Grants for State, Local & Tribal Governments

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

An NIH (R38) award supporting in-depth research experiences for resident clinicians early in their careers to build a pipeline of clinician-investigators. Eligible applicants are domestic institutions and organizations such as universities, tribal governments, and faith- or community-based organizations; foreign organizations and foreign components are not eligible. No award amount is stated. This is a structured research-training mechanism aimed at academic and clinical institutions rather than individuals applying directly.

Food and Drug Administration · Up to $1.5M

An FDA cooperative agreement (Laboratory Flexible Funding Model) to strengthen state human and animal food testing laboratories through sample testing, food-defense preparedness, and method development. Eligibility is narrow: applicants must be ISO 17025 accredited (or have an equivalent quality system) and, for most tracks, hold a valid 20.88 agreement with FDA before applying. Awards run up to about $1.5 million. This is largely limited to established state food-testing laboratories that already meet the accreditation and FDA-agreement requirements.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA · $250K–$975K

A CDC/NIOSH and Coast Guard training grant (T03) to develop and deliver safety training for U.S. commercial fishermen. Eligible applicants include school districts, public/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations, faith- or community-based organizations, regional organizations, bona fide state agents, and FFRDCs. Awards range from about $250,000 to $975,000. Eligibility is moderately broad across organizations but excludes individuals; review the listed categories to confirm fit.

Food and Drug Administration · Up to $600K

This FDA award (up to $600,000) funds natural history studies that generate high-quality data to support medical product development for rare diseases with unmet needs. Eligibility is very broad, covering universities, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), small and other for-profit businesses, tribal and local/state governments, and even foreign organizations and their non-U.S. components. No unusual disqualifiers are noted, and the deadline is not imminent.

Washington Headquarters Services · $100K–$10M

Open to industry, nonprofits, colleges and universities, and state or local educational agencies; foreign entities are not eligible. An ongoing 'open' announcement funding STEM education, outreach, and workforce-development programs for the Department of War's research enterprise, with specific topics released as amendments (often beginning with a white paper). Awards range widely, from about $100,000 to $10 million.

Bureau of Reclamation · $50K–$300K

Open to watershed groups — and the states, tribes, local governments, special districts, nonprofits, or universities that sponsor them — located in 19 western states and several U.S. territories. Federal entities and individuals cannot apply. Funds forming watershed groups and planning watershed-restoration and water-management projects, with awards of about $50,000–$300,000. Eligibility is narrow: you must be or sponsor a qualifying watershed group in an eligible state.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government and tribal organizations; foreign organizations are not eligible. This NIH R21 funds exploratory, early-stage projects developing methods or agents to target 'undruggable' molecules in serious diseases. Award size isn't specified and follows standard NIH R21 limits; best suited to researchers pursuing high-risk, innovative therapeutics.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

This NIH program provides researchers access to limited identifiable data or biospecimens from the ECHO Cohort to study maternal and child health topics, rather than funding new data collection. Eligible applicants include federal agencies, faith- and community-based organizations, and tribal governments, but foreign organizations and their non-U.S. components are not eligible. No award amount is specified, and the deadline is not imminent.

DOC NOAA - ERA Production · $15K–$75K

Open to individuals (as legal entities), commercial organizations, state/local/tribal governments, universities, and nonprofits; federal agencies and employees can't apply, and projects must be conducted in Alaska. Funds marine workforce training, seafood-safety and management education, fishing innovation, and consumer outreach. Awards are small, roughly $15,000–$75,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to domestic institutions — universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations (foreign institutions are not eligible). This NIH T35 funds short-term (often summer) research-training experiences for health-professional and graduate students. It supports the institution's training program rather than an individual.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $1M

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, foreign organizations, and certain government/tribal entities. This NIH R01 funds preclinical mouse-model testing of repurposed or investigational drugs — alone or with non-drug interventions — for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Awards up to about $1,000,000.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $500K

Open to U.S. schools and colleges of nursing and other research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations; foreign organizations are not eligible. This NIH P20 funds new research centers that build nursing-led, community-partnered research infrastructure and pilot studies. Awards up to about $500,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, foreign organizations, and certain government/tribal entities. This NIH X01 provides access to TOPMed genomic and multi-omics data resources to study heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders — it offers data generation, not direct funding. Aimed at researchers doing functional-genomics and mechanism studies.

Food and Drug Administration · Up to $1.3M

Open to public and private higher-education institutions, including HBCUs, tribal colleges, and other minority-serving institutions. This FDA U18 forms long-term academic partnerships to research avian influenza and emerging zoonotic threats, intentional genomic alterations in animals, and products for minor and veterinary species. Awards up to about $1,250,000.

Food and Drug Administration · Up to $900K

Open to nearly any organization — universities, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3)), for-profits and small businesses, state/local/tribal governments, and foreign organizations. This FDA R01 funds clinical trials of orphan products evaluating safety and efficacy to address unmet needs in rare diseases. Awards up to about $900,000; clinical trials are required.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $2.1M

Open to U.S. research institutions and universities, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations; foreign organizations cannot apply, and (as of May 2025) projects with foreign subawards are ineligible. This NIH U2C-TL1 funds institutional networks that recruit and train researchers in kidney, urologic, and hematologic disease research. Awards up to about $2,100,000.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to eligible NIGMS-funded investigators and new investigators at U.S. institutions; foreign organizations are not eligible, and projects with foreign subawards are excluded. This NIH R35 (MIRA) gives an investigator stable, flexible single-grant support for their lab's research within the NIGMS mission, rather than project-by-project funding. Early-stage investigators should use the separate ESI MIRA notice.

National Institutes of Health · Amount varies

Open to U.S. universities, research institutions, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations; foreign organizations are not eligible. This NIH R61/R33 funds mechanistic clinical research on how mind-and-body interventions (e.g., meditation, yoga, acupuncture) affect emotional well-being and whole-person health, in two milestone-tied phases. Strong preliminary data are expected.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $500K

Open to U.S. and foreign research institutions, universities, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations. This NIH R01 funds groundbreaking, high-impact Down syndrome research across any relevant topic, with no preliminary data required. Awards up to about $500,000.

National Institutes of Health · Up to $200K

Open to U.S. and foreign research institutions, universities, nonprofits, and certain government/tribal organizations. This NIH R21 funds exploratory, higher-risk Down syndrome research — feasibility studies, novel methods, or new applications of existing techniques. Awards up to about $200,000.