Apply for a Grant

OCRA runs one grant cycle each year. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are issued the first quarter of every year. We use a two step application and peer review process. Letters of Intent (LOIs) are due in early spring and undergo a rigorous peer review by our Scientific Advisory Committee. After LOI review, a subset of those applicants are invited to submit full proposals. Final grant notifications are made in the fall. (This timeline is subject to change.)

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. Please note that due to the small size of the OCRA staff and Scientific Advisory Committee, we are not able to provide feedback to applicants on their LOIs or Full Proposals.

Have questions about OCRA’s grant cycle and programs? View our FAQs.

OCRA’s 2025 Grant Cycle

DateStatus
Letter of Intent (LOI) OpensWednesday, February 28, 2024Next
Letter of Intent (LOI) DueWednesday, March 27, 2024, 5:00PM ET
Letter of Intent Decisions/Full Proposal OpensMid-May 2024
Full Proposal DueThursday, June 13, 2024, 5:00PM ET
Funding NotificationEnd of September 2024
*all dates are subject to change

2025 Requests for Proposals

To apply to any of OCRA’s Grants, please apply through SmartSimple.

*all LOIs and Full Proposals MUST be submitted through SmartSimple. Extensions and late submissions will not be permitted.

RFP for Health Equity Research Grant

RFP for Collaborative Research Development Grant

RFP for Collaborative Research Development Grant – AI

RFP for Mentored Investigator Grant

RFP for Early Career Investigator Grant


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.