What Does the Charles A. King Trust Support in Massachusetts?
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Since 1936, the Charles A. King Trust has been operating to “support and promote the investigation of human disease and the alleviation of human suffering through improved treatment.” But what does this mean for its grantmaking, and who should be paying attention to this funder in its home state of Massachusetts?
In this article, we take a closer look at the Charles A. King Trust and its role in Massachusetts philanthropy.
The fellowship program
The Charles A. King Trust’s funding revolves around a postdoctoral research fellowship program. This program supports postdoctoral fellows and mentored clinician scientists who are in the mid-to-late stages of their research training. Topics of interest include basic and preclinical science, health services, population health, clinical services and ways to further biomedical research.
Two fellowship awards
The King Trust’s funding addresses two areas of the biomedical field, and its two award programs are separate but linked. The first, the Basic and Preclinical Science Award Program, accepts proposals related to the basic sciences to “increase our understanding of the underlying biological processes relevant to human health and disease.” Awards in this first fellowship category seek to “move findings from basic research towards clinical application.”
The second is the Clinical and Implementation Research Award Program. These awards support human studies that include the following:
Physiological research
Behavioral science and health education research
Translational research
Epidemiological research
Health services and policy research
Outcomes research
Research about healthcare delivery and population health
A collaborative foundation
The Charles A. King Trust is a collaborative funder that works with multiple other organizations in its funding. The co-trustees of this foundation are Bank of America, Melissa MacGillivray Dane and Susan Monahan. Additional private foundations and individuals have joined the Charles A. King Trust to support its fellowships, including the Sara Elizabeth O’Brien Trust and the Simeon J. Fortin Charitable Foundation.
Typical King Trust grantmaking
A big part of the King Trust’s fellowships involves promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. The funder gravitates toward supporting researchers of diverse backgrounds who are underrepresented in science fields. Applicants who identify with the following groups are especially encouraged to apply for the fellowships: Black or African Americans, Hispanics, Latinos, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.
The trust has increased its award amounts for its two-year grants. Grant amounts are now between $194,100 and $215,000, which includes a stipend and a $25,000 annual flexible expense allowance.
Applying for funding
October 1 is the current award date for senior postdoctoral researchers and mentored clinician scientists working in the state of Massachusetts. To receive funding, applicants must have completed three to six years of postdoctoral research and have at least 90% protected time to commit to research.
Interested parties can sign up for the email distribution list to keep up with relevant dates for this trust. Learn about past fellowship recipients here and read IP’s profile of the Charles A. King Trust in our Boston and Massachusetts funding guide.
