One of the many ways the APA supports philosophers and helps address issues in the field is through grants. If you’re an APA member, you’re eligible to apply for an APA grant, and in this post I’ll share a bit about each of the types of grants the APA offers and how they work.

To start, there are three APA grant programs: the Small Grant Program, the Diversity & Inclusiveness Grant Program, and the Micro-Grant Program. I’ll discuss each of them in turn.

Small Grant Program

First, the Small Grant Program. This program, launched in 2007 and funded by the Eastern Division, provides grants of up to $5,000 to projects benefiting the philosophical community, up to a total of $25,000 per year. The Small Grant Program has helped support a variety of innovative and now-well-known projects over the years, including the journal Questions: Philosophy for Young People, the UNC Chapel Hill Philosophy in the Community Outreach Program, the Collegium of Black Women Philosophers Conference, the Public Philosophy Network, the Mentoring Workshop for Junior Women in Philosophy, Philosophy Talk, and Wireless Philosophy (Wi-Phi).

Applications for the Small Grant Program must be submitted by June 30 each year. After they are submitted, each application is reviewed by at least two of the APA’s standing committees,[1] and based on the committee reviews, the executive director prepares funding recommendations for the board of officers. The board reviews these recommendations at its meeting each November, and funds are available to grantees by January 1.

More about the Small Grant Program, including specific eligibility and evaluation criteria, is available on the APA website.

Diversity & Inclusiveness Grant Program

The Diversity & Inclusiveness Grant Program was launched in 2014 and dedicates up to $20,000 in APA operating funds each year to provide either one $20,000 grant or two $10,000 grants to projects aiming to increase the presence and participation of women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, people of low socioeconomic status, and other underrepresented groups at all levels of philosophy.

Among the projects supported by the Diversity & Inclusiveness Grant Program over the past ten years are the UCSD Summer Program for Women in Philosophy, Philosophy for Children at the Mexico-US Border, the Summer Program for Diversity in Logic for Undergraduates, the National High School Ethics Bowl, and the Lavender Library.

Applications for the Diversity & Inclusiveness Grant Program are also due on June 30 each year. Grant applications are reviewed by the Committee on Inclusiveness in the Profession over the summer, and then the board of officers makes the final decision on what program(s) will be funded at its November meeting. Grant funds are available to grantees by January 1.

More about the Diversity & Inclusiveness Grant Program, including specific eligibility and evaluation criteria, is available on the APA website.

Micro-Grant Program

The third type of grant the APA offers is a micro-grant. Micro-grants are grants of up to $1,000 made from one of the APA’s donor-supported funds: the Fund for Diversity & Inclusiveness, the Teaching Fund, and the Berry Fund for Public Philosophy.

Micro-grants from the Fund for Diversity & Inclusiveness and the Teaching Fund are quick-turnaround grants: they require only a very brief application form, and funding decisions are made quickly—normally within two weeks of application.

When an application is received, it is reviewed by two APA committee chairs. If the chairs agree on a funding decision, then that decision stands; if the chairs disagree, the executive director breaks the tie and makes the final funding decision.

Because of high demand for grants from the Berry Fund for Public Philosophy, grants from that fund are made available twice a year, in the spring and fall. Applications must be submitted by April 30 for the spring cycle and October 30 for the fall cycle. Applications are then reviewed by the members of the Committee on Public Philosophy, and the committee normally makes funding decisions within one month of the application deadline.

What to know about APA grants

If you’re interested in applying for any of the above APA grants, I’m happy to share a few insights and tips.

• Make sure to fill out the application form completely and submit it on time!
• Look at the evaluation criteria and make sure your project fits them. For example, because APA grant funds are limited, there is a strong preference for providing seed funding for new projects, rather than providing operating grants to established or previously funded projects. If your project is in the latter category, your application should make a compelling case as to why the funding is needed. The APA also prefers funding projects that will have impacts beyond an individual institution or campus, so make sure your application tells us about the project’s broader reach.
• In your application, try to anticipate and address potential questions. For example, proposals are likely to be more successful if they have secured local support. If you are applying for a grant hosted by your institution but your APA grant application budget includes paying for the use of space on campus, that’s a potential sign to the board that you don’t have much local support. But maybe that’s not what’s happening—and if not, your application is the place to preemptively answer those questions.
• Keep in mind that these grant programs are competitive—we receive at least twice as many applications as we can fund, and often more than that. If you don’t get a grant on your first try, don’t be discouraged—work on improving your application and apply again in the next cycle.
• Check out the list of previously funded projects to see what a successful application looks like. Learn from others’ past successes!

And finally, while I can’t predict what the APA board and committees will decide about grant funding in any given year, I have developed a good sense of what kinds of projects are a good fit for APA grant programs, so don’t hesitate to reach out and ask questions. I’m here to help!

Two of our regular grant deadlines are coming up—the Berry Fund on April 30 and the Small Grant Program and Diversity & Inclusiveness Grant Program on June 30—so now’s a great time to get going on a project you’ve been thinking about starting up. I look forward to reading your application!

[1] The APA’s standing committees are the six committees named in the APA bylaws: (1) the Committee on Academic Career Opportunities and Placement, (2) the Committee on Inclusiveness in the Profession, (3) the Committee on International Cooperation, (4) the Committee on Lectures, Publications, and Research, (5) the Committee on the Status and Future of the Profession, and (6) the Committee on the Teaching of Philosophy.

“Inside the APA” is a series that offers insight into what happens behind the scenes in the American Philosophical Association. If you have suggestions for future posts in the series, please submit them here.

Amy Ferrer

Amy Ferrer has been Executive Director of the APA since 2012. She holds a bachelor's degree in women's studies and a master's degree in public policy and administration, both from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has spent more than 15 years in nonprofit management, having previously worked for national and regional organizations focusing on civil liberties, public health, and advocacy. Both her work and educational background have focused on diversity issues, communications, development, and program management. She currently serves on the boards of Delaware Humanities and the Academic Placement and Data Analysis project, and has previously served on the boards of the National Humanities Alliance, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities.