• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Campaign for Southern EqualityCampaign for Southern Equality Logo

Every day that we live with injustice is one day too long

  • About
    • About
    • Financials
  • Our Work
    • Trans Youth Emergency Project
    • Legal Equality Program
    • Community Health Program
    • Healing and Resilience Program
    • Southern Equality Fund
    • Southern Equality Research & Policy Center
    • Southern Equality Studios
    • Supportive Schools Program
    • Meeting the Moment
  • Resources
    • Navigating Youth Healthcare Bans
    • Crisis Support
    • Find A Trans-Affirming Healthcare Provider in the South
    • Support Filing A Title IX Complaint
    • Support for S.B. 49, North Carolina’s ‘Don’t Say LGBTQ’ Law
    • Legal Resources
    • Grassroots Organizing Resources
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Jobs at CSE
    • Donate to the Campaign for Southern Equality
    • Write for The Lavender South
    • Send a Message of Support to Trans Youth
    • Host A Fundraiser
    • Shop CSE
  • About
    • About
    • Financials
  • Our Work
    • Trans Youth Emergency Project
    • Legal Equality Program
    • Community Health Program
    • Healing and Resilience Program
    • Southern Equality Fund
    • Southern Equality Research & Policy Center
    • Southern Equality Studios
    • Supportive Schools Program
    • Meeting the Moment
  • Resources
    • Navigating Youth Healthcare Bans
    • Crisis Support
    • Find A Trans-Affirming Healthcare Provider in the South
    • Support Filing A Title IX Complaint
    • Support for S.B. 49, North Carolina’s ‘Don’t Say LGBTQ’ Law
    • Legal Resources
    • Grassroots Organizing Resources
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
    • Jobs at CSE
    • Donate to the Campaign for Southern Equality
    • Write for The Lavender South
    • Send a Message of Support to Trans Youth
    • Host A Fundraiser
    • Shop CSE
Donate

Apply for A Southern Equality Research Grant

Navigate This Page:

➡️ Eligibility Criteria
➡️ Funds Available
➡️ Application Requirements
➡️ Submit Your Application
➡️ Application Review Process
➡️ Deliverables
➡️ Important Dates

More than thirty percent of all LGBTQ people in the United States call the American South home. Yet, less than ten percent of the social research on this population highlights the experiences of those in the region. The lack of data makes it challenging to craft rebuttals to, articulate the effects of, and secure protections against the attacks on LGBTQ people and communities in the South. The Southern Equality Research and Policy Center (SERPC) developed the Southern Equality Research Grant to support students and early career researchers conduct rigorous research investigating social problems that affect the lived experiences and life chances of LGBTQ people in the region. SERPC welcomes researchers to join us in Meeting the Moment in the LGBTQ South to assess local, state, and federal policies restricting the rights of LGBTQ people and examine the impact of these policies on LGBTQ people and their allies.  

Eligibility Criteria

  • Undergraduate student enrolled in a four-year institution of higher education
  • Graduate student enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program (MA/MS, MPH, MPP, MSW, PhD, DrPH, EdD)
  • Early career researcher (postdocs, contingent and pre-tenure faculty, and/or researchers who earned a postgraduate degree within the past five years)

Funds Available

Applicants may apply for any amount of funding up to $1,000. An application may receive partial or full support. 

Eligible Expenses

  • Travel to professional conferences (applicant must be a presenting author)
  • Expenditures related to research such as software, participant incentives, data analysis support, publications costs, and other research-related supplies that have not been purchased

Ineligible Expenses

  • Expenses that do not relate to the applicant’s research or scholarly work
  • Costs associated with program requirements (e.g., fieldwork, internships, clinicals, certifications, background checks, membership dues)
  • Reimbursement for travel that has already occurred or research related supplies that have already been purchased

Grant recipients will be asked to complete an IRS W9 Form. Grant recipients are responsible for reporting the funds awarded through this opportunity on their personal income tax statement.

Application Requirements

  • Applicant Information: contact information, demographics, academic institution, academic department and/or program
  • Resume/Curriculum Vitae: a list highlighting relevant experience and qualifications including employment history, unpaid work, internships/fellowships, presentations, and publications
  • Short Answers: a description of your research interests and an explanation of how the grant would support research and/or professional development
  • Project Narrative: a narrative of 500-1000 words that includes your research questions, methodology, expected outcomes, and contribution within your field and society more broadly
  • Requested Level of Funding: the amount of funding you are requesting and a justification to explain what various categories of funds listed in the budget will be used for and the need for the funds
  • Documentation of IRB Approval/Exemption: Documentation of IRB Approval/Exemption: documentation demonstrating your project has been reviewed and approved by the IRB at your home institution, is currently under review by the IRB, has received an exempt determination, or has received a not human subjects research determination. 
  • Abstract Acceptance Notice (if applicable): an official letter indicating your abstract has been accepted for presentation at a professional conference
  • Letter of Support (undergraduate students): one letter support from a faculty member that includes a description of the applicant’s capacity to conduct the proposed research

Submit Your Application

Applications must be submitted by June 2nd. 

If you have any questions about this Request for Applications or the application process, please contact Tiara Giddings at tiara@southernequality.org. 

 

Southern Equality Research Grant Application

Application Review Process

The SERPC team will review all complete applications and decisions will be made based on the following criteria:

  • Research Interests: alignment with SERPC’s priorities and mission to promote an increased understanding of LGBTQ life in the South that is fact-based and can inform policies and strategies (25 points)
  • Proposed Project: extent to which the proposed project addresses the need to investigate social problems that affect the experiences of LGBTQ people in the South and potential of project to contribute to the field by aiding academics, policymakers, and other stakeholders in addressing those social problems (25 points)
  • Research Experience and Capacity: scholars’ experience, expertise, and capacity to conduct rigorous research and complete the proposed project (25 points)
  • Proposed Budget and Budget Justification: breakdown of project expenses and a brief explanation of the expenses, using the Budget Justification Form, of why each item is important for the project and achieving proposal goals (25 points)    

Applicants will be notified of the award decision by June16.

Deliverables

Awardees will be asked to complete a post-award survey to share project progress, research activities, outcomes, and recommendations for future research and practice based on project findings. 

Important Dates

March 17 Application Portal Open

June 2nd Application Submission Deadline

June 16 Notification of Award

Stay Informed

Sign up to receive news and updates from CSE.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Quick Links

  • Trans in the South
  • Southern Equality Fund
  • Take Action
  • Shop CSE
  • About

Connect With Us!

Every day that we live with injustice is one day too long.

P.O. Box 364
Asheville, NC 28802

828.242.1559

© 2025 Campaign for Southern Equality. Site by Status Forward.