• Applicants must be individuals, AAUW branches, AAUW state organizations or local community-based nonprofit organizations (including universities).
• The proposed activity must have direct impact to encourage girls to select, before entering college, the physical sciences or engineering as a career.
• Nonprofit organizations and universities must be based in the United States or its territories.
• Organizations (including universities) must have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. AAUW branch and state applicants must have 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status.
• Proposals from AAUW branches or states must be approved and signed by the branch or state president.
• Proposals from local community-based nonprofit organizations must be approved and signed by the organization’s executive director.
• Previous Community Action Grant awardees must wait three application cycles before applying for another grant and may not apply for duplicate funding.
• Members of the AAUW Board of Directors, committees, panels, task forces and staff, including current interns, are not eligible to apply for AAUW’s fellowships and grants. A person holding a current award is eligible for election or appointment to boards, committees, panels, and task forces.

• freshman
• sophomore
• junior
• senior
• graduate

• US Citizen
• Permanent Resident

Applications are available online.

Since the inauguration of the Research and Projects Fund in 1972, AAUW has provided support to hundreds of communities around the United States to advance education and equality for women and girls. Early projects focused on public interest issues, including women’s struggles to balance home and work life, the establishment of women’s resource centers on college campuses, and the emergence of women’s political involvement in the antinuclear movement.

As the program evolved and grew, AAUW explored ways to strengthen support through community involvement. Projects have become increasingly collaborative and girl-focused, bringing together AAUW branches and local community groups.