Sociological Initiatives Foundation

Welcome to the Sociological Initiatives Foundation

The Sociological Initiatives Foundation was established in 1999 to support research that furthers social change.

The Foundation specifically supports research that focuses on:

Clear social policy objectives

Institutional and educational practices

Legislative and regulatory changes

Organizing previously unorganized groups

Building collective community capacity and/or power (such as expanding membership base)

Linguistic issues, such as literacy, language maintenance and expansion, multilingualism and its implications, and their possible intersection with social and policy issues.

The Foundation supports projects that address institutional rather than individual or behavioral change and/or research and initiatives that provide insight into sociological and linguistic issues that may be useful to specific groups and or communities.

Grant sizes normally range from $10,000 to $20,000. We look for projects that have an explicit research design and a concrete connection to public or community impact. It is not enough to just write a report or add a focus group to a social change project. The research should ideally build an organization or constituency's potential to expand public knowledge, impact policy, and create social change.

Some examples of desired applicants are:

academic-community partnerships

advocacy or community groups that conduct research that can withstand challenge in academic and policy arenas

academics that organize or link to a constituency through their research

Generally, the Foundation will not consider proposals that:

represent the work of a lone academic without a strong relationship with a constituency or organization

do not demonstrate the capacity or intent to carry out bona fide research, as indicated by either a past track record or a credentialed researcher partner

are led by government/municipal agencies

result only in reports, publications, websites, gatherings, films, theatrical productions, concerts, conferences, or the like that are not part of a larger explicit social change strategy.

only evaluate existing programs.

request funds for operating support or capital grants.

Trustees

Barbara Freed, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University
Ramona Hernandez, PhD, The City College of New York
Glenn Jacobs, PhD, University of Massachusetts Boston
Randy Stoecker, PhD, University of Wisconsin
Irene Thomson, PhD, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Please direct all inquiries to:
Foundation Office

The Sociological Initiatives Foundation
c/o Prentice Zinn, Administrator
Grants Management Associates
77 Summer Street, Suite 800
Boston, Massachusetts, 02110-1006 USA
V 617 - 426 - 7080x307
F 617 - 426 - 7087

e-mail pzinn at grantsmanagement.com

Last updated 1/06/07.