Dear Friends of the National Institute —
I write to you today to ask for your help.
As many of you know, the National Institute of Social Sciences is a private, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the social sciences. Although we are chartered by the United States Congress, we have never received or been granted a single dollar of federal funding over the entire course of our history. We are a private organization, funded by private individuals who strongly believe in our mission to Celebrate Knowledge.
The Challenge
If you have been following the news, you already know that the rigorous, disciplined pursuit of knowledge in the social sciences and other fields is under serious attack.
Government funding of research in all areas of knowledge-making is rapidly being restricted, reduced, or eliminated completely. Some of these cuts are being justified as attempts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and others being enacted in order to align spending with specific ideological and policy priorities. Years of Congressionally-authorized spending on scientific and academic research are being unwound in an instant. These activities are creating enormous chaos and disruption at universities, research organizations, and scientific and scholarly communities across the United States. The effects have been immediate and severe.
What We Are Doing
The National Institute is already positioned to help. Each year we award unrestricted grants to late-stage PhD students in the social sciences to help them complete their dissertations. We run a rigorous annual process across an extensive network of leading accredited universities to select candidates whose dissertation projects promise to advance their field. All of the money in these grants goes directly to the social science scholars themselves, where it has the most meaningful impact.
We have already begun receiving inquiries about our 2025 Dissertation Grant Program from students and universities worried about replacing federal grant money. While we understand no individual or private organization can hope to replace funding at the scale of national programs, our program is something concrete, immediate, and effective we can use to support human knowledge. But to do so, the National Institute needs your help.
How You Can Help
If you share our concern about the future of human knowledge, we urge you to donate to our inaugural Grants Program Campaign. For every $50,000* we raise, we can grant at least 10 more Dissertation Grants to deserving PhD students. Our grant-making activities are led by volunteers, so every dollar you give will go directly toward supporting the social sciences. And as always, 100% of your donations to the National Institute are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Your contribution will help us make a positive impact now and in the future. Help us support and defend knowledge today so we can all Celebrate Knowledge tomorrow!
Thank you!
Fred Larsen
President, National Institute of Social Sciences
*If you would like to make a larger donation or multi-year pledge to our Grants Program, please email me directly at president@socialsciencesinstitute.org.