Rita Allen Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Rita Allen Foundation works in the areas of biomedical research and civic engagement. Its scholars program supports early-career researchers with three- and five-year grants, and its civic engagement program works to improve civic engagement against a landscape of changing media and technology.
IP TAKE: Although highly competitive, the Rita Allen Foundation is accessible and accepts letters of inquiry for its two main grantmaking programs. Grants tend to support biomedical researchers at top U.S. universities, as well as smaller community- and university-based civic engagement initiatives across the U.S. Grantseekers should review the foundation’s past grants, which are available on its website, to get a sense of whether their work fits this funder’s specific interests.
PROFILE: The Rita Allen Foundation was established in 1953 by the late theatrical producer Rita Allen Cassel and her husband, Milton Cassel. It is based in Princeton, New Jersey. The foundation supports “discoveries in their earliest stages that will ultimately improve human health, democracy and understanding.” It runs two grantmaking programs: the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program and a Civic Engagement initiative. For more than four decades, the foundation’s Scholars Program has been an important source of funding for early-career researchers in biomedical sciences. The newer Civic Engagement program promotes “new ideas and approaches” to involve citizens community problem solving.
Grants for Science, Brain and Cell Research
The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Program awards research grants to early-career scientists who have “bold approaches” to solving important scientific problems of global concern. Scientists who demonstrate the potential for leadership, collaboration and multidisciplinary research are prioritized. Past grantees have gone on to win prestigious awards including the Nobel Prizes in Physiology and Medicine, the Wolf Prize in Medicine and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Grantees generally use funding to seed their own laboratories and research agendas at top universities in the U.S. and abroad. Recent areas of interest have included neonatal health and behavior and gene origination.
As part of its scholars program, the foundation awards the Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain, with the aim of “uncovering new pathways to improve the treatment of chronic pain.” This award also prioritizes early-career investigators, “with appointment at the faculty level, but prior to achieving tenure.” Funding for this program is limited to the U.S. and Canada. Recent grantees have produced research on the involvement of brain systems in chronic pain, synaptic plasticity, neuromodulation and how the brain controls perceptions of pain.
Grants for Civic Engagement and Democracy
The Rita Allen Foundation’s Civic Engagement initiative supports efforts to promote informed and civically engaged citizens in light of changing technology and media landscapes in the U.S. Taking a nonpartisan approach, its grantmaking aims to dispel the belief that “voting doesn’t matter” and to ameliorate the polarization and vitriol of current political discourse. One recent area of interest is Civic Science, by which the foundation means “broad engagement with science and evidence” as they can inform solutions to civic and societal problems. The foundation sponsors fellowships for academic study and research in this area. Past civic engagement grantees include the Collaborative Journalism Program at Montclair State University and Research!America’s Bipartisan Civic Engagement Initiative. In the area of civic science, the foundation has awarded grants to the Women and Science Initiative at the Rockefeller University and the InclusiveSciComm Symposium at the University of Rhode Island.
Important Grant Details: The Rita Allen Foundation’s Scholars Program awards are generally granted in the amount $110,000 a year for a maximum of five years. The Rita Allen Award in Pain is awarded for $50,000 a year for three years. Grants for civic engagement are limited to the U.S. and range in amount from $25,000 to $150,000. Grants have been awarded to organizations and institutions of all sizes.
The Rita Allen Foundation accepts letters of inquiry for all its funding programs. For the Scholars Program and Pain Awards, letters are accepted between January and March. Letters of inquiry for the civic engagement grants are accepted through an online form later in the year. Check the foundation’s application page for updates. Information about general inquiries is available on the foundation’s contact page.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS: