National and International Funding opportunities

Contact RNLD if you know of a relevant funding program which you would like to add to this site.

General advice

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Grant proposal writing tips

Foundation Center Proposal writing short course

GrantCraft: Practical Wisdom for Grantmakers

Grant writing for indigenous languages by Ofelia Zepeda and Susan Penfield (2008, University of Arizona) [downloadable PDF]

Non-profit guides Grant-writing tools for non-profit organisations

So where do you get the dosh from? by Peter Austin Transient Languages & Cultures blog (March 7, 2008)

Writing a good grant proposal by Simon Peyton Jones and Alan Bundy

International applications

The following international agencies fund language documentation and/or revitalization work regardless of the country of citizenship of the applicant.  

• The Christensen Fund is a US philanthropic organization created by the Christensen family and based in California. Applications are due August 31 and March 31.

• DoBeS (Volkswagen Foundation) funds language documentation projects. Applications are due September 15, 2010.

• Earth Action Network Endangered Languages Program is a non-profit international organization interested in supporting the preservation and restoration of Native languages and the Earth-honoring worldview at their core. Applications are due May 16.

• Endangered Language Fund is a small, US based grant program. Applications are due April 20, 2010.

• EuroBABEL promotes empirical research on underdescribed endangered languages. No current call for applications.

• Firebird Foundation For Anthropological Research Inc. is offering supplemental Grants for the Collection of Oral Literature.

• Ford Foundation's overall mission is to reduce poverty and injustice and to promote democratic values, international cooperation and human achievement.

• Foundation for Endangered Languages is a small, UK based philanthropic foundation. Applications are usually due in September.

• Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project is supported by Arcadia and is based at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. HRELP offers four grant schemes. Applications are due 1 April 2010.

• International Funders for Indigenous Peoples provide information on a range of grant schemes and activities.

• Toyota Foundation's founding philosophy is to contribute to the realization of a human-oriented society for the sake of greater human happiness. Applications under various grant schemes are due 7 May 2010 (by email) or 12 May 2010 (by post).

• Wenner-Gren Foundation has a variety of grant programs for anthropological research and scholarship that are open to applicants irrespective of nationality or country of residence.

Country specific funding agencies

Funding for work on endangered languages is also available through government agencies which (primarily) fund their own citizens. Some agencies are listed below under each country.

Australia

• Australian Research Council (ARC)
• Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
• Foundation for Young Australians (FYA)
• The Hoffman Foundation (downloadable Word document)
• Maintenance of Indigenous Languages and Records (MILR)
• NSW Government Community Languages Assistance Program - due 11 June 2010
• Philanthropy Australia

• Canadian Heritage administers a range of funding opportunities, including
  • Aboriginal Languages Initiative (ALI) 
  • Aboriginal Languages Initiative Innovation Fund
  • Canada/Territorial Cooperation Agreements for Aboriginal Languages 
  • Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth
• First Peoples' Cultural Foundation manages the 
  • Aboriginal Languages Initiative (ALI) (due 11 June 2010)
• First Peoples' Heritage Language and Culture Centre (FPHLCC) offers a range of funding opportunities for BC languages, including
  • BC Language Initiative (due 18 June 2010)
  • Master-Apprentice Program (due 30 June 2010)
  • Language Authority and Language Plan Development (due 9 July 2010)
  • Pre-school Language Nest Program (due 9 July 2010)
• Social Science Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) administers a range of funding programs, including
  • Research grants
  • Community-University Research Alliances (due 17 September 2010)
  • Partnership Development Grants (due 25 November 2010)
  • Partnership Grants (due 31 January 2011)

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) funds research projects of high scientific quality and originality, carried out at an international level

Norway

• Forskingsrådet, the Research Council of Norway

United Kingdom

• Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)

United States

• Administration for Native Americans (ANA)
• American Philosophical Society
• Documenting Endangered Languages (DEL), National Science Foundation and the National Endowment of the Humanities
  • NSF Grant Proposal Guide, January 2010
• First Nations Development Institute
• Jacobs Research Funds
• Lannan Foundation
• Lewis and Clark Fund
• National Endowment for the Humanities
• Native Voices Endowment
• Philips Fund for Native American Research
• Seventh Generation Funds
• Sociological Initiatives Foundation