Request for Letters of Intent for 2025–2026 AAS-EPD Mini-Grant Program

Are you interested in providing professional development to AAS members on education and mentoring? We invite AAS members to apply to the AAS Education & Professional Development (EPD) Mini-Grant Program! The AAS Education Committee is now accepting Letters of Intent for the 2025–2026 cycle of the AAS-EPD Mini-Grant Program for funds to support education and professional development activities for AAS members. 

Please submit your Letter of Intent here by 11:59 pm ET on Friday, 9 May 2025.

The Call for Proposals, including all forms and instructions for full proposals, will open in late May 2025, and full proposals will be due 20 June 2025. We will welcome proposals for activities that will take place from October 2025 to December 2026. We encourage all those interested in submitting a full proposal to submit a brief Letter of Intent by 9 May to ensure that the proposed program is compliant with the EPD program and funding limitations. All Letters of Intent will be reviewed by the EPD committee and feedback will be given by 16 May. The Letter of Intent should include a short description of the proposed program and items to be included in the budget.

Suitable venues for EPD-funded activities include (but are not limited to) AAS and Division meetings, college and university campuses, museums, planetariums, observatories, and online webinars. The AAS-EPD Mini-Grant Program will provide direct funding and logistical support for these experiences but will not pay any indirect costs (e.g., overhead). Individual grants will range from $1,000 to $10,000, with a typical amount of approximately $4,000 or less.

For more details, including the directions for applying, please see the EPD web page. Note that the EPD page references last year's Call for Proposals; this year's Call will open in late May. Examples of recently funded programs were featured in this Education Blog Post.