Grantseekers

Grant Cycle Timeline

For awards to be determined in December:

Pre-application
Counseling*

Phase I
Application
Deadline

Notification of Invitation to Submit Full Proposal

Full Proposal
Deadline

January 1 to
February 15

May 1

August 15

Full Proposal
Deadline

For awards to be determined in June:

Pre-application
Counseling*

Phase I
Application
Deadline

Notification of Invitation to Submit Full Proposal

Full Proposal
Deadline

January 1 to
February 15

November 1

January 15

February 15

* Potential applicants are encouraged to submit their ideas for grants early in the form of single-page concept papers to allow time to schedule a possible consultation.

Applicants may submit one Phase I application per grant cycle to each of the following areas for which they are eligible: Medical Research, Science and Engineering Research, and Southern California.

The Foundation accepts only online submissions and will NOT accept hard copy or facsimile submissions. Deadlines for Phase I applications and Phase II proposals are 4:30pm (PT) on the deadline days noted above. If a deadline falls on a weekend, the deadline is extended to 4:30pm (PT) on the following Monday.

Submission of Phase II proposals is by invitation only. If a full proposal is invited, site visits or conference calls are conducted at the discretion of the Foundation and are generally scheduled in September and October for the December cycle and March and April for the June cycle.

Application Process

The W. M. Keck Foundation employs a two-phase application process. Applicants must follow the process carefully to avoid disqualification. Grants are awarded twice annually, in June and December. Only applications that reflect institutional priorities as certified by the applicant’s President/Chief Executive Officer will be considered.

Concept (Initial Contact)

Prior to submitting a Phase I application, eligible institutions are strongly urged to contact Foundation staff during the pre-application counseling period, which takes place between January 1 and February 15 leading up to a May 1 Phase I submission, or between July 1 and August 15 leading up to a November 1 Phase I submission. Potential applicants are encouraged to submit their ideas for grants in the form of single-page concept papers during the pre-application counseling period. Consultations are scheduled on a first come, first served basis during the pre-application counseling period.

Initial contact must be coordinated through the institution’s central development office via the designated institutional liaison. Most colleges and universities have designated an official liaison to the Foundation. Other personnel (including principal investigators) contacting the Foundation will be referred to the designated liaison.

All concept counseling call requests must be submitted by the designated institutional liaison. Only one conference call will be scheduled for each institution to discuss all concepts. These may include up to 8 concepts in the Research Program as follows: up to 4 concepts in the Science and Engineering area and up to 4 concepts in the Medical Research area. To ensure productivity of your call, liaisons are strongly encouraged to invite administrators who are familiar with the projects and involved in the limited selection process. Note that principal investigators may not join the call.

Concept counseling calls are scheduled on a first come, first served basis and there is no wait list. Early submissions are highly recommended for this popular session. The Foundation will start accepting concept call requests in late June and mid-December.

To schedule a concept counseling call, the designated liaison must email concepts@wmkeck.org with the following items:

Designated cover page
Single-paged concept papers meeting the requirements below
Brief bios for all call participants (a separate documents containing a short paragraph, at the minimum a full name and title, no CVs).
New institutions only: tax and audit documentation as listed on the Eligibility and Priorities page.

Single-paged concepts for the Research Program should be in 12 point font with 1 inch margins and should include:

Organization Name
Project title
Full name of Principal Investigator
An overview of the proposed project emphasizing any unique aspects and pilot studies (indicate area of emphasis for project - medical research or science and engineering research)
A description of the methodologies and key personnel
A brief justification of the need for Keck Foundation support, and
An estimated budget broken down, if possible, by major areas, e.g., personnel, equipment, consumable supplies, etc. (budgets can be rough approximations at this stage)
If possible, within the 1-page limit, the authors may add other details (e.g., background to put the research into perspective, description of the institution’s prominence in the field). Avoid illustrations in these single-pagers – the researchers will need all the room for text. If a reference is necessary, abbreviate it as (Science, 323, 45, ‘11). DO NOT USE (Jones et al., 2011).

Note to liaisons: All final, relevant concepts and bios must be submitted within three days of your scheduled call or your call time will be forfeited. In selecting concepts to discuss, we encourage your team to visit our grant abstracts to review the types of research projects and award amounts that have been recently funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Phase I Application

Eligible institutions may submit one Phase I application online per grant cycle to each of the following areas for which they are eligible: Medical Research, and Science and Engineering Research.

Phase I application submissions are due by 4:30pm (PT) in order to be considered on deadline days (see our Grant Cycle Timeline). If a deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is 4:30pm (PT) on the following Monday. Applicants will not be able to submit Phase I applications after the deadline. We appreciate early submissions.

At any phase of the application process, an institution may request a withdrawal of its application without prejudice to future requests.

Phase I Instructions

Items you will need to complete in order to submit an application:

Cover Page (Foundation provided form)
Institutional Priority of Request (Foundation provided form)
Project Budget (Foundation provided form)
Fundraising History (Foundation provided form)
Financial Statements (Copy of the organization’s current full, certified, audited financial statements prepared on an annual basis in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. An accountant’s review or compilation does not suffice. If in existence less than five years, the organization must be able to provide at least two consecutive full, certified, audited financial statements prepared on an annual basis.)*
IRS Determination Letter (Copy of the institution's determination letter(s) from the United States Internal Revenue Service stating the institution is: exempt from federal taxation as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and be designated as: a public charity (and not a private foundation) as defined by Section 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) or 170(b)(1)(A)(I-VI) of the Internal Revenue Code; or an exempt operating foundation as defined by Section 4940(d)(2). If the institution is a government unit or part of a group, please refer to the Eligibility and Priorities page for more information.)*
State of California Determination Letter (Determination letter from the California State Franchise Tax Board verifying 23701(d) tax exempt status.)*
Governing Board (Concise list of members of the institution's governing board)
Fact Sheet or Annual Report

*All tax exempt documentation and audited financial statements must be in the same, current and full name of the qualifying organization.

Applicants will receive an email receipt confirming an application has been submitted and received. The Foundation will formally acknowledge eligibility of Phase I applications within four weeks. Completed applications are then carefully reviewed and the Foundation will notify those applicants that are invited to submit a Phase II proposal. No inquiries regarding applications will be entertained in the interim.

Portal

To start a NEW application in the Research Program

Returning Users

To access Concept submissions in progress or submitted requests…

Phase II Proposal

Phase II is by invitation only. Unsolicited Phase II proposals are not accepted at any time. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered. The deadlines for invited proposals are 4:30pm (PT) on February 15 for consideration at our June board meeting, and by 4:30pm (PT) on August 15 for consideration at our December board meeting. If either date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is 4:30pm (PT) on the following Monday. The Foundation encourages earlier submissions. For more information about deadlines, please see our Grant Cycle Timeline.

Phase II Proposal Instructions and Forms

For a Phase II proposal to be eligible for consideration by the Board of Directors, all questions and forms must be answered completely and submitted online by the deadline. Items you will need to complete in order to submit a proposal will be provided within the portal.

Applicants will receive an email receipt confirming a proposal has been received. The Foundation will formally acknowledge receipt of Phase II proposals within four weeks. Upon receipt of a complete Phase II proposal, the Foundation will notify the institution if any additional information is required for the review process. After the Board of Directors has made its final grant decisions in a given grant cycle (June or December), all Phase II applicants will be notified in writing. We will not entertain any inquiries regarding the Board’s decision in the interim.

Phase II Proposal Access

Phase II is by invitation only. Once invited, you can access your proposal in progress by logging into your account portal:

Contact research@wmkeck.org with any questions.