Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Private Higher Education: 2026–2027 LOI Cycle (Historical Reference)

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations Private Higher Education: 2026–2027 LOI Cycle (Historical Reference)

The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations (AVDF) support colleges and universities that prioritize undergraduate education and emphasize the liberal arts. Their Private Higher Education area is the foundation’s only open-submission program area. AVDF’s official program page and grant calendar state that the 2026 letter-of-inquiry (LOI) submission window is closed and no new LOIs may be started until March 2027. The Foundations will announce information for the 2027–2028 review cycle in March 2027. As of this check, they have not published that cycle’s deadline, award range, eligibility terms, or application instructions. This is a historical reference to the 2026–2027 LOI opportunity, whose submission window is closed. The amount and eligibility notes below summarize AVDF’s standing published guidance and the closed round; they are not confirmed terms for the next cycle.

This page records the closed 2026–2027 LOI window as a historical reference; invited full proposals may still follow that cycle calendar. It is not an invitation to apply now. The calendar listed 27 August 2026 as the LOI deadline, with materials due by 5:00 pm Eastern Time. After the window closed, the opportunity to start an LOI was suspended until AVDF’s next-cycle announcement. Do not treat the previous cycle’s deadline or dates as the schedule for the next one. Check the official program page and calendar after AVDF publishes the 2027–2028 terms.

Closed-cycle summary

These dates describe the 2026–2027 review cycle only. The October and November milestones apply to organizations that submitted an LOI by the August deadline and, for the November full proposal, received an invitation. They do not create a second opportunity for organizations that missed the August LOI deadline. Similarly, the project-start guidance concerns the year following submission and should not be carried forward mechanically to the 2027–2028 round.

What the program supports

AVDF describes Private Higher Education as support for colleges and universities that prioritize undergraduate education and emphasize the liberal arts. It makes grants directly to private colleges and universities and to consortia that support those institutions in their educational mission. The Foundations say grants typically support work to improve student outcomes or enhance faculty leadership. They may support multi-year projects, and their current published program description says typical awards range from $25,000 to $300,000, although larger requests can be considered.

The program has two especially encouraged areas of focus: Advocacy for the Liberal Arts and Civil Discourse on Campus. AVDF says it remains open to any funding request aimed at supporting Private Higher Education, while encouraging proposals in those areas. That language describes a preferred fit rather than an exclusive list. An applicant should still make a clear case for how its work advances undergraduate education at an eligible institution.

Advocacy for the Liberal Arts

AVDF encourages projects that give more students opportunities to engage with the liberal arts regardless of major or course of study. Its program description also invites efforts to educate parents, students, and the wider public about the nature and benefits of a liberal arts education. A proposal in this area should connect its activities to that purpose: for example, show how a curricular change reaches students outside a traditional humanities pathway, or explain how an outreach effort will help audiences understand the value of liberal learning.

The program page also describes the Transfer Pathways initiative, developed with the Teagle Foundation. It supports statewide, regional, or consortial partnerships between public two-year colleges and private four-year colleges. The goal is to facilitate transfer and completion of liberal arts bachelor’s degrees, including for students historically excluded from higher education. AVDF’s published description lists planning awards of up to $25,000 over 6–12 months and implementation awards of up to $350,000 over 24–36 months. It says award size depends on the number of institutions and the project’s scope, and that planning grants are strongly encouraged. The page describes the initiative as expected to remain open for approximately three to five years. Applicants should revisit the initiative’s linked information and the next-cycle instructions before assuming these terms remain unchanged.

Civil Discourse on Campus

The Civil Discourse focus supports curricular and extracurricular programs that promote dialogue across social, moral, political, and religious differences. AVDF says strong candidates should know evidence-based methods for improving dialogue across disagreement and integrate those methods into their activities. It encourages applicants to identify the resources they plan to use.

AVDF names several resources for different project types. Applicants focused primarily on students are directed to the Constructive Dialogue Institute. Faculty-training proposals can draw on the Greater Good Science Center and Duke University’s Civil Discourse Summer Seminar. Applicants proposing campus-wide programming are directed to the Campus Free Expression Project from the Council of Independent Colleges. AVDF also recommends the Better Discourse guide from Campus Compact and other linked recommendations. These are useful preparation materials, but the next cycle’s application instructions should determine exactly what to address in a future LOI.

For projects that involve an intervention intended to improve a measurable outcome, AVDF says a full proposal will require an evaluation plan overseen by a qualified evaluator. The Foundations say they can provide guidance when an applicant does not have a qualified evaluator available. Since the 2026 LOI period is closed, a prospective applicant can use the interval before the next announcement to consider its intended outcomes and possible evaluation capacity, while waiting for the new cycle’s requirements before committing to a budget or plan.

Eligibility and limits in the published rules

AVDF’s currently published FAQ says it awards grants to eligible 501(c)(3) institutions whose work aligns with its program areas. Grantee organizations must be based in and operate out of the United States, and AVDF does not make grants to individuals. The Private Higher Education page describes private colleges and universities, as well as consortia supporting those institutions. The FAQ specifically says support in this area is limited to undergraduate education at four-year, residential colleges and universities. Public two-year colleges appear as partners in the Transfer Pathways initiative, rather than as a general applicant class for the program. AVDF has not yet issued 2027–2028-specific eligibility wording, so organizations should check the announcement and updated application materials before relying on these general rules for a future submission.

