Federal and Private Funding Sources for Researchers

The following lists include several federal and private agencies that provide national-level funding of research in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). There are also local sources of funding, including intramural funds at your university, state funds, and local private agencies that limit funding to within their own geographic area. To maximize your likelihood of success in obtaining funding, choose a funding source and mechanism that best matches the topic, scope, and budget of your proposed research, as well as your career level. Private agencies can be good sources of seed money needed to collect preliminary data for larger scale federal funding. Several agencies offer email alerts when new funding opportunities become available; see individual agency websites for details. For grant writing tips, please see ASHA's Grant Writing page.

Federal Funding Sources

Private Agency Funding Sources

The following table is not intended to be an exhaustive list of private funding agencies, but rather a guide to those that typically fund research in communication sciences and disorders (CSD). Please check the agency's website directly for details, as eligibility requirements, funding mechanisms/priorities, and/or deadlines periodically change. If you are familiar with a private agency that supports CSD research on a national level that is not listed here, please let us know at research@asha.org.

Available funding opportunities are indicated by an "X" in the chart below. Please see funding agency websites for details as offerings periodically change.
Agency Career Stage Funded Scale of Funding
Pre-doctoral Post-doctoral Early-Career Researcher Mid-Career Researcher Small
( <$100K/yr)
Large
(>$100K/yr)
Alzheimer's Association X X X X X
American Academy of Audiology Foundation X X X X
American Cancer Society X X X X X
American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association X X
American Federation for Aging Research X X X X
American Head and Neck Society X X X
American Hearing Research Foundation X X X
American Laryngological Association X X X
American Otological Society Research Foundation X X X X X
American Parkinson Disease Association X X X X
American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) X X X
American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation X X X X
American Tinnitus Association X X X
ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association X X X X X
Apraxia Kids X X X X X
Association of Schools of Advancing Health Professions (IPE/IPP research) X X X
Autism Science Foundation X X X X X
Autism Speaks X X X X X
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation X X X X
Bright Focus Foundation (Alzheimer's Disease research)    X X X X  
The Capita Foundation (auditory research) X X X
Dana Foundation (neuroscience research)
Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson's X X X
Dysphonia International X X X X
Dystonia Coalition X X X
Engagement Scholarship Consortium (partnerships of faculty, students, and communities) X X X
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (improving patient experience and outcomes of care; solicited proposals only) X
Grammy Museum (impact of music on the human condition) X
Hearing Health Foundation X X X X
International Essential Tremor Foundation X X X X
International Literacy Association X X
The John A. Hartford Foundation (aging and transforming delivery of care for older adults; solicited proposals only)
The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation (education and training of health professionals) X
Little Giraffe Foundation (neonatal research) X X X
L'Oreal USA (women in science) X X
March of Dimes (birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality research) X X X
The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience (learning, memory, and other cognitive research) X X X
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research X X X X X
Muscular Dystrophy Association X X X X
National Aphasia Association X X X X X
National Hearing Conservation Association X X
National Multiple Sclerosis Society X X X X X
National Stuttering Association X X X X
Organization for Autism Research X X X X
Parkinson's Foundation X X X X X X
The Retirement Research Foundation     X X X X
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (health and healthcare research) X X X X X

Sigma Xi 

(scientific research)

X X
Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative X X X X  X X
Society for Research in Child Development X X X X
Society for Simulation in Health Care      X   X  
The Spencer Foundation (education research) X X X X X X
Thrasher Research Fund (pediatric medical research) X X X X
The Voice Foundation          X  
Wiley Language Learning Journal X X
William T. Grant Foundation (improving the lives of youth, ages 5 to 25) X X X X
The Wing Institute (education research) X X

ASHA Corporate Partners