Seed grant

A small grant to start something — test an idea, run a pilot, get a project to the point where it can be funded properly. Award sizes are typically in the thousands, and the review is usually lighter than the money is small.

Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.

Also called Pilot grant · Start-up grant · Micro-grant

In detail

The value is rarely the money. A seed grant produces the evidence a larger funder wants and the first line on a project’s funding history, both of which are worth more than the amount.

Because the sums are small, the effort of applying matters more than usual: a $5,000 grant with a full proposal process can cost more to win than it pays.

Against the award floor

`amount_min` is the smallest award a programme expects to make; a seed grant is a kind of programme rather than a value in a field. A programme with a low floor is not necessarily a seed programme, and a seed programme with no published floor still reads Not stated. We do not infer the category from the number.

How GrantTrove stores it

  • `application_effort` records how heavy a submission looks where a notice indicates it, which is the field that tells you whether a small award is worth pursuing.
  • `amount_min` and `amount_max` are separate columns, and a record with only one shows one figure plus Not stated rather than an invented range.

Common questions

Are seed grants easier to win?

Frequently less competitive, and not always lighter to apply for. The effort field is what to check.

Can I filter for small grants?

You can filter on the amount fields where they are stated. Where a programme published nothing, the record says Not stated rather than guessing low.

Do they lead to larger funding?

Often, by producing evidence. That is usually the real return.