Apply for a Discovery Grant!

September 16, 2021

Apply for a Discovery Grant

The Discovery Women’s Philanthropic Leadership group was created to support and fund innovative projects and programs at Ball State University—impacting students and benefiting our local, national, and international communities. Discovery is seeking projects or programs in line with the University's Beneficence Pledge, and will contribute to the University's aspiration of being a model student-centered and community-engaged university. 

Eligibility:  Ball State University faculty and professional staff are eligible to submit a proposal. Discovery will consider funding for: specialized equipment, student assistant wages, graduate assistantships, materials and supplies to support the project and summer stipends (salary is capped at $2,500; plus fringe benefits). Discovery will not consider funding for: faculty overloads for the academic year, faculty research projects, computer equipment, general office equipment, or indirect costs. A project director may only hold one Discovery award per fiscal year.

Review Process: The proposals are reviewed by the Grants Committee made up of Discovery members. Finalists selected by this committee will present the proposed project to the full membership of Discovery at their annual meeting. The finalists will be notified following the vote of the membership. 

Awards: Grant proposals may be funded up to $25,000. The number of grants awarded is determined by the amount of money available each year. 

Proposal Process: Please work with your assigned Proposal Manager in Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) to complete and submit your proposal. Please refer to the Discovery Application page for selection criteria and a scoring rubric.

Timeline for Discovery Grant Proposals

The grant period for Discovery Awards will be from May 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

  • September 1, 2021 – Cycle to submit proposals begins. Please work with your Sponsored Projects Proposal Manager for proposal development, review and budeget preparation.
  • December 2, 2021 – All final proposals due, with University approvals in place. Your proposal manager will assist with this process.

Full guidelines and the scoring rubric can be found on the Discovery website

Questions may be directed to your designated proposal manager or Sarah Lee, senior proposal manager.

About the Discovery Group:
Discovery is an organization formed to demonstrate the vital role women can play in making a difference through informed philanthropy. It was established to support projects and programs at Ball State University. Since being established in 2002, Discovery has granted $1 million and supported more than 50 projects and programs at Ball State. View a list of projects previously funded by Discovery.

Share article to: