Frequently Asked Questions
The application typically opens in late March and closes in May. After closing, the applications will be read by a panel of evaluators and grantees will be notified of their selection in June. Funds as disbursed in July and the grantees are officially announced on the Society’s website.
To be eligible, your organization must:
- • Have 501(c)(3) designation or have a financial sponsor with a 501(c)(3) designation willing to accept the funds on your behalf
- • Serve at least 25 people of any age supporting STEM learning and experiences
- • Not be founded or managed by students still eligible for any of the Society’s competitions (Thermo Fisher JIC, Regeneron ISEF, or Regeneron STS)
Other eligibility requirements may apply and can be found here.
Organizations should meet one or more of the following criteria:
- • Be a mission-driven organization whose goals align with the Society’s mission, including a science literate society
- • Advocate for the general public’s increased understanding of STEM fields
- • Aim to spark life-long interest in and appreciation for STEM fields through unique programming
- • Aim to increase participation of underrepresented populations in STEM fields through increased accessibility and exposure to science
You can find a list of past grantees here.
Each year we consider many more applications than we have funding for and we generally give preference to organizations working in the United States. We consider all eligible organizations however we have never funded an organization outside of the US.
We do not schedule calls or meetings to answer questions about individual organizations or applications. If you have questions, please carefully review this FAQ document and the STEM Action Grant “About” page. If you still have questions, you can email grants@societyforscience.org
The amount of funding available each cycle varies but generally ranges from $100,000 to $165,000.
We like to fund organizations that are founded or run by individuals in response to a need in their community. This is just one of many factors that evaluators look at while considering a final class of grantees.
Each cycle, the Society funds a variety of organizations from small to large. Some of these organizations have existing sponsorship recognition programs while others do not. If your organization has existing documentation about how your sponsors are recognized, we would like to see it. If your organization does not have this documentation, you may indicate that or skip the question.
The list does not need to be exhaustive but rather illustrative. For example, this could include program registration, dates of large events such as festivals or expos, start dates for camp or other classes, or dates of virtual programming. You should include whatever events and dates you think would be good for the selection committee to be aware of.
For the STEM Action Grant, we like to fund organizations of all sizes. We believe that we can lend authority to smaller organizations by also funding larger organizations with many sponsors. The number of sponsors or amount of funding will not disqualify your organization from receiving STEM Action Grant funding.
We do not give feedback on individual applications. For each cycle, we select a wide variety of organizations and are looking to fund a well-rounded class of grantees. Some of the things we consider are the size of organizations, geographic diversity, unique or underrepresented audiences, and the types of programs or projects offered. We encourage organizations to apply again because you could be just what we are looking for in another year.
Yes! If your organization meets the eligibility requirements, we encourage you to reapply. The size and composition of the entry pool and amount of funding available vary from year to year, as do your organization’s needs and priorities. Tell us what’s new, about exciting projects we could support, and perhaps this will be your organization’s year.