Russell Sage Foundation Research Grants

All research grant applications must be preceded by a letter of inquiry (LOI). RSF has 3 funding cycles per year and only considers proposals that are invited following review of an initial letter of inquiry. After peer review, about 15% of those who submit an LOI will receive an invitation to submit a full proposal. RSF rarely considers projects for which the investigators have not already fully-developed the research design, the sample framework, access to data, etc. Investigators are encouraged to submit an LOI after they have developed and pre-tested survey instruments, completed preliminary data analyses if the data are publically-available or conducted some preliminary interviews for qualitative studies.

Eligibility

All applicants (both PIs and Co-PIs) must have a doctorate. In rare circumstances, RSF may consider applications from scholars who do not hold a doctorate but can demonstrate a strong career background that establishes their ability to conduct high-level, peer-reviewed scholarly research. Students may not be applicants.

Funding

There are two levels of funding for core grants, Trustee-approved grants and Presidential-Authority grants.  The maximum grant amount for a Trustee grant is $200,000, including 15% indirect costs.  Grants up to $75,000 are considered Presidential-Authority grants.  RSF has 3 funding cycles per year and only considers proposals that are invited following review of an initial letter of inquiry. After peer review, about 15% of those who submit an LOI will receive an invitation to submit a full proposal.  The final funding rate for core research grants is approximately 6-10% of submitted LOIs.

Review Process and Grant Decisions

RSF employs a rigorous multi-disciplinary review process at every stage of the application process. All letters of inquiry and proposals submitted to RSF are reviewed by program staff, external reviewers from multiple disciplines selected specifically for their expertise, members of one of the standing Advisory Committees, or some combination of these. In the case of Trustee Grants, final funding decisions are made by the Board of Trustees at our March, June and November Board meetings.

Additional Considerations

RSF rarely considers projects for which the investigators have not already fully-developed the research design, the sample framework, access to data, etc. Investigators are encouraged to submit an LOI after they have developed and pre-tested survey instruments, completed preliminary data analyses if the data are publicly available or conducted some preliminary interviews for qualitative studies.

RSF encourages methodological variety and inter-disciplinary collaboration, but all LOIs and proposals must have well-developed conceptual frameworks and research designs. Analytical models must be well-specified and research questions and hypotheses (where applicable) must be clearly stated.

Grants are available for research assistance, data acquisition, data analysis, and investigator time for conducting research and writing up results.

We are particularly interested in analyses that make use of newly available data or demonstrate novel uses of existing data, to answer emerging or long-standing questions of interest in the foundation’s program areas and special initiatives. We also support original data collection. Proposals to conduct field experiments, in-depth qualitative interviews, and ethnographies are also encouraged.

RSF receives so many applications for its limited funding that it no longer considers submissions that solely make routine use of publicly available data, such as the Current Population Survey, American Community Survey, Panel Study of Income Dynamics, National Longitudinal survey of Youth, etc. Only novel uses of these data sets, particularly ones that link publicly available data to new data sets or ones that use the restricted versions of these data will be considered.

Funding Guidelines for October 29, 2025 Deadline

RSF will accept letters of inquiry (LOIs) under the core programs for Behavioral Science and Decision Making in Context and Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration. The foundation will also accept LOIs under its special initiatives on Immigration and Immigrant Integration and  Implications of the 2023 Supreme Court Decision to Ban Race-Conscious Admissions at Colleges and Universities for Educational Attainment and Economic Mobility.
LOIs must include specific information about the proposed data and research design. After peer review, about 15% of those who submit an LOI will receive an invitation to submit a proposal. If you are unsure about the foundation's expectations, we strongly recommend that you review the grant writing guidelines on our website and also view an instructional webinar.

*ALL applications (LOIs & Proposals) are due by 2pm ET/11am PT