The William T. Grant Foundation invests in high-quality research focused on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people in the United States.

Supporting research
to improve the lives
of young people
Recent Updates
Focus Areas

Our Work • Focus Area
Reducing inequality in youth outcomes
We believe that it is time to build stronger bodies of knowledge on how to reduce inequality in the United States and to move beyond the mounting research evidence about the scope, causes, and consequences of inequality.

Our Work • Focus Area
Improving the use of research evidence in decisions affecting young people
We want to know what it takes to produce useful research evidence, what it takes to get research used, and what happens when research is used.
Funding
Opportunities
Grant Programs
The Institutional Challenge Grant supports university-based research institutes, schools, and centers in building sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes.
Status:
Open
Open date:
May 15, 2025
Next Deadline:
September 15, 2025 3:00 pm EST

This program funds research studies that aim to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-25 in the United States
Status:
Closed
Next Deadline:
TBD
2026 application dates will be published in November 2025.

This program funds studies that examine ways to improve the use of research evidence by policymakers, agency leaders, organizational managers, intermediaries, and other decision-makers that shape youth-serving systems in the United States.
Status:
Closed
Next Deadline:
TBD
2026 application dates will be published in November 2025.

The Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants (YSCG) program supports activities to strengthen the organizational infrastructure of small nonprofit organizations in the five boroughs of New York City that provide direct services to young people ages 5 to 25.
The YSCG program is aligned …
Status:
Open
Open date:
July 7, 2025
Next Deadline:
September 18, 2025 3:00 pm EST

This program supports activities to improve the quality of existing youth services by helping nonprofit organizations in New York City address challenges or remedy problems at the point of service, where staff and youth interact.
Status:
Closed
Next Deadline:
TBD
The 2025 application cycle is now closed. The next cycle will open in January 2026.

The William T. Grant Scholars Program supports career development for promising early-career researchers. The program funds five-year research and mentoring plans that significantly expand researchers’ expertise in new disciplines, methods, and content areas.
Status:
Closed
Next Deadline:
TBD
The 2025 application cycle is now closed. The next cycle will open in Spring 2026.


“Effective programs and policies can enhance young people’s lives, and social science research can help us understand, build, and improve those that work best.”
Adam Gamoran, President

From the Field
Foundation Microsite
Whether you are looking to form, grow, or support a research-practice partnership, you need to know where to start and what to expect. We’ve gathered guiding tips, work samples, and resources from successful partnerships that can help you on your way. Think of it as a one-stop shop.

Latest
Research
Journal Articles
Journal of Surgical Research
Age-specific Outcomes in Trauma Patients With Psychiatric Comorbidities: From Childhood to AdulthoodAugust 30, 2025
Authors: David Nacouzi | Erika Greene | Amy Hobday | Em Long-Mills | Shannon W. Longshore | Dmitry Tumin | John Woo
Developmental Psychology
Ethnic-racial identity as a developmental asset in the context of marginalization.August 28, 2025
Authors: M. Dalal Safa | George P. Knight | Rebecca M. B. White
Sociology of Education
White Flight in Public Higher Education? Racial Avoidance of Hispanic-Serving InstitutionsAugust 25, 2025
Authors: Laura T. Hamilton (University of California-Merced, Merced, CA, USA) | Simon Cheng (University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA) | Charlie Eaton (University of California-Merced, Merced, CA, USA)
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- Research Grants on Reducing Inequality
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- William T. Grant Scholars Program
- Institutional Challenge Grant
- Youth Service Capacity-Building Grants
- Youth Service Improvement Grants
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