Grants

FINRA Investor Education Foundation Grant Program Overview

Through its grant program, the FINRA Investor Education Foundation funds research and/or educational projects that support its mission of providing underserved Americans with the knowledge, skills and tools necessary for financial success throughout life.

2008 Funding Priorities

In 2008, the Foundation is especially interested in applications that focus on the following areas:

• New marketing and distribution channels for financial and investor education
• Helping Americans manage their finances and investments in retirement
• Meeting the financial and investor education needs of underserved audiences
• Using behavioral finance to improve saving and investing

Additional funding priorities are specified in the Grant Guidelines. The guidelines also specify eligibility requirements and general grant criteria.

The FINRA Foundation places a high priority on reaching and engaging a well-defined target audience, and encourages collaboration and partnerships that facilitate effective marketing and distribution efforts. Successful education projects will have measurable impact and reach large audiences in a cost-effective manner. Preference will be given to projects that can be replicated and sustained beyond the term of grant funding. For research projects, the Foundation is especially interested in work that has practical applications in the financial and investor education field.

How to Apply for a FINRA Foundation Grant

Organizations interested in applying for a grant should first review the Foundation’s Grant Guidelines to determine whether the organization and proposed project meet all eligibility requirements.

The first step in applying for Foundation funding is the submission of the Project Concept Form. This three-page form assists the Foundation in assessing the applicant’s eligibility for funding and the extent to which the proposed project furthers the Foundation’s current priorities. Certain applicants will be invited to submit a full grant proposal. Applicants invited to prepare a full proposal will be provided with detailed submission instructions.

To download and complete the Project Concept Form, place your cursor over the hyperlink above and right-click your mouse, select "Save Target As" and select a location on your computer to save and edit this file. Complete submission instructions may be found on the form.

Timing

The Foundation accepts Project Concept Forms at any time during the year. The Foundation will respond to your Project Concept Form within one month of receipt and either decline the request or invite a full proposal. Full proposals will be reviewed three times a year. The table below shows cut-off dates for submission of Project Concept Forms for consideration on the corresponding decision dates:

The Foundation encourages applicants to submit project concepts well in advance of the cut-off dates to allow the maximum time for preparation of a full grant proposal in the event the project concept is accepted.

Grant Amounts

There is no set minimum or maximum grant amount. In considering grant requests, the merits of the proposed work are the primary focus. For summaries of funded projects (inclusive of the grant amounts) please view the list of successful grant proposals.

Grantee Resources

Potential grantees are encouraged to expand or leverage programs or materials developed or supported by the Foundation, FINRA, and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).

Grant Duration

Projects should be completed within 36 months of the grant award. The Foundation looks favorably upon projects that demonstrate sustainability beyond the grant period.

Questions

Frequently asked questions provide answers to many common questions about the Foundation’s grant process.

You may also learn about Foundation news and other announcements by subscribing to our email newsletter.

If you have additional questions, please contact the FINRA Foundation’s Susan Sarver (202-728-6948, or via email), Robert Ganem (202-728-8362, or via email) or Christine Kieffer (202-728-6970, or via email).

Conference Call for Prospective Grantees

There are no conference calls currently scheduled. Additional calls may be scheduled throughout the year.

The Decision-Making Process

The FINRA Foundation review and decision-making process has recently been revised to incorporate the submission of a Project Concept Form as the first step in submitting an application. The entire application and review process can take several months. For a detailed description of the process, please read An Overview of the Decision-Making Process.

All project concepts and full proposals are subject to evaluation by the Foundation. A request to submit either a project concept or a grant proposal does not guarantee that a grant will be awarded. The Foundation reserves the right not to award any specific grant for any reason, or for no apparent reason, no matter how clearly the proposed grant may seem to relate to Foundation grant criteria, and no matter how closely the requester has followed the guidelines and procedures. The Foundation does not critique unsuccessful proposals.

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation was established in 2003 as the NASD Investor Education Foundation. On July 30, 2007, the Foundation’s parent, NASD, consolidated with NYSE Member Regulation to form FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. At that time, the Foundation became the FINRA Investor Education Foundation—but its commitment to serving investors remains the same.