APF Grant and Scholarship Programs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is APF's policy on indirect costs?

We do not allow indirect costs to be taken out of grant monies, although applicants can use grant monies for stipend support and other administrative costs (software, materials, etc.). Our policy on this is as follows, from the grant terms and conditions document:

No institutional indirect costs.

The entire grant must be provided to the individual grantee for the stated purpose. The grant may not be used to pay institutional indirect costs or overhead. If funds will be administered by the grantee's institution, the institution must affirm in writing that it will waive all administrative fees and charges for indirect costs. This assurance may be provided through the signature of a responsible official on this agreement. This assurance must be received before the funds can be released.

What is APF's policy on IRB approval?

Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval is required for any research project involving human participants.

APF cannot disburse grant monies without IRB approval. Successful applicants have six months from the date of the grant approval to obtain IRB approval, or the grant will be rescinded.

I have applied for a grant or scholarship — when will a decision be made about the grant recipient(s)? When would funding start?

We try to announce grant recipients approximately two to three months after a grant deadline, though the exact time period may take shorter or longer depending on the number of applications received. Funding typically starts about 4-6 weeks after recipients are notified.

Is there a specific format required for APF proposals?

The request for proposals (RFP) will outline what needs to be included in the proposal; unless specifically mentioned in an RFP, we do not have specific formats for proposals. All questions or points outlined in the RFP should be addressed in the proposal. Unless specified, proposals can be either single or double spaced.

I am applying for a scholarship or grant that requires a letter or letters of recommendation. How should these recommendation letters be submitted?

It works best if the letters of recommendation can be included with the applicant's online submission, so all materials are submitted together. However, if the person writing the letter of recommendation prefers, he or she can separately submit the letter via the online database, listing their contact information on the top part of the screen and attaching the letter as indicated.

Letters can also be mailed to APF, but we do prefer they be submitted online.

American Psychological Foundation
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002

I am writing a proposal and want to include references. If there is a page limit to the proposal, should references be included within the page limit?

No, references can be included in addition to the page limit.

Is there a specific time of day when applications are due?

Applications are due by midnight on the date listed in the request for proposals.