Frequently Asked Questions
How
do I apply for a grant from the Louisville Institute?
What kinds of persons get research grants from the Louisville Institute?
What
are the eligibility standards for research grants?
What are the eligibility
standards for pastoral sabbatical grants?
Why does the Louisville Institute make grants to both academics and pastoral leaders?
What kinds of research do you fund?
I’m a biblical scholar. Can I apply for a grant from LI?
May I submit a proposal to more than one grant program?
What kinds of projects other than research do you fund?
I am not a practicing Christian. Can I apply for a grant from the Louisville Institute?
May persons from abroad apply for grants from
the Louisville Institute?
How large of
a grant will the Louisville Institute make? What is a “typical”
grant amount?
Are there projects that the Louisville Institute does not fund?
I learned about your program after the grant deadline. Can I still apply?
When should I submit the letter of inquiry for the General Grant Program?
Where on the web site can I find more information about some of the grant projects you have supported?
Does the Louisville Institute fund individual research projects in the General Grant Program?
Does the Louisville Institute provide sample proposals?
What does a good Louisville Institute proposal look like?
I'm
not sure my project is a good fit for the Louisville Institute. Where else may I
look for grants?
How do I apply for a
grant from the Louisville Institute?
Application
materials may be downloaded from this web site or requested by mail from the
Louisville Institute. Since application procedures vary from program to program,
be sure to download the correct application materials for the program to which
you are applying. In addition, be sure to follow carefully its application
procedures and to submit all application materials by the application deadline.
While the first part of an application may be submitted online, the last part of
an application must completed, printed out, and mailed to the Institute.
What kinds of persons get research grants from the Louisville Institute?
The Louisville Institute has identified a specific constituency of pastoral leaders and academics who are passionately committed to both the vitality of America Christianity and to engaged reflection about it. We sometimes describe them as “scholarly pastors” and “faithful academics.”
“Scholarly pastors” are both committed to ministry and realistic about its distinctive challenges in the contemporary cultural situation. They are well educated, appreciative of the tradition but open to new learning, and reflective about the context of contemporary ministry. For their part, “faithful academics” see themselves as both students of religion and persons of faith who want their scholarly work to contribute in fairly specific ways to the vitality of American religious life.
What are the eligibility standards for research grants?
Grantees shall have earned the terminal degree in their
discipline (M.Div., Th.D., Ph.D., etc.).
What are the eligibility
standards for pastoral sabbatical grants?
Grantees must be employed by an organization in a
recognized ministry position. Ordinarily, grantees will
possess a terminal degree appropriate to their
particular ministry work (M.A., M.Div., D.Min., etc.).
No one who has received a previous Louisville Institute grant is eligible, and
only those whose pastoral work is located in the U.S. and Canada are
eligible.
Why does the Louisville Institute make grants to both academics and pastoral leaders?
Despite sincere efforts from both sides, a persistent gap effectively separates the professional cultures of “faithful academics” and “scholarly pastors”, to their detriment and that of the many common interests and concerns they share. The aim of the Louisville Institute is to create the conditions for systematic, new connections between religious leaders and religion scholars for the sake of strengthening American churches.
What kinds of research do you fund?
The Louisville Institute supports research pertaining to contemporary North American Christianity.
It may be sociological or historical research on American Christianity, or some
other social scientific investigation of religion in North America. It may be practical theological research on spiritual formation in American Christian communities, research by an ethicist on religion, work, and family in North
America, or theological appraisal of church leadership challenges. In all cases, we are especially interested in research that will contribute to the
strengthening of Christian institutions and their leaders.
I’m a biblical scholar. Can I apply for a grant from LI?
Biblical research projects that bear fairly directly on North American religious life may be funded. Recent grantees, for example, have explored the contemporary
use/misuse of the Book of Revelation and Paul’s developing views of sexuality and gender.
May I submit a proposal to more than one grant program?
Applicants may not submit applications to more than one Louisville Institute grant program within the same grant year (June 1-May 31).
What kinds of projects other than research do you fund?
