Apply for a Grant

Our Micro-grant cycle is now open. We ask that you submit your proposal according to the guidelines below by August 31st.

In 2023, The Be Brave For Life Foundation will once again offer one-year micro-grants of up to $20,000. We aim to provide funding for high impact research that have the potential to change current diagnostic or treatment paradigms for adults and children living with cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) or non-cancerous brain tumor diagnosis. We remain particularly interested in supporting research that provides better treatment options for patients with CCM, a form of cerebrovascular disease that currently has no pharmacological options. Graduates students and trainees are strongly encouraged to apply. Our grants may be used for research pilot projects or to bridge a gap between grants received from other entities, such as the National Institute of Health (NIH) or international funding agencies.

We give special consideration to grants that foster and improve collaboration amongst researchers, doctors, universities, hospitals and foundations.

The Be Brave For Life Micro-Grant Program will require a letter of intent (LOI). Where applicable, submission of discovery-driven science and proof-of-concept studies is encouraged, particularly for concepts with little or no history of previous funding.

To apply for this grant, please submit a LOI that includes the following:

Since those involved in the review of these grants are a combination of doctors, researchers and lay persons, we request… 

TWO Project descriptions:

Description #1. Your Audience: Be Brave for Life Board members without a medical background. 

A brief (2 page maximum) explanation of your research goals (what do you hope to achieve), the procedures you will follow (how will you work to achieve this goal), and the impact you hope to have (if successful, how will this project further research in this field and benefit the CCM community). 

Description #2. Your Audience: Scientific Advisory board with medical background. 

  • Goals and success metricsto change current diagnostic or treatment paradigms for adults and children with cerebral cavernous malformation(s) and/or non-cancerous brain tumor(s).
  • Impact – How will the completion of your project affect the cavernous malformation and non-cancerous brain tumor patient community?
  • Collaboration – How will your grant foster and improve collaboration amongst researchers, doctors, and foundations? Will you work with another lab, university, hospital or entity? 
  • Needs statement & budget — Please provide a detailed explanation of how the money will be used.
  • Personnel — Who will be managing this project and what are their credentials? Note: we do not fund salaries. 
  • Timeline – All projects must be completed within a year of receipt of funds.
  • Publicity, community outreach & giveback– All grant recipients need to show ways that they will share Be Brave’s mission with their patients, stakeholders, students and community. Please explain to us how you will do this within your research community and/or hospital. We need your help so that we can continue providing these grants to you in the future. Projects that show evidence of publicity or community outreach such as a newspaper article, table at a community event or other efforts to promote their work will receive priority.

Terms

Awards will include up to $20,000 for cerebral cavernous malformation and non-cancerous brain tumor laboratory research. Investigator percent efforts are not required. The Be Brave For Life Micro-grant Program does not support Facilities & Administration and/or institutional overhead costs. Funds will be received as a one-time payment.

To meet the terms of this grant disbursement, we depend on your ability to articulate your research project and goals to our stakeholders in the following ways: 

By August 31, 2023

  • Please send a brief lay person (this means for a target audience without specialized knowledge in this field or the medical field at large) explanation of your research goals (what do you hope to achieve), the procedures you will follow (how will you work to achieve this goal), and the impact you hope to have (if successful, how will this project further research in this field and benefit the CCM community). We cannot emphasize enough how this needs to be written so a CCM patient or family member can read it and understand. 
  • Please send us a photo of your team and your lab!

By Feb 28, 2024

  • Please send us a short progress report – written in lay terms! 
  • Please send us another photo in your lab! 

By August 15, 2024

  • Please send us a final 1-page report detailing (in lay terms) how the funds were used including progress of the project (explaining whether you reached your goals and an explanation of why or why not) as well as your next steps for this research. (If you are using your findings in an application for a larger grant elsewhere, we want to know about and we’d like you to let us know if you are successful in securing these funds). 

Submission

Letters of intent should be submitted via email to Laura Callen (bebravefundraiser@gmail.com).