2025 V Foundation Grant Cycle Calendar (exact dates and times will be detailed in specific RFAs. Dates are estimates and are subject to change):

Women Scientists Innovation Award (V Scholar, Translational)
Nomination Deadline: January
Application Deadline: February
Award Notification: April

Translational (Translational, All-Star)
Nomination Deadline: March
Application Deadline: April
Award Notification: June

Pediatric (V Scholar, Translational, All-Star)
Nomination Deadline: May
Application Deadline: June
Award Notification: July

V Scholar (V Scholar)
Nomination Deadline: June
Application Deadline: July
Award Notification: August

Eligibility requirements vary slightly between grant opportunities. For the V Scholar grant opportunity, the lead investigator is required to be either a US citizen or a permanent legal resident in the US. The V Foundation is unable to transfer grants internationally. Specific questions regarding residency should be deferred to the specific institution’s policies on citizenship.

For all other grant types, the V Foundation requires that the lead investigator be a US Citizen or have a legal permit to work in the United States by the nomination deadline.
The statement, “be a US Citizen or have a legal permit to work in the United States,” does not apply to Canadian institutions.

Nominees must meet all eligibility requirements outlined in a specific RFA by the nomination due date. Nomination due dates can be found within the RFA.

Yes, an institution can nominate a current or past V Foundation grantee if the applicant meets all other eligibility requirements outlined in the RFA that they are responding to and must avoid scientific overlap with previously awarded grants. However, V Scholar nominees cannot have been previously granted a V Scholar Award.

Current V Foundation grantees must be in good standing on all grant reporting requirements (up-to-date on submission of scientific progress and financial reports for any active V Foundation grants) to be eligible for another V Foundation award.

Yes, if the candidate meets all eligibility requirements outlined in each RFA. However, if selected for funding, applicants can only receive one V Foundation grant per calendar year.

No. The V Foundation does not accept or review unsolicited proposals. If you believe that your institution falls within the list of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, please contact your Cancer Center Director’s office for more information.

Information about V Foundation RFAs are distributed to approved contacts at each invited institution. Please contact your Cancer Center Director’s office for more information.

Funding rates depend on the number of nominations/applications per call and the budget on a given year. However, they typically range from 15-30%.

Required elements pertaining to each RFA can be viewed in the grants software, SmartSimple, once nominees are invited to apply. In general, our applications ask for items such as specific aims, methods, collaborations, budget justification, Letter of Recommendation, etc.

Yes, if the applicant believes the information is relevant for the review of their application. Any accompanying information may be uploaded as a PDF in the section, “Upload figures and supplemental information to accompany proposal.”

There is no limit for the number of supplemental pieces that can be uploaded; however, our reviewers appreciate concise applications.

Yes, the V Foundation adheres to NIH guidelines regarding salary caps and coverage.

Indirect costs are not supported within the V Scholar or Mission grant mechanisms. For Translational and All-Star grants, a limit of 10% indirect costs are allowed within the total grant budget. Indirect costs rates are determined on a case-by-case basis for Designated Grants. Indirect costs are calculated within the entire award amount and are not based on detailed or technical calculations.

No, the V Foundation does not allow co-applicants. Co-PIs and collaborators are allowed for some grant programs; however, Co-PIs are not allowed for the V Scholar Program.

Login credentials for SmartSimple are only provided to lead investigators on the application. If Co-PIs are invited to edit the application, they will receive their own SmartSimple login information.

No. Once the application is submitted it will move from the “Drafts” to “Submitted Applications” status on the PI’s dashboard in SmartSimple.

While reviewing each application, reviewers have the option to provide specific constructive feedback to applicants.

No, the V Foundation only corrects errors of fact, such as legal names. You can find a Sample Grant Agreement in the Frequently Used Documents Section below.

Yes, the V Foundation allows sub-contracts. The V Foundation does not manage sub-contracts. Sub-contracts must be organized, administered, and approved by the respective institution(s).

Contact grants@v.org ASAP to further investigate the situation.

Progress reports must be submitted through the online portal. To submit the progress report, the grantee will log in to their SmartSimple account and click on “Progress Reports.” Access the SmartSimple portal here.

Financial reports must also be submitted through SmartSimple. The financial report template is available and downloadable within SmartSimple, and can be found in the Frequently Used Documents section of this webpage.

Re-budgeting requests are reviewed by the Research & Grants Team. Please provide a formal document outlining all requests and email to grants@v.org for review.

