Application Process

OCRA runs one grant cycle each year. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are issued every spring. We use a two step application and peer review process. Letters of Intent (LOIs) are due in May and undergo a rigorous peer review by our Scientific Advisory Committee. After LOI review, a subset of those applicants are invited to submit full applications. Full applications are due in July. Final grant notifications are made in October.

The review process—including all meeting deliberations, scores and written critiques of proposals, as well as other materials provided for the review of proposals—is confidential. A confidentiality and conflict-of-interest statement must be signed by each reviewer. Grants for projects selected through this process are then made to non-profit medical institutions on behalf of individual investigators or project directors.

OCRA grants are extremely competitive. In 2017 we received 203 Letters of Intent and funded 20 grants.

OCRA is no longer accepting applications for grants starting in 2019. If you would like to be added to our mailing list so you know when RFPs are available for future grant cycles, please send an email to grants@ocrahope.org.