What does the Dana Foundation not fund?

Across our grant programs: 

• The Foundation does not make grants to political campaigns, to support political activities, or to lobby for or against legislation. 
• The Foundation does not make grants to individuals. 
• The Foundation does not generally make grants to for-profit institutions. 
• The Foundation does not fund purely empirical or conceptual biomedical and/or behavioral research projects without a substantive, active emphasis on addressing complex societal problems. For example, an interdisciplinary team working on a purely empirical behavioral neuroscience study would not constitute a competitive application. 
• The Foundation does not provide funding for one-off events or conference programming, unless otherwise specified. 
• The Foundation does not fund requests to support ongoing programs or general operating support; instead, we are interested in applications proposing discrete projects that are well-aligned with our mission and our programmatic priorities. 

Specific to the Dana Education program, we are not interested in funding: 

• Educational or training programs that target undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs.
• Educational programs and resources that cover basic neuroscience concepts only, without exploring connections to society. 
• Passive learning approaches, such as documentary films, videos, or podcasts, without a sustained educational component that provides opportunities for continued learning and engagement. 
• Disease-specific public education campaigns. 

Specific to the Dana NextGen program, we are not interested in funding: 

• Neuroscience research without a non-science component.  
• Development of traditional course materials such as textbooks.  
• Development of courses that lack an experiential component.  
• Training or education models that utilize neuroscience to improve learning for students.  
• Educational or training programs primarily targeting high school students, professional audiences, or the public.
• The Dana Foundation champions efforts to broaden participation in neuroscience amongst individuals from groups that have been historically excluded, however, broadening participation in neuroscience alone is not a sufficient societal emphasis. 

Specific to the Dana Frontiers program, we are not interested in funding: 

• Projects that primarily aim to increase awareness about brain health or specific brain-based diseases.  
• Projects that primarily aim to remedy a “knowledge deficit” for the benefit of science or medicine. 
• Projects that primarily produce static deliverables such as reports or websites. 
• Performances, art, films, or exhibits, except as part of larger sustained, multidirectional and collaborative community engagement.
• Projects that promote engagement primarily of academics and/or other experts, except as also involves other community engagement or the cultivation of skills or resources to facilitate connection between academics/experts and non-scientific communities. 

For expanded terms, conditions, and policies, please see our General Grant Guidelines.