Capacity-Building Grants
Capacity-Building Grants support colleges and universities exploring, piloting, or planning character education to embed moral, civic, and intellectual character in curricula and campus culture.
Funder: Wake Forest University – The Program for Leadership and Character
Due Dates: October 7, 2026 (Aligned Project office hours) | October 8, 2026 (Narrative office hours) | November 15, 2026 (Portal opens) | December 15, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET (Final proposal) | March 19, 2027 (Expected 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 exploring, piloting, or planning character education within their institutional curricula and 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 Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative (ECI), part of the Program for Leadership and Character, with support from Lilly Endowment Inc. They help institutions strengthen their ability to educate and embed moral, civic, and/or intellectual character in their distinctive contexts. The program addresses resource shortages that can prevent character development plans from taking root across curricula and campus culture.
The grants are especially suited to institutions beginning to explore character education, teams piloting discrete projects, and institutions planning larger funding applications. Supported work can include developing shared character frameworks, curricular and co-curricular programming, faculty and staff development, assessment, and resources for character education. ECI encourages approaches aligned with each institution’s mission, history, culture, and population rather than a one-size-fits-all model.
