From Crisis to Opportunity: Where Psychological Scientists Can Find Foundation Support

Psychological research, like many areas of science, stands at a critical juncture in the United States. Numerous federally funded grants have been frozen, delayed, or terminated, upending laboratory research, fellowships, and training programs. In 2025, grants from the National Institutes of Health have dropped 29% and the National Science Foundation grants are half as numerous as prior years. The Trump Administration has proposed cutting funding for all research by 22% in fiscal year 2026. 

Amid this turmoil, private foundations are emerging as vital lifelines for psychological research. Private philanthropy frequently supports novel or high-risk projects and early career fellowships, which are increasingly jeopardized in the federal funding landscape.

Some of these organizations recently announced a collaborative rapid-response bridge grant opportunity for education researchers whose grants have been canceled by the National Science Foundation. Such an initiative won’t fill the hole left by federal funding cuts, but the coalition of foundations hopes to mitigate some of the impact on researchers and their projects.

Below is a sampling of several major foundations that support research, academic careers, and innovations in psychological science.

• Wellcome Trust: A global charitable foundation that supports research to address urgent health issues, including mental health concerns. The organization supports research on early interventions for anxiety, depression, and psychosis.
• Spencer Foundation: A leading funder of education research, supporting field initiatives, fellowships, and large-scale studies focused on equity in education systems. The foundation accepts proposals from researchers and organizations around the world. 

• Brain & Behavior Research Foundation: An organization dedicated to funding scientific research to find cures for mental illnesses. Its grants support scholars exploring addiction, autism, and a variety of psychological and psychiatric disorders. It has supported more than 5,600 researchers across the globe. 

• James S. McDonnell Foundation: A philanthropic institution that supports knowledge-based solutions to societal issues, primarily in its home base of St. Louis. The foundation has historically funded research in biomedical and behavioral sciences but is shifting its focus to supporting research on economic development and mobility, PreK–12 STEM education, life sciences, and workforce development. 

• Russell Sage Foundation: A foundation that supports innovative research in the social sciences, including psychological research, with the aim of improving living conditions in the United States. The foundation provides grants for veteran and early career scholars, as well as dissertation grants and visiting fellowships. Funded projects have focused on systemic racial inequality, police decision making and behavior, social media’s impact on political polarization, and more. 

• William T. Grant Foundation: A nonprofit focused on research that improves the lives of young people, including those who are underserved or experiencing trauma. Its grants include funding to support the application of research to improve the lives of children, adolescents, and young adults in the United States. 

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: A foundation that supports research on access to medical and mental healthcare in the United States.

• American Psychological Foundation: A nonprofit that offers research grants, travel grants, scholarships, fellowships, and awards. The foundation throws particularly strong support toward work related to marginalized communities, violence prevention, prejudice reduction, and mind–body health connections. Although many of the projects it supports are U.S.-based, APF provides international travel grants and supports research projects globally. 

• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: A Switzerland-based organization that supports early career research focused on the humanities and social sciences. The foundation supports international research, largely through grants to academic institutions. 

• European Research Council (ERC): A public body that supports innovative research across Europe. Its thematic areas include gender and diversity and open science.

• Ford Foundation: A private foundation committed to advancing human welfare across the world. It provides financial support and assessment tools to social justice organizations. The organization supports psychological research primarily through fellowships and focuses on projects related to social justice, equity, and better understanding of human behavior. 

• Jacobs Foundation: An organization that offers fellowships to early and mid-career researchers focused on learning and development of children worldwide. 

• John Templeton Foundation: A foundation that supports interdisciplinary research in religion, science, character virtue, and public engagement. The philanthropic organization has helped fund large-scale global studies.

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