• American Psychological Association
  Direct Action Visionary Grants
  Application Deadline: April 30, 2026
• FINRA Investor Education Foundation
  General Grant Program
  Applications Accepted Anytime
• Spencer Foundation
  Research Grants on Education: Small
  Application Deadline: April 15, 2026
• National Endowment for the Arts
  Funding Dance, Design, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literary Arts, Museums, Music, Theater, Visual Arts, and more…
  Grants for Arts Projects
  Application Deadline: July 9, 2026

View More Opportunities Here: https://affiliate.wcu.edu/engagedresearch/find-funding/

Expand your search for grants and fellowships with these platforms.

• Proposal Central
• Grants.gov
• Candid
• Zintellect
• National Science Foundation
• National Institutes of Health
• Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)

The ORA Post‑Award team has sent Summer 2026 extra compensation summaries to PIs and Department Heads. Each message includes project details, personnel receiving compensation, effort months, salary amounts, and the period of performance.

For PIs:

Look for the subject line “SMR 2026 Extra Compensation Summary for PI – [Your Name]”.

• Review your project details
• Confirm effort with your personnel
• Reply with approval or corrections

For Department Heads:

Emails appear as “SMR 2026 Extra Compensation Summary for [Your Dept Name] Dept” and are provided for transparency into Summer 2026 commitments.

• Review
• Reply with confirmation or questions
• Coordinate directly with faculty/staff and PIs as needed

The ORA Post‑Award team appreciates your support and is here to help ensure a smooth summer session.

To ensure timely and accurate grant reporting, please allow the ORA Post‑Award team 3–5 business days to review financial information requests, signatures, and sponsor‑portal submission assistance. This review window ensures all data is accurate, compliant, and fully vetted, helping prevent last‑minute issues and missed deadlines.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep reporting on track.

Questions?

Contact: Ben Peters (bpeters@wcu.edu) or Cameron Lopez (clopez@wcu.edu)

As part of an upcoming improvement to our post-award onboarding process, new hires supported by externally funded projects will follow a more structured hiring workflow based on funding type.

This will include job posting templates tailored to the requirements of different funding sources (e.g., federal vs. non-federal). Compliance and Post-Award will be working together to have these templates ready for you once you reach the hiring stage of your project, so you don’t have to guess what language is needed or worry about missing sponsor-specific requirements.

For questions, contact, Mallory Ball mball@wcu.edu 

As a reminder, WCU requires project-specific disclosures for externally funded activities. This means that even if you have a disclosure on file, you may still need to submit or update your disclosure when you take on a new sponsored project, especially when there are changes in your role, responsibilities, or funding source.

Additionally, if you begin any new external activity for pay (consulting, speaking engagements, paid advising, contract work, etc.), it must be disclosed through WCU’s conflict of interest process. These disclosures help protect both the investigator and the institution, and they ensure we meet sponsor requirements and reporting obligations.

If you’re unsure whether an activity needs to be disclosed, it’s always best to disclose early or reach out for guidance.

For information, click the following link: project-specific conflict of interest training requirements.

How-To Guides:

• Creating and Submitting Your Self-Disclosure
• Supervisor COI Review
• Responding to Additional Information Needed

We will also be updating these to include clear language specific to both faculty and student scenarios. Stay tuned for updates.

For questions, contact, Mallory Ball mball@wcu.edu 

We have recently received questions about using AI tools for research data analysis/collection/transcription. If you are planning to use AI for your research, please ensure you are using WCU IT-approved options, outlined below:

• Zoom AI Companion is available for use. The only requirement is completion of a short Canvas course prior to receiving access. You may self-register for the course and complete it at your convenience, and access is typically granted a couple of days after completion.
• Microsoft Copilot Chat is also approved for use on campus for several data levels at no additional cost. If you have questions about what types of data are appropriate for your intended use, our Security & Privacy office can provide guidance if you share your use case. Copilot Chat can be accessed through most M365 applications and through myWCU. Users should ensure they are logged in with their WCU credentials.
• Microsoft Copilot (licensed version) is available as well, but it requires an annual license cost of $360 per user. If you would like to purchase a license, you can begin the request process at: http://go.wcu.edu/itsoftwarereview.

Additional AI guidance and WCU resources are available here: https://www.wcu.edu/learn/academic-services/it/ai/

Undergraduate Academic Project Grants (APG) operate on a reimbursement system. Please review the following requirements to ensure proper processing.

Equipment & Supply Purchases

• Personal purchases and cash advances are not allowed.
• All equipment and supply purchases must be made through your department.
  • Departmental administrative staff should place the order using departmental funds.
  • After expenses clear Banner, the departmental admin must contact Suzanne Melton to recover awarded funds.
• All equipment and unused supplies bought with APG funds remain with the department at the conclusion of the project.

Travel Reimbursements

• Reimbursements for both faculty and students must be submitted through Emburse Enterprise, fka Chrome River.
• Pre‑approval is required for faculty travel.
• Students should keep all receipts and work with their departmental admin to submit reimbursement requests.

Reimbursement Deadlines

• Reimbursement requests must be submitted within one month of: completing the project, spending awarded funds, or finishing travel dates.
  • Example
    • Travel: Nov 3–5 → due by Dec 5
    • Supplies purchased: Jan 10 → due by Feb 10

Important

• No reimbursements will be made after the last day of classes in the spring semester.
• Projects spanning the full academic year must meet this final spring deadline.
• Late submissions may result in no reimbursement.

Need Assistance?

Contact Suzanne Melton, research programs coordinator, at scmelton@email.wcu.edu.

To meet growing interest, the ORA has scheduled more workshop sessions for the spring! Don’t miss these opportunities to build your grants knowledge and connect with peers.

• Grant Seeking, 2/19/2026, 3:00-4:00 pm, Apodaca 115: designed to help faculty search and locate funding opportunities using the SPIN database and other grant-seeking resources.
• Grants 101, 2/26/2026, 3:30-4:30 pm, Apodaca 115: designed for the entry-level knowledge-based faculty who want exposure to the world of grants. It covers the who, what, and how…a great place to start!
• Financial Management, 3/03/2026, 3:00-4:00 pm, virtually: designed for our more experienced faculty who want to learn more about shadow budgets, personnel costs, and purchasing rules and guidelines to help manage their grant.
• Grants 101, 3/31/2026, 3:30-4:30 pm, Apodaca 115: designed for the entry-level knowledge-based faculty who want exposure to the world of grants. It covers the who, what, and how…a great place to start!

Register Now. Seats are limited.

We are excited to announce a new addition to the site: Special Programs & More. This page is your go-to for upcoming events, workshops, presentations, and special programming opportunities. Explore what’s new and stay connected.

We are excited to share that the Office of Research Administration has launched an official LinkedIn page. Follow us to stay informed about new funding opportunities, important announcements, and the latest updates from our office. Join our growing community and stay connected with everything happening at the ORA.