The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Grant

The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVDF) support higher education and interfaith leadership initiatives through a competitive, two-stage grantmaking process. Founded with a commitment to philanthropy in education, religion, health, and public television, AVDF now emphasizes five core program areas, two of which are currently accepting open submissions: Private Higher Education and Interfaith Leadership and Religious Literacy. The foundation seeks proposals aligned with these programmatic priorities, focusing on impact, sustainability, and innovative approaches within these domains. Applicants must initiate the process by submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) through AVDF's official portal. These letters are due by August 28, 2025, at 5:00 PM Eastern Time for the 2025–2026 review cycle. The LOI serves as a preliminary proposal and is reviewed by AVDF program staff to identify the most competitive and aligned submissions. Only applicants selected from the LOI stage will be invited to submit a full proposal. This selective invitation ensures that both the applicant’s goals and AVDF’s strategic priorities are aligned before advancing to the next phase. Invitations to submit full proposals will be issued by October 9, 2025. Applicants who receive an invitation must complete their full proposal submission by November 14, 2025, also by 5:00 PM Eastern Time. Full proposals that are recommended by the program staff will undergo further review by the AVDF Board of Trustees. These reviews are conducted in two separate rounds, held in February and May of the following year. Applicants should assume a project start date of June 1, 2026, or later, as timing for board review and funding approval may vary. The grant does not publicly list specific award ceilings, floors, or total funding amounts. It also does not disclose any matching requirements or provide information about the number of expected awards. The lack of these details suggests that AVDF approaches grant funding with flexibility, possibly tailoring amounts and terms to the scope and merit of individual proposals. Funding is intended to support projects that advance the mission of private higher education or promote interfaith understanding and religious literacy. Eligibility for these open-submission grants is not broadly defined on the website. However, because the focus areas are Private Higher Education and Interfaith Leadership and Religious Literacy, it is reasonable to infer that applicants are likely to include private colleges, universities, and nonprofits working in the interfaith or educational space. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review AVDF’s program descriptions and funding priorities to ensure alignment before applying. There are no published details about specific application questions, time estimates for completion, or expert tips. No direct contact names, emails, or phone numbers are provided on the site, nor is a downloadable PDF version of the opportunity posted. The grant appears to be recurring annually, with a fixed LOI deadline in late August and a multi-step process stretching through the following May. Based on this pattern, the next expected cycle would begin in August 2026.