Capacity-Building Grants
Capacity-Building Grants support colleges and universities in exploring, piloting, and planning character education to embed moral, civic, and intellectual character in curricula and campus cultures.
Funder: Wake Forest University – The Program for Leadership and Character
Due Dates: November 15, 2026 (Portal opens) | December 15, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET (Final proposal) | March 19, 2027 (Anticipated decisions) | July 1, 2027 (Earliest project start)
Funding Amounts: Up to $50,000 for projects lasting no more than one year
Summary: Supports colleges and universities in exploring, piloting, and planning character education within their distinctive curricula and campus cultures.
Key Information: Project leaders must hold, or be contracted to, long-term faculty or staff positions at accredited U.S. colleges or universities.
Description
Capacity-Building Grants are awarded through the Educating Character Initiative (ECI), part of Wake Forest University’s Program for Leadership and Character, with support from Lilly Endowment Inc. The program helps institutions overcome resource barriers to educating and embedding moral, civic, and/or intellectual character within their distinctive contexts.
The grants support initial exploration, smaller discrete projects, and planning for larger future funding applications. Activities can include developing character-focused courses and co-curricular programs, building shared institutional approaches, supporting faculty and staff development, assessing project outcomes, and creating educational resources. ECI encourages approaches grounded in each institution’s mission, culture, and population rather than a single model of character education.
