption of new and effective pedagogical techniques is a potential topic of interest.
The National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program (NLG-L) supports projects that address critical needs of the library and archives fields and have the potential to advance practice and strengthen library and archival services for the American public. Successful proposals will generate results such as new models, tools, research findings, services, practices, and/or alliances that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend and leverage the benefits of federal investment. Applications to IMLS should both advance knowledge and understanding and ensure that the federal investment made generates benefits to society. Specifically, the goals for this program are to generate projects of far-reaching impact that: • Build the workforce and institutional capacity for managing the national information infrastructure and serving the information and education needs of the public. • Build the capacity of libraries and archives to lead and contribute to efforts that improve community well-being and strengthen civic engagement. • Improve the ability of libraries and archives to provide broad access to and use of information and collections with emphasis on collaboration to avoid duplication and maximize reach. • Strengthen the ability of libraries to provide services to affected communities in the event of an emergency or disaster. • Strengthen the ability of libraries, archives, and museums to work collaboratively for the benefit of the communities they serve. Throughout its work, IMLS places importance on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This may be reflected in an IMLS-funded project in a wide range of ways, including efforts to serve individuals of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; individuals with disabilities; individuals with limited functional literacy or information skills; individuals having difficulty using a library or museum; and underserved urban and rural communities, including children from families with incomes below the poverty line. Application Process: The application process for the NLG-L program has two phases; applicants must begin by applying for Phase I. For Phase I, all applicants must submit Preliminary Proposals by the September 20th deadline listed for this Notice of Funding Opportunity. For Phase II, only selected applicants will be invited to submit Full Proposals, and only those Invited Full Proposals will be considered for funding. Invited Full Proposals will be due March 20, 2024. Funding Opportunity Number: NLG-LIBRARIES-FY24. Assistance Listing: 45.312. Funding Instrument: G. Category: AR,HU. Award Amount: $50K – $1M per award.
The California Department of Education (CDE) Early Education Division is making approximately .7 million available to expand California State Preschool Program (CSPP) services statewide, appropriated under the 2021 Budget Act. Eligible applicants are local educational agencies (LEAs), including school districts, county offices of education, community college districts, and direct-funded charter schools—both current CSPP contractors and new applicants. Funding supports full-day/full-year or part-day/part-year preschool services for income-eligible children beginning in FY 2024–25. Awards are allocated by county based on Local Planning Council priority areas and application scores, with redistribution provisions if county allocations are underutilized.