External Funding Opportunities
***Limited Submission***
National Endowment for the Arts
Program: Grants for Arts Program (GAP)
Synopsis: Supports public engagement with the arts and arts education, for the integration of the arts with strategies promoting the health and well-being of people and communities, and for the improvement of overall capacity and capabilities within the arts sector. GAP funds arts projects in the following disciplines: Artist Communities, Arts Education, Dance, Design, Film & Media Arts, Folk & Traditional Arts, Literary Arts, Local Arts Agencies, Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting & Multidisciplinary Works, Theater, and Visual Arts.
Award details: Applicants may request $10K up to $100K.
Local Arts Agencies only: Designated local arts agencies that are eligible to subgrant may request $30K to $150Kfor subgranting programs. See the Local Arts Agencies Application Instructions at the link to award below for more information on subgranting eligibility.
USC Internal announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/nea-grants-for-arts/
External announcement on website: https://www.arts.gov/grants/grants-for-arts-projects
USC Internal due date: May 9, 2025.
External due date: July 22, 2025.
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***Limited Submission***
The Conservation, Food and Health Foundation
Program: 2026 Grants
Synopsis: Supports organizations in upper-income countries working with partner organizations—at the local, state, and regional level—based in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East for local projects to protect the environment, improve food production, and promote public health in these areas. It does not support projects in post-Soviet states or Balkan states. Most types of organizations that can provide evidence of their non-governmental status or charitable purpose are eligible to apply, including non-governmental organizations, nonprofit organizations; civil society organizations; community-based organizations; and colleges, universities, and other academic institutions. In all of its areas of interest— conservation, food and health—the Foundation gives priority to projects that have the potential to advance the field, build local capacity, promote replication, influence public opinion and policy, affect systems change, and benefit people beyond the immediate project and its local context.
Award details: Typical grants fall in the $25K to $50K range.
USC Internal announcement: https://rii.usc.edu/limited-submissions/cfh-grants-2/
External announcement on website: https://cfhfoundation.grantsmanagement08.com/
USC Internal due date: May 9, 2025.
Letter of Intent due date: June 15, 2025.
External due date: August 15, 2025.
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First Nations Development Institute / The Henry Luce Foundation
Program: Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship: 2026
Synopsis: Supports exceptional leaders, knowledge holders, and knowledge makers who are doing noteworthy work to advance Indigenous knowledge and knowledge systems in diverse fields. The fellowship is intended to support individuals who are working to make broad, transformative impact and change in their diverse knowledge fields and within Native communities. For this fellowship, community is defined broadly, and may include the applicant’s Native community, knowledge field or community, etc. The fellowship aims to grow a cadre of Indigenous knowledge leaders who are actively working to perpetuate Indigenous knowledge and knowledge systems for the benefit of Native communities and their respective knowledge fields.
Award details: $75K will be awarded to knowledge holders and knowledge makers who are exceptionally creative, progressive and critical-thinking individuals.
Announcement on website: https://www.firstnations.org/rfps/luce-indigenous-knowledge-fellowship-2026/
Application due date: April 30, 2025.
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Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW)
Program: Artist’s Book Residency Grant
Synopsis: Supports artists to produce a limited edition book work. Working intensively in WSW studios, artists print and bind their own books, and are encouraged to create an edition size no larger than 100 and no smaller than 50. Specifics of the sales contract will be negotiated between artists and the WSW executive director upon receipt of the award.
Award details: $350 per week stipend for 8-week residency, free housing, 24/7 studio access, up to $1K for materials, and up to $250 for travel within the continental United States.
Announcement on website:
https://wsworkshop.org/residencies/artists-book-residency-grant/
Application due date: July 15, 2025. Fellowship is from June to September 2026.
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UCLA / CMRS Center for Early Global Studies
Program: Ahmanson Research Fellowships for the Study of Medieval and Renaissance Books and Manuscripts
Synopsis: Supports the use of any of the UCLA Library Special Collections’ extensive holdings in medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and printed books. Some of these holdings include the Ahmanson-Murphy Aldine and Early Italian Printing Collections; the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana; the Orsini Family Papers; the Bourbon del Monte de San Faustino Family Papers; the Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Collection; the Richard and Mary Rouse Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Early Printed Books; and the Medieval and Renaissance Arabic and Persian Medical Manuscripts. The fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to graduate students or postdoctoral scholars who need to use these collections for graduate-level or postdoctoral independent research. United States citizens or permanent residents (green card) with the legal right to work in the US and who are engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral, academic or independent research are eligible. To accept the award, non-UCLA graduate students will be required to obtain Visiting Graduate Researcher status and pay the associated fees; students from other University of California campuses may be able to come to UCLA as Intercampus Exchange Students. Independent Ph.D. scholars or those holding faculty positions at other institutions must obtain approval as Visiting Scholars or Researchers to accept the award. CMRS-CEGS staff will assist you.
