2026 Direct Grant Guidelines

Enduring Hearts’ mission is to fund critical research that will increase the longevity and quality of life for children with a heart transplant.

These guidelines provide an overview of the policies of Enduring Hearts, the details you need to evaluate your grant proposal, and guidance on how to complete the application. All grantees and applicants are obliged to study and make use of the material in these guidelines.

What is the purpose of the Direct Grant Program?

Enduring Hearts seeks to fund projects for up to two years that have a combination of the best science, innovation, and potential for impact. Optional third year for clinical studies must be applied for at the time of application.  For more details about specific mission aligned research priorities and frequently asked questions (FAQs) please visit Direct Grant FAQs.

Timeline:

  • May 1, 2026 – Proposal Central opens for applicants
  • June 19, 2026 – Pre-proposal Letter of Intent due by 5:00pm ET
  • July 24, 2026 – Invitation to apply for full proposal
  • October 13, 2026 – Full Proposal Deadline due before 5:00pm ET
  • December 15, 2026 – Notifications to applicants
  • January 2027 – Award start date

Investigators will receive acknowledgement of proposal submission via email within 10 days of submission.

General Details:

  • International applications are accepted.
  • English is the only language to be used.
  • Only complete documents will be reviewed.
  • Incomplete documents will not be considered.
  • Once the application is complete, please submit using Enduring Hearts online portal through Proposal Central – Apply Here

Application Instructions

  • Project title (title identifying the project and its intended area of focus)
  • Short running title
  • The name of the Primary Investigator (PI)
  • Degrees – list up to three highest degrees earned by the PI
  • Academic rank/title – list the current academic rank or title of the PI
  • Address- list the address of the PI to be used for all correspondence
  • Telephone and email – information to be used for all correspondence (may be home or work numbers)
  • Name and address of institution
  • Name and contact details of grant management and financial party responsible for overseeing grant monies for applicant’s institution
  • Structured technical abstract (250 words maximum) formatted as follows:
  • “Rationale”
  • “Specific Aims”
  • “Methods/Approach”
  • “Major milestones”

Bio Sketch of Primary Investigator

Principal investigator and collaborators must include education, training, honors and awards, and past and pending funding. Please limit the bio sketch to five pages. Within this section, please list up to (but not more than) five representative publications. These works should be either the primary investigator’s most recent publications or publications that reflect the PI’s prior experience in the field.

Research Proposal (7 pages maximum) structured as follows:

  • General Audience Summary- Describe your work in a way that can be understood by people who do not have scientific or medical backgrounds. Be clear and avoid technical and scientific terms when possible. General audience summaries should be 250 words or longer. Describe the project’s aims, goals, and how it will benefit pediatric heart transplant candidates and/or recipients. Note that Enduring Hearts may publish this General Audience Summary, along with the PI’s name, project title and institutional affiliation for parent, recipients and supporters excluding purchased media advertising.
  • Rationale for the proposed project and its alignment with stated Enduring Hearts 2026 Research priorities listed below.
  • Approach to include Specific Aim(s) with major milestones with estimated timeframe of completion of each specific aim.
  • Innovation and Significance to include a detailed description of how achieving the aims of the proposed project addresses a priority, or priorities, of Enduring Hearts.
  • Team and Team Capabilities Provide a statement outlining the research group’s ability to address the research question, support the research, and manage patients, if applicable. Identify any key personnel in addition to the PI. Specify the time commitment of the PI to the project. Include any relevant citations from the Team on the Key Reference list (page 10) below. The commitment of the PI is supported by anticipating at least one abstract and/or manuscript during this project and related to this project as proposed.
  • Graphical depiction of the proposed project.
  • Key References
  • To include open access recent review article(s).
  • Additional documentation such as information about the applicant organization and the PI; contact information for the PI and the authorized representative of the applicant organization which would receive the grant correspondence and funds.

Other Funding Sources‍

Available funding information is required for all applications and is used to check for alternative or overlap issues between the proposed research and other current or pending projects. List all research project support available to you (active, approved, or pending) for funding. Include NIH project grants, NIH K awards, portions of NIH program projects, NIH contracts, contracts from industry, grants from other non-federal health agencies, and any funds available to you through other investigators as well as departmental/institutional support.

