Brady Education Foundation

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OVERVIEW: The Brady Education Foundation supports educational research and program evaluations concerned with understanding and eliminating achievement gaps in early childhood and K-12 education.

IP TAKE: The Brady Education Foundation, working “to close the educational opportunity gaps of associated with race, ethnicity, and family income,” largely makes grants for rigorous educational research and program evaluation. Grants mainly support the work of seasoned educational researchers at universities, institutes and policy organizations in the U.S. While its scope is narrow, Brady is flexible in the types of research it funds and has supported qualitative and teacher- and community-informed studies. If you aren’t sure if your project is a good fit, submit a 500-word introduction to your work for feedback before applying. Guidelines are available at the Foundation’s application page.

PROFILE: The Brady Education Foundation was established in 1954 by William H. Brady, a founding member of the National Review. It is currently based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and led by Elizabeth Pugnello Bruno, the granddaughter of William Brady and a former Professor of  Developmental Psychology at the University of North Carolina. The Foundation is on a mission to “close the educational opportunity gaps associated with race, ethnicity, and family income.” Grantmaking prioritizes research and program evaluation and is national in scope.

Grants for Early Childhood and K-12 Education

The Brady Education Foundation supports research projects and evaluations of existing programs:

  • Grants for research projects supports empirical studies that aim to yield data “that will inform how to address disparities in educational opportunities associated with race, ethnicity, and family income for children from birth through age 18.”

    • The foundation prioritizes “research that is consistent with a strength-based perspective,” which refers to studies that take into consideration both the challenges faced by and the strengths evident in the cultures of different communities.

    • Grantmaking also focuses on work that aims to shape policy, educational practice and “major philanthropic giving.”

  • Grants for evaluations support the the collection and analysis of data on existing educational programs that are feasible, sustainable, accessible and strength-based.

    • By strength-based, again, the Foundation refers to a general acknowledgement that “not only the challenges that minoritized families and those with low economic resources face but also the strengths that are developed and supported through cultural wealth that children and families bring to the learning environment that can be capitalized upon to promote strong academic outcomes.”

    • Relevant research questions and hypotheses may relate to the effectiveness of educational practices, the mechanisms underlying such effectiveness and/or “cost-benefit analyses” of relevant effective programs or methods.

Across both grantmaking programs, the foundation prioritizes funding for projects that are collaborative “among researchers, educators, and other stakeholders” and those that “have the potential of informing private funders and public policy.”

One recent grant supported an evaluation conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh on the efficacy of a combined literacy and nutrition program for Latino parents of preschool children in the Pittsburgh area. Another grant funded a qualitative study by researchers at Pennsylvania State University of “the process that Diné educators utilize as they implement, then scale-up, a culturally sustaining/revitalizing curriculum developed with the purpose of integrating character education from a traditional Diné perspective throughout the tribally controlled schools of the Navajo Nation.” Other recipients include the Montessori Public Policy Initiative, the Century Foundation and the Trust for Learning.

Important Grant Details:

This funder’s grants mostly range from about $25,000 to $300,000.

  • Grantmaking is limited to educational research and program evaluations with the overarching goal of closing achievement gaps related to “race, ethnicity, and family income.”

  • Brady does not support direct educational services, schools or out-of-school learning programs.

  • Brady’s grantees tend to be research universities, research institutes and educational policy organizations.

  • This funder occasionally makes small grants for conferences and the dissemination of research findings among the educational research community.

  • Grantmaking is limited to the U.S.

  • A list of recently grants is provided on the foundation’s website.

Prior to submitting an application, grantseekers may submit a 500 word statement to the foundation via email for feedback on the proposed project’s fit with the foundation’s mission and goals. Specific guidelines for the introductory statement are available at the foundation’s application page.

Brady runs a two-state application process, with due dates for Stage 1 applications on the first of April, August and December of each year. Prospective applicants should email the foundation at applications@bradyeducationfoundation.org for an application form and required attachments. Notification of invitations to submit materials for the second stage of the application process are sent out by the 15th of June, October or February, with Stage 2 applications due on the first of August, December and April. Submit general inquiries via the foundation’s contact page.

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