Award details: Recipients receive a fellowship of $3K per month for fellowships lasting up to three months. Please note that housing and office space is not provided.
Announcement on website: https://cmrs.ucla.edu/awards-fellowships/ahmanson/
Application due date: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but please apply at least six months in advance of the preferred date of research in UCLA Library Special Collections.
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The Army Heritage Center Foundation
Program: LTC John William Whitman Research Grant
Synopsis: Supports unfunded independent researchers who are working on under-explored topics of military history. Competitive proposals will evidence a clear understanding of the existing research in the field and how the proposed work examines an under-explored topic of military history. Applicants are expected to demonstrate both an analytical and descriptive grasp of the project and its ability to use the resources of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education collection. Grantees retain intellectual property rights for the materials developed as a result of this research. The Foundation may use your name and likeness on our website and in promotional materials for the Army Heritage Center Foundation and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC).
Award details: Award supports a grantee’s research and are calculated on the following basis – up to $1,750 to cover lodging and meals for any nights spent in the local area when conducting research, mileage reimbursement or airfare to USAHEC, and an allowance for photocopying. Upon the submission of vouchers and receipts, the Foundation will reimburse the grantee for expenses related to research.
Announcement on website: https://www.armyheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/LTC-John-William-Whitman-Research-Grant-
Application due date: May 1, 2025.
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William T. Grant Foundation (WTG)
Program: Research Grants on Reducing Inequality — Major Research Grants (please note this is a different opportunity than the recently posted WTG Scholars Award)
Synopsis: Supports research studies that aim to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5–25 in the United States, along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, sexual or gender minority status, language minority status, or immigrant origins. Specifically, this program seeks projects that
- describe, explore, or explain how programs, practices, or policies reduce inequality
- provide causal evidence on the effectiveness of programs or policies for reducing inequality
- can enhance the work of researchers, practitioners, or policymakers to reduce inequality by the development of measurement studies
Award details: $ 100K to $600K over 2-3 years, including up to 15% indirect costs.
Announcement on website: https://wtgrantfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2025-Application-Guide-Research-Grants-on-RI.pdf
Letter of Inquiry due date: 3 times a year. The next due dates are May 7, 2025, and August 6, 2025. After review of LOIs invitations to submit proposals will be sent.
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Abdul-Latif Jameel Poverty Lab (J-PAL)
Program: Social Policy Research Initiative Request for Proposals
Synopsis: Supports randomized evaluations that contribute to J-PAL’s mission to reduce poverty by ensuring policy is informed by rigorous evidence. This could include randomized evaluations across a broad range of sectors including but not limited to crime; education; climate; energy and the environment; housing and homelessness; and labor. Of particular interest are proposals that incorporate research questions involving racial equity. J-PAL affiliates, J-PAL post-doctoral fellows, and researchers invited by J-PAL North America are eligible to apply. Applicants may submit a maximum of three proposals per 12-month period to a single initiative. PI and co-PI status are counted towards this limit.
Award details: Full research projects are typically awarded $150K to $250K, with a maximum budget of $400K. The award period may be up to three years
Announcement on website: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/initiative/social-policy-research-initiative-request-proposals
Proposal due date: June 3, 2025.
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Advancing Physics Society (APS)
Program: APS Innovation Award
Synopsis: Supports APS members with pilot or supplemental funding to launch innovative projects that address challenges in the physics community while advancing the APS mission of fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and global community committed to science and societal impact. The 2025 Innovation Fund application theme, “Capacity Building for Education and Careers in Climate Science” aims to empower physics departments, educators, and industry leaders to create or expand programs that enhance access, deepen knowledge, and increase opportunities in physics-based climate science education and career pathways. It also strives to showcase physics’ vital role in advancing climate science and addressing global challenges.
