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Cornell University

EDF-Cornell Fast Grants

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Funding

Rolling EDF-Cornell Fast Grants

Overview

We understand that transformative change often requires acting in the moment, when opportunities for science, defense of science in U.S. Federal policymaking, or policy engagement are both truly urgent and significant. Therefore, in addition to our annual Environmental Defense Fund-Cornell Request for Proposals that funds projects via a Research Track or Impact Track, we will also offer up to four Rolling Fast Grants each academic year, providing the agility and support needed to deliver meaningful results when timing is critical. We will endeavor to review and respond to these proposals within two weeks and will make funding available as soon as possible thereafter.

Purpose

The Rolling EDF-Cornell Fast Grants program provides flexible funding to support EDF and Cornell teams in addressing time-sensitive, short-term (less than 12 months) opportunities with concrete deliverables.

Funding Amount

$5-$25K each

Typical Activities

Grants may support activities such as convening critical workshops, opportunistically collecting data, or capitalizing on opportunities to engage policymakers.

Eligibility

Cornell Atkinson funds are subject to the same restrictions as any other university research funding. Applications are open to any Cornell University-eligible Principal Investigator. PIs may have a primary appointment in any Cornell college or school, and must currently be a Cornell Atkinson Faculty Fellow.

How to Apply

Please use this online Proposal form to submit your proposal.

Proposal Narrative (required)

Applicants must address the following within a 2-page limit (excludes figures, citations, budget)

Applicants must address the following:

  1. Opportunity: Describe the specific, urgent, real-world impact opportunity – such as responding to a government request for information, addressing an upcoming legislative or regulatory change, contributing to a fast-moving public policy debate, or capturing critical data to inform decision-making during a narrow time window – and explain why immediate action is needed.
  2. Deliverables: Clearly outline the specific knowledge products or outputs (e.g., open letters, policy briefs, workshops, events, videos, reports) that the EDF and Cornell collaborative team plans to produce.
  3. Outcomes: Clearly explain the expected results or impact that would be achieved by meeting this timely demand.
  4. Timeline:
    1. Provide a timeline for the intended activities and deliverables
    2. Link timeline with the specific motivating opportunity

Budget and Justification (required)

Use this budget template | Save budget as “2026-EDF-CU-YourLastName.XLSX”.
Use this budget justification template | Include budget template at the end of your proposal PDF packet

  • The Excel budget should be submitted as a separate file when you submit your proposal.
  • The budget justification should be included at the end of your proposal. The budget justification does not count against your proposal page count.
  • Please follow the budget and justification templates carefully and provide the requested level of detail.
  • Indicative budget guidance:
    • Funds may be used to cover: personnel (excluding faculty salary), travel, supplies, equipment, and any other relevant costs.
    • For Cornell PIs: Please note that Cornell Atkinson requires a cost share for tuition in line with sponsored research awards such as NSF. If graduate student tuition is built into the budget, the total tuition cost incurred must be cost-shared equally by Cornell Atkinson and your department or unit.
    • Funds may not be used to cover faculty salary (including summer salary), laptops (unless it is dedicated to project work only), and staff bonuses.
    • This is not an exhaustive list – please contact us with specific questions.
  • For Cornell PIs: Cornell Atkinson will transfer allocated funds to an account in the Cornell proposer’s department. These funds have no indirect cost recovery associated with them.

Questions

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