NCEs must be requested through the final progress report in SmartSimple. A justification for the NCE should be uploaded within the Progress Report as a PDF. Please note that NCEs are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. NCEs will only be evaluated once a final scientific progress report and financial report have been submitted in SmartSimple. The V Foundation’s full policy on NCEs can be found in the Frequently Used Documents section.

Award transfers are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. If a grantee wishes to transfer their award, they must notify the V Foundation Research & Grants Team immediately. Contact grants@v.org to begin submitting proper documentation for review of the requested transfer.

Please reference the Frequently Used Documents section of this webpage to find the V Foundation’s Data Sharing Policy.

To comply with V Foundation policy, grantees may:

1. Publish in an open access online journal; V Foundation awards shall pay reasonable fees required by a publisher to effect immediate, open access to the accepted article. This includes article processing charges.


2. Publish in a no-cost open access journal.


3. Publish in a hybrid open-access journal and self-pay publishing fees i.e., not use V Foundation grant funding.


4. The V Foundation does not permit publishing in a pay-walled journal and not paying for immediate open access.

Yes. The V Foundation’s goal is for the institutions to fully support their nominee so that they are successful while conducting their research. This generally involves a commitment to:

• Dedicated lab space


• Dedicated research time


• Start-up funds to fully equip the lab space


• Strong nomination letter that describes how the institution will support the nominee

Other similar tracks, such as clinical, are acceptable as long as the nominee meets all other eligibility requirements AND the Department Chair/Cancer Center Director is prepared to give protected time for the investigator’s research. This must be attested to in the required Letter of Recommendation.

Applicants must list all direct funding at any point in their professional career that is peer-reviewed, non-mentored. This includes any eligible grants where the applicant has received funding as a Co-PI. Combined funding cannot exceed $1 million. Institutional support will not be counted in the total funding calculation. Please reference the V Scholar Financial Worksheet, which can be found in Frequently Used Documents.

No – However, any funding received as a Co-PI must be listed on the financial worksheet.

No. The CPRIT award does not count toward V Scholar eligibility because it is considered institutional/start-up funding. It does not count in the $1 million total peer-reviewed non-mentored funding.

The All-Star grant is offered as a part of one or more of our 4 annual calls (Women Scientist, Translational, Pediatrics, V Scholar). Please use the grant cycle timeline on the FAQ page to learn more about the timing of our 4 annual calls. The timeline indicates which calls will ask for All-Star grant nominees.

The V Foundation will send All-Star RFA information to the list of RFA contacts at invited institutions. If you are interested in learning more about the All-Star award and how to apply, please reach out to your Cancer Center Director or Sponsored Programs Office to express your interest and receive more information.

No. Only previously funded V Foundation grantees are eligible to apply.

We are unable to pull a list of previous awardees for individual institutions. We recommend advertising widely at your institution so that all prior V Foundation grantees have access to the RFA information for each call. The V Foundation will also verify each All-Star nominee’s eligibility before inviting the nominee to submit an application.

To be eligible for the All-Star grant, the nominee must be in good standing (reporting up-to-date and V approved) and meet at least ONE of these criteria by the nomination deadline: Have a completed V Foundation Grant OR Be in the final year of active grant (received final payment and on track to finish by grant end date). *Additionally, for active one-year grants, 75% of funds must be expended.

No. The All-Star proposal does NOT need to be linked to the previously funded V Foundation project. The prior grant type does NOT impact the type of RFA an All-Star applicant can apply for. The new application may build on the active grant but may not have direct overlap.

No. The All-Star proposal does not need to be on the same research topic or cancer type as the previous V Foundation award.

By the nomination due date.

No - You may select one nominee for the Translational grant and one nominee for the All-Star grant. Submitting a nomination for the All-Star opportunity is not required if your institution does not have an eligible candidate.

No – You may select one nominee for either the V Scholar or Translational opportunity and one nominee for the All-Star opportunity. Submitting a nomination for the All-Star opportunity is not required if your institution does not have an eligible candidate.

Yes, previously declined applications do not impact the nominee’s eligibility to apply for the All-Star grant. The nominee must meet all current eligibility criteria by the nomination due date and must submit a project proposal that meets all criteria in the RFA.

The All-Star grant is specifically for Principal Investigators (PIs) who previously received a V Foundation grant. Co-investigators or collaborators are not eligible unless they were the designated PI of the prior grant.

Institutions must internally select one All-Star nominee per opportunity. Internal selection processes are at the discretion of the institution.