Award details: 5 awards will be made valued at $50K, including up to 5% allowable for indirect costs. Project period is 18 months, beginning in early 2026.
Announcement on website: https://www.aps.org/funding-recognition/grant/innovation-fund
Pre-Proposal due date: May 2, 2025.
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One Mind
Program: One Mind Rising Star
Synopsis: Supports breakthrough research to advance understanding of the brain and mental health conditions, enhance detection and diagnosis, and drive the treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, and suicidality. Beyond funding, the Rising Star award cultivates the next generation of scientific leaders through mentorship, networking, and leadership training, empowering them to advance scientific innovation and shape the future of neuroscience and mental health care.
Award details: $100K per year for 3 years.
Announcement on website: https://onemind.org/what-we-do/one-mind-academy/one-mind-rising-star-awards/
Application due date: May 15, 2025.
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Prostate Cancer Foundation
Program: 2025 PCF Challenge Awards For Metastatic, Lethal Prostate Cancer Request for Applications
Synopsis: Supports a team of at least 3 investigators — including one young investigator — from non-profit academic research centers for large-scale research projects concerning metastatic, lethal prostate cancer over a duration of two years. Team composition may be from one or more institutions. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply. Seeks research in the following areas (partial):
- Theranostics
- Drugging currently undruggable oncology targets: preventing progression to lethal disease.
- Artificial intelligence/machine learning to better inform patient outcomes
- Host microbiome and tumor metabolism.
Award details: Up to $1M per team.
Announcement on website: https://res.cloudinary.com/pcf/images/v1742416737/2025-Challenge-Award-RFA_3.18.25/2025-Challenge-Award-RFA_3.18.25.pdf
Application due date: May 5, 2025.
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UC Berkeley / The Adolph C. and Mary Sprague Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science
Program: 2026-2029 Kathryn Miller Research Postdoctoral Fellowship
Synopsis: Supports recently awarded Ph.D.s of great science promise. Young scientists with 2 years or less of postdoc experience are also eligible for this fellowship. The Institute invites department chairs, faculty advisors, professors, and research scientists at institutions around the world to submit online nominations for Miller Research Fellowships in the basic sciences. The Miller Institute seeks to discover and encourage individuals of outstanding talent, and to provide them with the opportunity to pursue their research on the Berkeley campus. Fellows are selected on the basis of their academic achievement and the promise of their scientific research. Miller Fellows also have a keen curiosity about all science and share an appreciation for an interdisciplinary experience.
Award details: A stipend of $90,000 with 3% annual increases; the full salary range during this three-year award is approximately $90,000 - $100K. This stipend is not to be construed as salary for teaching or for duties rendered to the University of California. Miller Fellows also receive a research fund of $10K per annum to be used in support of research during the fellowship period. Included in the award is a $3K provision for relocation expenses to Berkeley. The total maximum 3-year fellowship is $354K.
Announcement on website: https://miller.berkeley.edu/fellowship
Online Nominations window: June to September 12, 2025.
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Research Corporation for the Advancement of Science
Program: Cottrell Regional Meetings
Synopsis: Supports Cottrell Scholars and Holland Awardees who wish to host one-day regional meetings at their institutions. This initiative supports up to four regional meetings annually. The Cottrell Scholar Programs encourages opportunities to discuss research, teaching, and career development are critical for maintaining a dynamic, collaborative, and inclusive Cottrell Scholar community. Regional meeting themes in research or education are equally encouraged, provided they appeal to a broad cross-section of the Cottrell Scholar community and other participating scientists, including non-CS faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students from a variety of nearby institutions. Outreach to members of underrepresented groups and minority-serving institutions is strongly encouraged.
Award details: Budget requests up to $5K must be submitted with allowable meeting expenses: food / beverage, travel (for speakers and / or participants who would like to attend but lack travel resources), advertising, space needs (i.e., rental and supplies).
