OPEN — NAF FY2027 letters of intent accepted through November 18, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Full applications invitation-only.
NAF FY2027 — Research Seed Money Grant (Up to $50,000 for one year; LOI Nov. 18, 2026)
National Ataxia Foundation FY2027 Research Seed Money Grant: Up to $50,000 for one year. Eligible applicants: experienced independent researchers. LOI November 18, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Eastern; invited full March 1, 2027. Mechanism-specific research and applicant requirements; no institutional indirect costs.
FundingUp to $50,000 for one year. Funding period September 1, 2027 through August 31, 2028. Mechanism overall pool not published. Salary/stipend rule: up to 50% of the award ($25,000). No indirect costs or cost sharing.
DeadlineOPEN LOI: November 18, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. FULL PROPOSAL invitation-only: March 1, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Letter of intent opened September 14, 2026.
Last verified2026-11-05
Required next actionCheck exact applicant eligibility and application/budget rules at https://www.ataxia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/FY2027-Research-Seed-Money-Instructions.pdf and current annual policies at https://www.ataxia.org/researcher-resources/ . Register on https://proposalcentral.com/, select NAF FY2027 Research Seed Money Grant, prepare a four-sentence need statement, four-sentence impact statement, one-page specific aims, five-page biosketch, and submit LOI by November 18, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Invited full proposals due March 1, 2027; ensure all required signatures and documents.
Broad Eligibility
Applicants must have completed postdoctoral training more than five years before applying and hold a full-time faculty, clinician, or senior scientist appointment at an academic institution, nonprofit, or for-profit company. U.S. and international researchers are eligible; U.S. citizenship is not required. One LOI per FY2027 cycle; overlapping award support prohibited; satisfy full annual and mechanism-specific restrictions.
Atlas Analysis
Officially verified November 5, 2026 against National Ataxia Foundation FY2027 Research Seed Money Grant controlling application PDF https://www.ataxia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/FY2027-Research-Seed-Money-Instructions.pdf and https://www.ataxia.org/researcher-resources/. Genuine applicant-facing competitive research award, not procurement. Individual Up to $50,000 for one year. NAF may exceptionally consider a request above $50,000, but only if the applicant discusses and receives approval from NAF's Chief Scientific Officer BEFORE the letter of intent is submitted. $50,000 is the standard applicant award. Eligibility: Applicants must have completed postdoctoral training more than five years before applying and hold a full-time faculty, clinician, or senior scientist appointment at an academic institution, nonprofit, or for-profit company. U.S. and international researchers are eligible; U.S. citizenship is not required. Direct eligible research costs only; salary/stipends up to 50% of the award ($25,000); essential equipment 20%, publications $2,500 and eligible economy travel $2,000 ceilings; no indirect costs, fringe, tuition, cost sharing, or overlapping funds. Deadline LOI November 18, 2026 11:59 p.m. ET; invited application March 1, 2027 11:59 p.m. ET.
FY2027 National Ataxia Foundation — Research Seed Money Grant
The National Ataxia Foundation (NAF) is accepting FY2027 letters of intent for this competitive Research Seed Money Grant. It offers financial assistance to experienced independent researchers for Pilot studies or innovative research into the causes, biological mechanisms, diagnosis, clinical care, or treatment of hereditary, sporadic or acquired ataxias, generating preliminary data for larger awards. This is a distinct funding mechanism, not a vendor procurement or general NAF program allocation.
Individual award and period
Up to $50,000 for one year. Funding period: September 1, 2027 through August 31, 2028. NAF may exceptionally consider a request above $50,000, but only if the applicant discusses and receives approval from NAF’s Chief Scientific Officer BEFORE the letter of intent is submitted. $50,000 is the standard applicant award. NAF has not published a uniform overall funding pool attributable to this individual mechanism.
Applicant eligibility
Applicants must have completed postdoctoral training more than five years before applying and hold a full-time faculty, clinician, or senior scientist appointment at an academic institution, nonprofit, or for-profit company. U.S. and international researchers are eligible; U.S. citizenship is not required. Only one NAF letter of intent per applicant per FY2027 cycle is permitted. Award-specific prior-recipient restrictions, overlapping funding restrictions, recent NAF awards, ongoing no-cost extensions and overdue reporting can disqualify applications. Consult the linked controlling instructions and annual policies.
Allowable expenses, match and exclusions
Funds are for approved direct research costs, including project supplies, eligible research animals, eligible patient study expenses, reasonable essential equipment limited to 20% of budget, publications up to $2,500, and eligible economy conference travel up to $2,000 for presentation of the funded work. Personnel salaries or stipends may use up to 50% of the award ($25,000), consistent with applicable NIH rate and effort caps. No indirect costs or cost sharing. NAF prohibits fringe benefits, tuition, relocation, fixed/permanent equipment, general office equipment and duplicated costs or overlapping support.
Deadlines and application stages
Letter of intent deadline: November 18, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The LOI window opened September 14, 2026. Invited full proposal deadline: March 1, 2027, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. An invitation following LOI review is required for a full application. LOI decisions are expected January 2027, final award notifications June 2027.
Submission prerequisites
Create an account in ProposalCentral; find National Ataxia Foundation and select the exact FY2027 Research Seed Money Grant funding mechanism. Initial LOIs require a four-sentence statement of need, four-sentence impact statement, one-page specific aims, and five-page biosketch. Invited full applications require an abstract, lay summary, ORCID, detailed research plan and budget, institutional sign-off, and any mechanism-specific mentor/progress documentation. Submit before the exact deadlines and obtain all required e-signatures.
Official FY2027 Research Seed Money Grant application instructions (PDF) · Funder’s annual research grant instructions and policies · ProposalCentral submission portal. Official sources reviewed November 5, 2026.
Source verificationReferenced source · www.ataxia.orgAtlas last verified this record 2026-11-05. Always use the funder's current application materials, amendments and portal instructions as the controlling source.View source and application materials ↗
