Funder: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Due Dates: August 1, 2026 (Letter of Intent) | December 7, 2026 (Invited full application)
Funding Amounts: Up to $500,000 per year for up to three years ($1,500,000 maximum)
Summary: Supports innovative, high-risk, potentially high-impact research addressing designated areas of suicide prevention.
Key Information: A Letter of Intent is required, and only invited investigators may submit full applications.
Description
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) administers Focus Grants for innovative, potentially high-yield projects addressing specific areas of suicide prevention. AFSP and its Scientific Council review and update these areas annually. The program supports research that increases understanding of suicide or tests treatments and other interventions designed to save lives, including basic science, applied research, treatment-feasibility studies, and suicide-related additions to existing research.
The two focus categories are implementation of evidence-based suicide prevention in clinical or community settings and Blue Sky research in new areas of investigation. Implementation studies must use implementation science methods and plan for dissemination. Blue Sky studies must offer potentially substantial impact beyond the financial scope of AFSP’s Innovation Grants, not simply increase sample size.