Announcement on website: https://rescorp.org/cottrell-scholars/cottrell-scholars/regional-meetings
Application due date: Anytime
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Department of Defense / Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)
Program: Research Initiatives
NOFO #: N00244-22-NPS-F001
Synopsis: Supports research initiatives that offer potential for advancement and improvement in the NPS core mission of graduate education and research. NPS intends to fund meritorious research initiatives across a spectrum of science and engineering, business politics, and public / foreign policy, operational and information sciences, and interdisciplinary disciplines that are in line with NPS’s graduate education and research mission. This NOFO is specifically for proposals related to basic and applied research, and that part of development not related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement. Typically, grants are awarded to academia and contracts are awarded to industry. Grant proposals must clearly define the public benefit that is anticipated to result from broad dissemination of the research results to scientific and professional communities, the private sector, civil society, non-Federal government, and /o r foreign governments. Submission of white papers is highly recommended to receive feedback before submitting a full proposal.
Award details: The funded amount and period of performance of each proposal selected for award will vary depending on the research area and the technical approach to be pursued by the applicant selected.
Announcement on website: NPS Research Initiatives
Proposal submission due date: NOFO is open until June 13, 2026.
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Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) / Defense
Sciences Office
Program: Reengineering Enabling Sleep Transitions in Operationally
Restrictive Environments (RESTORE)
NOFO #: HR001125S0012
Synopsis: Supports projects that leverage emerging neuromodulation technologies to enhance sleep efficiency and performance under sleep-restricted conditions. The RESTORE program aims to develop multimodal, multitarget, noninvasive neuromodulation methods to repair disrupted sleep architectures caused
by sleep restriction, with the ultimate goal of improving cognitive performance.
Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in the mechanisms of sleep related to performance psychology. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice.
Award details: Multiple individual awards are anticipated. Types of instruments that may be awarded – Procurement contracts, cooperative agreements, Other Transactions for Prototype, or Other Transactions for Research.
Announcement on website: RESTORE
Proposal Abstract due date: April 14, 2025.
Proposal due date: June 18, 2025.
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Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) / Strategic Technology Office (STO)
Program: FLexible networking Using Intelligent Dialecting (FLUID)
NOFO #: DARPA-PS-25-14
Synopsis: Supports innovative approaches to address challenges in the following technical areas: technologies to allow Command, Control, Computing, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Targeting (C5ISRT) systems (applications and network services) to function without sacrificing application or network utility, while operating under disrupted and degraded conditions. The specific goal of FLUID is to reduce the load (consumed communication capacity) of a C5ISRT system (applications and network services), without sacrificing the overall system utility, so it can continue to operate under extreme capacity degradation: up to 30dB (i.e., 3 orders of magnitude) degradation compared to normal conditions. For specific concerns as outlined in the solicitation, University-Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) interested in this solicitation, either as a prime or a subcontractor, should contact the Agency Point of Contact (POC) listed in the Overview section of the solicitation prior to the proposal (or abstract) due date to discuss potential participation as part of the government team.
Award details: Multiple awards are anticipated.
Announcement on website: FLUID
Abstract Gate 1 due date: April 21, 2025
Abstract Gate 2 due date (invited): ca. April 30, 2025.
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***The following NIH Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs)
have been updated as of March 31, 2025,
to align with the agency priorities***
NIH / National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Program: Molecular Mechanisms of Combination Adjuvant (MMCA) (R01)
NOFO #: RFA-AI-25-006
Synopsis: Support research studies of two or more vaccine adjuvants (combination adjuvants) in order to understand the mechanisms by which they work in concert. All adjuvants considered must have previously demonstrated immune-modulating activity. The long-term goal of this research program is to improve the rational design of vaccines by predicting the immune profile elicited by combination adjuvants. Projects range from studies of microbial physiology and antigenic structure to collaborative trials of experimental drugs and vaccines, mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics as well as research dealing with epidemiological observations in hospitalized patients or community populations and progress in allergic and immunologic diseases. Because of this dual focus, the program encompasses both basic research and clinical research.
Award details: Application budgets need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project and are expected to be less than $500K in direct costs per year, for a maximum project period of 5 years.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-25-006.html
Application due date: June 10, 2025 for all applications except AIDS applications.
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NIH / National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Program: Joint NINDS / NIMH Exploratory Neuroscience Research Grant (R21)
NOFO #: PA-25-150
Synopsis: Supports exploratory and innovative research projects, which fall within the missions of the NINDS and NIMH. Awards will provide support for the early and conceptual stages of projects. These studies often assess the feasibility of a novel avenue of investigation and involve considerable risk, but have the potential to bring about breakthroughs in the understanding of important areas of neuroscience, or to the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, or models, of high value to the neuroscience community.
