Internal Funding Opportunities
Grant Writer's Boot Camp
Eligible Participants: By Invitation Only
Summary: This two-day intensive program focuses on key aspects of grant writing, including proposal submission, the importance of engaging with program officers, pitching your ideas, and receiving peer review feedback. The Boot Camp is a structured Seed Funding Request for Proposal (RFP) for up to $10,000 and covers essential elements of a successful proposal. Participants will benefit from the expertise of experienced faculty who will share their strategies for securing external funding and will also engage in a peer review exercise of proposals from fellow attendees.
Eligibility: The Boot Camp is open to new tenure-track faculty members who are expected to conduct externally funded research. To participate faculty must have attended the 2025 Research Ready @ RIT event, which is a pre-requisite. This foundational program is tailored for individuals with limited experience in writing proposals. Due to limited seating, pre-registration is required. To participate, faculty must register and submit a proposal in response to the Grant Writer’s Boot Camp Seed Funding RFP, along with a letter of endorsement from the faculty’s Department Chair/School Head, using the provided template.
Please note, failure to attend the boot camp after submitting a completed registration and seed funding proposal submission will result in a non-attendance fee of $200 charged to the faculty's department/school.
Award Terms: Awards of up to $10,000 will support a plan of work to improve the investigator's competitiveness for external funding. PIs will be expected to submit at least one (1) proposal to an external sponsor by the end of the project term. If this requirement is not met, departments/school will be responsible for returning any funds expended.
Cost Matching: Not required.
IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
- Pre-registration / Submission of Notice of Intent to Submit: November 12, 2025
- Registration and Seed Funding Proposal Submission: December 8, 2025
- Program Schedule: January 8th and 9th, 2026; Full day in-person, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM on the 8th and 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM on the 9th
Templates:
Project Pitch Competition Rubric
Department Chair/School Head Commitment Letter Template
Request for Proposal & Registration >
Revise & Resubmit Seed Funding
Program Description.
Securing NSF funding is highly competitive, and many strong proposals are declined due to limited program resources or specific reviewer concerns.
Data analysis on funding patterns shows that PIs submit, on average, 2-3 proposals for every one award they receive. Furthermore, the NSF's own policy of requiring a "substantially revised" proposal means that a simple resubmission is not enough; new data or a new approach is often required. A well-reviewed but unfunded proposal is not a dead end; it is a critical opportunity to build on a strong foundation.
To help faculty capitalize on this opportunity, the Office of the Vice President for Research is launching a new, comprehensive Revise & Resubmit (R&R) Initiative. This initiative is designed to provide you with the insider's perspective, expert consultation, and critical resources needed to move your proposal from "nearly funded" to "awarded."
This internal grant is exclusively for faculty who have attended the workshop and are revising their NSF proposal. The funds are designed to be a rapid, strategic investment to generate the necessary data and/or refine the proposal's scope to overcome the weaknesses identified in the reviewer's comments. Additional eligibility and proposal submission criteria will be provided to workshop attendees.
Eligibility Information.
This program is specifically designed to support early-career faculty in securing their first major NSF award. It is ideal for PIs who meet the following criteria:
• Seven (7) years or less in a tenure or tenure-track faculty position.
• Have not yet received major NSF funding as a PI.
• Have had a proposal declined by the NSF within the last 18 months that included reviewer comments.
• Attended “Reimagining Your NSF Proposal” workshop held on December 9, 2025.
Award Information.
A limited number of proposals will be funded by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Awards are for single investigators in the amount of up to $15,000 for a project period of one year. Funds may be used for activities that strengthen the resubmission and address the reviewers feedback.
Due Date.
Proposal documents are due by January 30, 2026.