Funding Requested

Please indicate funding requested for the first and second year of the project and total funding required to complete the project.

Detailed Line-item Budget and Justification

  • Total awards range between $25,000-$150,000 including indirect costs. Indirect costs should be limited to less than 5%).
  • No awards will be made for projects that receive overlapping funding from other sources (unless supplementary in nature) or that duplicate other projects already funded.
  • Award periods of up to two years. Optional third year for clinical studies. Third year option must be applied for and reviewed at time of application.
  • Acceptable expenditures, small equipment, software, patient recruitment, fringe benefits and salary for hired personnel, and publication costs.
  • Provide a narrative summary and justification for partial salary support.

Review Process

  • Applications will be confidentially reviewed by members of the Enduring Hearts Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and ad hoc Expert Reviewers without conflicts of interest.  Our SAC/Expert and ad hoc reviewers, along with our Board of Directors Scientific Liaison will review each application. Applications are scored 1 to 9 based on scientific merit (e.g., significance, feasibility, approach, innovation, investigators/collaborators, research environment, inclusiveness) and alignment with, and anticipated impact on, Enduring Hearts priorities (see FAQ). Grants are ranked based on their scores. Occasionally, the SAC will ask investigators for further clarification or to amend a proposal that they believe has merit.

Primary Investigator must agree to the following:

  • That performing medical research involving human subjects, including identifiable material or data will adhere to the ethical principles defined in the Declaration of Helsinki and that national or international ethical, legal or regulatory requirements should not reduce or eliminate any of the protections for research subjects set forth in this Declaration. (Holm et al. 2022)
  • To acknowledge and submit on stated dates, biannual scientific progress reports with an accompanying General Audience Summary.
  • Timely notification of presentations and a copy of any publications sent to grants@enduringhearts.org.
  • To provide a virtual presentation to Enduring Hearts as a summary of the funded proposals findings and how they will impact the priorities of Enduring Hearts.
  • To acknowledge Enduring Hearts support in any publication or presentation resulting from this award, with logo as appropriate. Acknowledgement should read as follows: This work was supported by an Award from Enduring Hearts.
  • That Enduring Hearts may publish your professional title, your project title, and your institutional affiliation except in any purchased media advertising.
  • To return all unused funds to Enduring Hearts.
  • Enduring Hearts encourages the use of Open Access

Funding Requirements/Dispersal of Funds

Approved funding will be dispersed in three installments

20% will be disbursed to the recipient upon approved receipt of:

  • Letter of acceptance signed by the PI and by the appropriate institutional representative
  • Letter of exemption or approval by the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
  • Signed PI Permission Form (this gives Enduring Hearts permission to use your information for the purpose of obtaining donations restricted to research).
  • A General Audience Summary of the project that would be understandable by parents of pediatric heart recipients; a clear enumeration of the research progress that would be anticipated (10th-12th grade level)
  • An invoice for the first installment amount

40% will be disbursed to the recipient once all previous steps are completed and upon approved receipt of:

  • A 2-3 page progress report summarizing the research to date addressing the stated specific aims.
  • General Audience Summary (reference above for details)
  • An invoice for the second installment amount.

40% will be disbursed to the recipient once all previous steps are completed and upon approved receipt of:

  • A 2-3 page progress report summarizing the research to date addressing the stated specific aims.
  • General Audience Summary (reference above for details)
  • Invoice for the final installment amount.
  • A short virtual presentation following oral abstract formatting with a brief Q&A period to follow by

The Scientific Advisory Committee and Enduring Hearts Board of Directors:

  • A line-item budget reconciliation of the research project.
  • All work is to be completed within the awarded time frame. Any extensions require approval.
  • Funding will be retracted if completion and or reporting is delayed.

Contact Details: If you have questions regarding your application, or questions on withdrawal of your application please contact us at: grants@enduringhearts.org

LOI Guidelines

All interested Investigators for the Direct Grant Award must submit an LOI through our online application portal: APPLY HERE