Award details: Direct costs are limited to $275K over a two-year period, with no more than $200K in direct costs allowed in any single year.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-25-150.html
Application due date: Multiple due dates through 2027. The next due date for new applications is June 16, 2025; for resubmissions, revisions and renewals: July 16, 2025; for AIDS applications: May 7, 2025.
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NIH / National Eye Institute (NEI)
Program: NEI Research Grant for Vision-Related Secondary Data Analysis
NOFO #: PAR-25-357
Synopsis: Supports projects conducting secondary data analyses using existing data collected from humans participating in vision-related clinical trials, epidemiologic, and other clinical research studies or represented in clinical and health care database resources (e.g., electronic health records). This NOFO may be used to develop new statistical methodologies or test hypotheses using existing data, but this NOFO must not be used to support the collection of new data. This NOFO encourages applications from institutions/organizations that propose to conduct vision-related secondary analyses of data collected from humans. Applications may be related to, but must be distinct from, the specific aims of the original data collection. Examples of relevant projects include (partial)
- identification of novel biomedical and environmental exposures
- development and validation of new statistical methodologies and computational modeling
- derivation of new biomedical outcomes
Award details: up to $275K for the entire two-year project period, plus applicable F&A for consortia. No more than $200K in direct costs may be requested in any single year.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-357.html
Application due dates: Multiple due dates through 2027. The remaining due dates in 2025 for new applications are June 16, 2025, and October 16, 2025.
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NIH / National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Program: Population Approaches to Reducing-related Cancer Risk (R01)
NOFO #: PAR-25-221
Synopsis: Supports research on interdisciplinary population approaches to increasing awareness of the relationship between alcohol and cancer risk, understanding and changing social norms related to alcohol consumption, developing and/or evaluating alcohol policy approaches, and the development, testing, and implementation of population-level interventions to reduce alcohol-related cancer risk. Applications that address multiple levels of consumption, such as moderate and heavy drinking, are of particular interest, as well as those focusing on alcohol use disorder (AUD) from the perspective of cancer prevention and control. Utilizing cancer prevention expertise, proposed studies may focus on the interpersonal, health system, community/organizational, and/or policy level and should address knowledge, social norms, and/or levels of alcohol consumption or other critical factors related to alcohol consumption for cancer control.
Award details: Application needs to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project for a maximum project period of 5 years.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-221.html
Application due date: Multiple due dates for 2025 and 2026. Next due dates for 2025 are June 5 and October 5, 2025.
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NIH / National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Program: Academic-Industrial Partnerships for Translation of Technologies for Diagnosis and Treatment (R01)
NOFO #: 25-537
Synopsis: Supports efforts to translate scientific discoveries and engineering developments —through a partnership with the academy, industry, and other investigators — into methods or tools that address problems in basic research to understand disease, or in applied research to assess risk, detect, prevent, diagnose, treat, and/or manage disease. The rationale is to deliver new capabilities to meet evolving requirements for technologies and methods relevant to the advancement of research and delivery of care in pre-clinical, clinical, and non-clinical settings, domestic or foreign, for conditions and diseases within the missions of participating institutes. In their application, the partners should establish an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research team to work in a strategic alliance to implement a coherent strategy to develop and translate a solution to their chosen problem. They are expected to plan, design, and validate that the solution will be suitable for end users. Each partnership should include at least one academic and one industrial organization. Among many examples of research interest through this initiative listed in the NOFA include
- Development, integration, and validation of new molecular diagnosis, imaging or spectroscopy systems, technologies, methods, assays, or devices, related component technologies, molecular diagnostic technology, image processing methods, and development of informatics tools; for example, non-stain molecular contrast methods for pathology slide microscopy, such as molecular bond vibrational spectroscopic imaging maps;
- Development of shared resources, data archives, and other approaches intended to facilitate consensus methods for optimization and validation of emerging technologies and methods;
- For tissue ex vivo or in vivo imaging and integration for detection/diagnosis/prognosis; and
- For analysis of exposures, including environmental and chemical exposures, and cancer-relevant microbiome and virome; host-microbiome interactions, and tools for gene-environment interaction.
Award details: Application budgets are limited to $499,000 for direct cost per year for a 5 year project period.
Announcement on website: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-25-337.html
Application due dates: Multiple due dates through 2027. Next due dates this year are June 5th and October 5th.
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