Numerous funding opportunities exist for English language educators. Competition for the most coveted and widely publicized awards is quite intense, but many generous awards are offered by professional associations and foundations. These awards are not as competitive as one might think. In most cases, the process of getting funded can be reduced to two basic considerations: identifying potential sponsors and preparing a competitive application/proposal. The Handbook of Funding Opportunities in the Field of TESOL provides useful information regarding both of these considerations. TESL educators and students seeking money for research, education, and program development will find this to be the most comprehensive guide to funding in TESOL.

1. Who are the sponsors?

Sponsors can be divided into one of six categories: (a) departments, agencies, or agents of the federal government; (b) state and local governments; (c) private foundations; (d) corporations; (e) trade, industry, and professional associations; and (f) educational institutions. The federal government is the largest source of support for educational initiatives in higher education, TESOL activities included. The U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of State, and National Endowment for the Humanities spend more on TESOL-related activities than any other federal agencies. Their awards range from several thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. TESOL and other closely allied associations are an excellent place to begin the search for support.

2. Who are the recipients?

Recipients include individual researchers, classroom teachers, administrators, graduate students, and institutions. Many new initiatives seek to promote creative partnerships and encourage collaboration among local schools, community colleges, universities, and other public and private entities. In such cases, awards are divided among project participants.

3. What are common forms of support?

1. Fellowships. Numerous activities occur under the rubric of fellowships. Among the more familiar are post-doctoral fellowships (to pursue advanced study or research), lecturing fellowships, and graduate fellowships (for masters or doctoral studies). The latter offers support during a graduate program in exchange for serving as a teaching or research assistant. Fellowships are awarded to the individual and usually include the cost of tuition and fees (where applicable), a stipend, and, in some cases, travel costs and related expenses.
2. Grants. These differ from fellowships in that they may be awarded to individuals as well as to research teams and institutions. Grants support individual research, course revision/ development, and travel. Travel grants permit the recipient to travel to disseminate scholarship, engage in training, attend a professional meeting, or travel to the site of research activities.
3. Contracts. Contracts are an agreement to deliver a product or service to a sponsor within or for a specified period of time.

4. What type of support does TESOL offer?

TESOL Awards and Grants

TESOL's various awards and grants promote the high standards vital to the development of the profession. Each year, complete descriptions of TESOL awards and grants are available on the TESOL Web site and referenced in the June/July/August issue of Essential Teacher, which is automatically sent to all TESOL members. Awards and grants are also promoted in TESOL Connections, the free semimonthly e-newsletter for members.

TESOL's Web site at http://www.tesol.org/

Read complete descriptions of TESOL grants and awards online. Review the first few chapters of The Handbook of Funding Opportunities in the Field of TESOL, which are posted online.

Contact your local TESOL affiliate to find out about other avenues to funding opportunities.

5. What programs and organizations offer more information on funding opportunities?

The Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/

This weekly publication devoted to issues related to academe is available online and in most college and university libraries. Numerous award notices appear throughout the year; however, the most comprehensive list of grants and fellowships appears in the form of a special supplement titled Events in Academe that is published every August.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
http://philanthropy.com/

With a subscription, you can search grant announcements online, as published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy over the last 2 years, which include listings from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The College Board
http://www.collegeboard.com/

This site contains helpful financial aid information for college students, plus useful links to other funding opportunities.

DIALOG
http://www.dialog.com/

This collection of more than 400 online databases is offered to users on a subscription basis. Tel. 800-334-2564. E-mail customer@dialog.com.

Fastweb
http://www.fastweb.com/

Search their database of more than 180,000 private-sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans from over 3,000 sources.

The Federal Register
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html

The Federal Register includes discretionary grant application packages.

FEDIX/MOLIS

FEDIX-MOLIS lists sponsored research support available from 13 federal agencies. Accessing FELIX-MOLIS is more convenient than connecting with each agency's Web site to learn of funding opportunities.

The Foundation Center
http://fdncenter.org/

The Foundation Center is an independent service established by foundations to centralize and disseminate information on foundation and corporate giving. The Center publishes several directories and indexes. In addition, the Center operates two online databases that provide information on funding sources and grant application guidelines. Contact The Foundation Center, 79 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003 USA. Tel. 212-620-4230. Fax 212-691-1828.

Fulbright Scholar Program
http://www.cies.org/

The senior scholar component of the Fulbright Program offers grants for college and university faculty, professionals, and independent scholars for lecturing and conducting research in countries around the globe. Contact CIES (Council for International Exchange of Scholars), 3007 Tilden Street NW, Suite 5L, Washington, DC 20008-3009 USA. E-mail scholars@cies.iie.org.

Institute of International Education
http://www.iie.org/

Administers a number of fellowships and exchange programs. Contact IIE, 809 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017 USA. E-mail info@iie.org.

The U.S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/funding.html
http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/StudentGuide/

Use their Student Guide to find out how to apply for grants, loans, and work-study programs.