Mission: The Dr. Scholl Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work and compassion. Grants are made annually after an extensive review of the application by the staff and all the directors of the Dr. Scholl Foundation.
The application process contains two steps:
Step 1: Applicants may submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) through the Dr. Scholl Foundation portal beginning October 1. LOIs are reviewed on a rolling basis with a five business day turnaround.
Step 2: If an applicant’s LOI is approved, they will receive a link to the grant application which is due in the Dr. Scholl Foundation portal by March 1 at 4:00 p.m. CST. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications as soon as possible after an LOI is approved.
Only one application will be accepted from an organization or institution per grant year. Interested applicants from within Duke should contact fundopps@duke.edu as early as possible.
Before approaching the funder or submitting an application:
- Prospective applicants from Duke University – contact Angela Crews in the Office of Foundation Relations, University Development at 919-681-0468 or angela.crews@duke.edu.
- Prospective applicants from Duke Medicine – contact Anita Shirley in Foundation Relations and Corporate Giving, Duke Medicine Development and Alumni Affairs at 919-385-3117 or anita.shirley@duke.edu
Deadlines:
- Sponsor Deadline: March 1, 2025
Applications for grants are considered in the following areas:
- Education
- Social Service
- Healthcare
- Civic and Cultural
- Environmental
The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.
Over the past decade, approximately 28% of Dr. Scholl Foundation's grants have been related to education, 28% to social services, 22% to hospitals and healthcare, 17% to civic and cultural with the remaining percentage spread out in the above categories. The majority of the grants are made in the U.S. However, the Foundation recognizes the need for a global outlook.
Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.
The foundation does not consider the following for funding:
- Organizations that do not have a valid IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter
- Political organizations, political action committees, or individual campaigns whose primary purpose is to influence legislation
- Foundations that are themselves grantmaking bodies
- Grants for loans, operating deficit reductions, the liquidation of a debt or general support
- Grants to individuals
- Grants are rarely made to endowments or capital campaigns.
- Event sponsorships including the purchase of tables, tickets or advertisements
- More than one request from the same organization in the same year
There is no limit to the amount that may be requested; however, on average, grants range from $5,000 to $25,000. The Foundation only accepts requests for one year of funding.
Owing to the sponsor's restriction on the number of applications that may be submitted from Duke, anyone wishing to pursue nomination should submit the following materials as one PDF.
- CV of PI
- Project summary (1 page)
Please submit internal materials through My Research Proposal (Code: ILN): https://www.grantinterface.com/sl/yMERQm
Instructions for creating an account (if needed) and submitting your materials: https://ctsi.duke.edu/about-myresearchproposal