The Louisville Institute’s General Grant Program supports a limited number of
broad-ranging individual and collaborative projects. Such grants, for example, might cover the costs of convening a group of pastoral leaders for reflection and renewal or an individual scholar’s research expenses. Other grants might enable a scholar-educator to meet with a group of pastors to discuss his or her draft manuscript. They might also support a congregation’s innovative program in lay theological education, a particularly promising consultation of pastors and academics, or an innovative collaborative research effort.
I am not a practicing Christian. Can I apply for a grant from the Louisville Institute?
The Louisville has made grants to scholars who claim no personal commitments to Christianity. Such grantees should be astute, even if critical, observers of American religious life and should be able to work empathetically on issues of interest to the Louisville Institute.
May persons from abroad apply for grants from LI?
On very rare occasions, the Louisville Institute has made a grant to someone outside the United States or Canada. It is essential, however, that proposed projects bear directly on North American Christianity. Other projects will not be funded.
How large of a grant will the Louisville Institute make? What is a “typical”
grant amount?
The size of the grant requested should be proportional to the scope of the proposed project. Although the Louisville Institute has made a very few
larger grants in the past, and funds grants as small as $1,000, the “typical” large grant is in the range of $25,000 to $30,000.
General Grants rarely exceed that level, while our Christian Faith and Life,
Religious Institutions, First Books, and Pastoral Leadership grant programs fund
grants up to $40,000. Award amounts for our other grant programs are fixed at
lower amounts; see the individual program pages for details.
Are there projects that the Louisville Institute does not fund?
The Louisville Institute does not make grants for basic institutional support (e.g. hiring new personnel), for educational expenses for persons in degree programs (except for our Dissertation Fellowship Program), for “bricks and mortar” construction projects, or for ongoing programs in a congregation, judicatory, or denomination.
I learned about your program after the grant deadline. Can I still apply?
In fairness to all applicants for Louisville Institute grants, we are unable to accept proposals after the posted application deadlines. Nor is it possible for one to submit a proposal to the General Grant program simply because one missed the application deadline for
another grant program.
When should I submit the letter of inquiry for the General Grant Program?
In order to receive proper consideration, letters of inquiry should be submitted at least four weeks prior to the proposal due dates of March 1, July 1, and November 1.
Where on the website can I find more information about some of the grant projects you have supported?
The “Reports” section of the home page contains two search pages. One provides information on publications related to Louisville Institute grants. The
other allows you to search the grant list by subject and keyword. From the list of grants provided by your search, you can go to a brief
summary describing each grant. Additional information about projects may be requested from the individual grantees.
Does the Louisville Institute fund individual research projects in the General Grant Program?
In recent years most individual research projects have been funded through our
other grant programs. Occasionally, however, we fund individual research projects through the General Grant Program. Those exceptions are normally projects of exceptional interest to the Institute that do not fit in one of our
other grant programs. But most research projects funded through the General Grant Program are collaborative, rather than individual, efforts
Does the Louisville Institute provide sample proposals?
It is the policy of the Louisville Institute not to provide samples of successful proposals, since successful proposals vary so widely. But in the midst of this variety, successful proposals almost always follow closely the proposal procedures provided for the appropriate grant program.
Sample project summaries can be accessed on our Reports
page.
What does a good Louisville Institute proposal look like?
An effective grant proposal constructs an argument about an issue or problem of significance and usually contains the following elements.
- A one-paragraph summary of the argument.
- A clear description of the issue or problem and its significance.
- A description of the proposed strategy for addressing the issue or problem.
- An explanation of what you expect to find or accomplish.
- Some indication of how you intend both to assess the success of your project (evaluation) and to share your findings with others (dissemination).
- Some description of the ways in which this project contributes to the vitality of contemporary American religious life.
Given the Louisville Institute's fundamental mission to bring pastors and
academics together, preference will be given to proposals that, in fact,
involve both groups during the grant period.
I'm not sure my project is
a good fit for the Louisville Institute. Where else may I look for grants?
The Louisville Institute is one of several grant
making institutions funded by the Lilly
Endowment. Links to and descriptions of these various institutions are
posted at the Resourcing
Christianity website.