Discover Funding Opportunities

The Scott and Paul Pearsall Grant supports graduate and early career work that seeks to increase the public's understanding of the psychological pain and stigma experienced by adults living with visible physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy. The program aims to encourage talented students and early career researchers to orient their careers to understanding the psychological effect of stigma on people with visible disabilities, develop strategies to improve the public's understanding of the psychological pain and stigma felt by individuals with visible physical disability in order to reduce harmful misconceptions, and encourage dissemination of findings to the public, expressly through media. Preference is given to proposals that contain a plan to disseminate findings to the public, especially through media organizations such as the Entertainment Industry Foundation or the Entertainment Industry Council.

The Springfield Research Fund Grant supports research of contemporary LGBTQIA+ issues in an effort to dispel stereotypes and other negative information that leads to prejudice and discrimination. The 2026 area of preference will be given to research that addresses intersectional stigmas. The program provides three grants of up to $21,000 each for early career psychologists who are no more than 10 years postdoctoral. Applicants can request up to $21,000 only if $1,000 is reserved for publication costs. Applications are evaluated based on impact and innovation, viability and methodology, and plan for dissemination. APF encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds with respect to age, race, color, religion, creed, nationality, ability, sexual orientation, gender, and geography.

The Springfield Research Fund Dissertation Fellowship supports graduate students at any stage of their dissertation who are interested in researching contemporary LGBTQIA+ issues in an effort to dispel stereotypes and other negative information that leads to prejudice and discrimination. One fellowship of up to $10,000 is available annually. The 2026 area of preference will be given to dissertation research that addresses intersectional stigmas. Successful applicants will also be eligible for a $1,000 bonus upon publication of their dissertation research. Applications are evaluated based on impact, innovation, and plan for dissemination, with evaluations being partially need-based.

The APF Direct Action Visionary Grants seek to fund innovative interventions, based on psychological knowledge, that directly address pressing needs of communities. Research is critical to advancing the field of psychology, but communities also need care right now. APF is uniquely positioned to accomplish both. Through APF Direct Action Visionary Grants, the foundation is particularly interested in supporting communities and populations dealing with prejudice, bias, intolerance, and all forms of bigotry including racism, antisemitism, homophobia, and misogyny. Projects should support APF's four Visionary Priorities: Serve Marginalized Communities, End Prejudice & Stigma, Prevent Violence, and Explore Mind-Body Health Connections. The grants support evidence-based psychological interventions or resources that have demonstrated competence and capacity to execute the proposed work. Projects are not limited to clinical or academic settings. Eligible projects include evaluation of the implementation of an evidence-based intervention in a specific community, bridging the gap to bring an evidence-based intervention to a community in need, and translation and evaluation of psychological knowledge into a form that can be easily distributed to and understood by a community in need. The program will not fund facility renovations or acquisitions, proof of concept projects, clinical trials, or pilot studies unless the intervention is currently being implemented in a real-world setting.

The APF Visionary Grants seek to seed innovation through supporting research, education and intervention projects and programs that use psychology to solve social problems in a number of priority areas. The program focuses on applying psychology to at-risk, vulnerable populations (e.g., serious mental illness, returning military, those who are incarcerated or economically disadvantaged); preventing violence; understanding the connection between behavior and health (e.g. wellness, diabetes, obesity); understanding and eliminating stigma and prejudice (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, and socioeconomic status); and furthering racial equity. Preference is given to pilot projects that, if successful, would be strong candidates for support from major federal and foundation funding agencies, and demonstration projects that promise to generalize broadly to similar settings in other geographical areas and/or to other settings.