The Foundations do not support graduate programs through Private Higher Education. Their FAQ says they will not support scholarships or endowments, generally do not fund capital projects, and do not fund direct-service programs such as housing services and food pantries. Indirect costs may not exceed 5% of the budget for direct costs. This cap should be checked with the institution’s grants or sponsored-programs office before preparing any future budget, because the Foundation’s stated limit differs from many institutions’ standard indirect-cost rates.

Two rules in the FAQ may be relevant when the next window opens. An organization with an active AVDF grant is still eligible to submit an LOI. An organization may also submit more than one LOI at the same time if the ideas are distinct. These permissions do not extend the closed 2026 window; all materials for a future application must follow the calendar and portal instructions AVDF publishes for that cycle.

How the 2026–2027 application process worked

AVDF used a two-stage process for the closed 2026–2027 cycle. Organizations first submitted an LOI through the Foundation’s Grantee Portal by the listed deadline. The calendar said all materials had to be received by 5:00 pm Eastern Time on the deadline date to be eligible for review in that annual cycle. Staff then reviewed the LOIs and invited competitive requests to submit a full proposal. An invitation was required to reach that second stage; the full proposal was not an alternative way to start an application after the LOI window closed. AVDF’s current Apply for a Grant page confirms that the 2026 LOI window is closed, no new LOIs may be started before March 2027, and information for the 2027–2028 Review Cycle will be announced in March 2027. This is a record of the closed process, not an active application route: the 2027–2028 portal window and submission instructions have not been announced.

For the 2026–2027 review cycle, the calendar set the LOI deadline on 27 August 2026, full-proposal invitations for 8 October 2026, and the invited full-proposal deadline on 13 November 2026. Proposals recommended for approval went to the AVDF Board of Trustees for a decision in February or May. AVDF cautioned that various factors determine which meeting reviews a full proposal. It advised applicants to assume a project start date of 1 June or later in the year after submission. Only the LOI deadline has passed; the later invitation and full-proposal dates remain relevant to organizations that submitted on time and, for the full proposal, received an invitation. None of these dates sets the schedule for the unannounced next cycle.

The LOI requested basic project information, including the amount requested, a brief description of activities, and anticipated results. The official FAQ explains that an LOI requires a brief summary and explanation of the anticipated budget. For invited full proposals, applicants were asked for a document addressing key questions about the project, along with a detailed budget containing numbered line items, amounts requested from AVDF, anticipated support from other sources, total costs, and a separate narrative explaining each budget line. The 5% indirect-cost limit applied to the budget. The official materials state that application submissions must be made through the grantee portal; email and postal submissions are not considered.

The FAQ explains that the portal uses individual accounts rather than one account for an entire organization. The primary contact or principal investigator role requires a portal account; other personnel may be selected from the account list or entered manually, and up to four accounts can be linked. This describes the published portal workflow and may be useful when preparing for a future round, but portal screens and instructions should be checked again when the next application window is announced.

Practical preparation before the next announcement

The next cycle has not been announced, so applicants should avoid preparing against assumed dates, form limits, or award conditions. Once AVDF releases its 2027–2028 cycle information, confirm that the program remains open to the proposed applicant and project, read the new calendar, and use the current portal instructions. This matters even when the broad program priorities look familiar: deadlines, forms, and subprogram terms belong to the specific cycle that publishes them.

In the meantime, an institution can do useful preparatory work without treating it as an active application. First, map the project to undergraduate education and state the student or faculty change it aims to produce. If pursuing Advocacy for the Liberal Arts, describe which students or audiences will be reached and how the work advances liberal learning. If pursuing Civil Discourse, identify the evidence-based methods relevant to the activities and the outcomes that could be measured. For Transfer Pathways, consult the initiative’s current partner information and clarify which colleges would participate.

Second, confirm basic organizational eligibility and build a realistic preliminary budget. Verify the applicant’s 501(c)(3) status and US operations, distinguish direct costs from indirect costs, and model the 5% ceiling from AVDF’s published rules. Do not assume that scholarships, endowment, capital work, graduate programming, or direct-service activities will qualify. If the project is a consortium effort, decide which eligible organization will be the applicant and how partners will participate; verify the next cycle’s instructions before finalizing that structure.

Third, plan for evidence and evaluation where relevant. A strong measurable-outcome project should be able to explain what will change, for whom, and how the team would assess that change. AVDF’s requirement for a qualified evaluator is specified for full proposals involving an intervention to improve a measurable outcome. The closed cycle’s LOI could present the proposed work briefly, but a future applicant should not assume the new form or review criteria will be identical. Keep the evaluation design proportionate and budget it in the format required by the next instructions.

Finally, use AVDF’s official pages as the source of truth. The program page explains program fit, amounts, focus areas, and evaluation. The grant calendar controls the cycle status and dates. The FAQ covers applicant eligibility, portal logistics, budget rules, and exclusions. The Foundation’s Grantee Portal is where eligible organizations submit when a window is open. As of the latest official notice reflected here, AVDF has closed 2026 LOIs and will publish the 2027–2028 review-cycle information in March 2027.

Official links

• Private Higher Education program area
• Apply for a Grant and grantmaking process
• Grant calendar
• Frequently Asked Questions
• AVDF Grantee Portal

Dates and status at a glance

All cycle dates and program terms above are drawn from AVDF’s official Private Higher Education page, calendar, and FAQ. The record is historical because the 2026 LOI window has closed and a new cycle’s deadline has not yet been published. Recheck the official pages for the next cycle’s terms before deciding whether to apply.