American Cancer Society Grants

As the nation's largest private, not-for-profit source of funds for scientists studying cancer, the American Cancer Society (ACS) remains committed to funding basic, translational, clinical, and cancer control research now and in the future - as much as we are able given our available financial resources.

The ACS grant process is managed by the Extramural Discovery Science (EDS) team.

Guidance and Information for Applications

• All applications are submitted and reviewed through ProposalCentral.
• Applications become available on ProposalCentral about 3 months before the deadline.
• The links below give you details about focusing your topic, what to include, and how to format your application.

1. GENERAL INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

• Current funding opportunities can be found on our website, here. This instruction document provides guidance for the preparation of applications submitted to our standard funding mechanisms. Special funding opportunities and requests for applications may have their own guidance documents. Please review the guidance provided online for each funding announcement.
• It is strongly recommended that applicants review the eligibility requirements in the grant policies to ensure they are eligible for their intended grant mechanism prior to applying. Applications may be withdrawn without review if an applicant or institution does not meet the eligibility criteria.
• Application materials are updated and made available in ProposalCentral approximately 3 months prior to the next application deadline.
• Applicant use of generative AI tools: An applicant is responsible for all content in their application, including any content generated using an AI tool or large language model. The applicant should appropriately credit an AI tool used in the development of their application and appropriately cite the source of the content whenever possible. Applicants should follow any guidelines or regulations in place at their institution, and the use of AI tools cannot conflict with the ACS Guidelines for Research and Peer Review Integrity in the grant policies.

2. AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY (ACS) GRANT APPLICATION SYSTEM

• We utilize ProposalCentral for the preparation, submission, review, and management of all grant applications and awards. Follow instructions for login/register, completion, and submission.
• Key steps:
  • Filter on the “Grant Opportunities Tab” >  “Choose American Cancer Society” > “Review Grant Types” > Select Grant > “Apply Now.”
  • After selecting the grant mechanism for which you intend to apply, enter Project Title (unless already displayed) > SAVE. This permits access to all other application components.
  • Saved applications are stored under “Proposals”.
• Applications that were started but not submitted during a previous submission cycle should not be edited and submitted in a different cycle. Applicants should always start a new application in ProposalCentral each cycle. This ensures that applicants are submitting an up-to-date application that conforms to current ACS regulations and parameters.
• See ProposalCentral login page for tutorials and additional details about the grant application process.
• For assistance with issues associated with ProposalCentral, click Help or contact ALTUM Customer Service at pcsupport@altum.com or 1-800-875-2562.

3. APPLICATION FORMAT GUIDELINES

• Insert Principal Investigator (PI) name in the header for each template of the application. Do not change the footers on the templates.
• Application documents may be single- or double-spaced (if single spacing, enter a space between paragraphs).
• Type size: 12-point Times New Roman or 11-point Arial are the minimum font sizes for the text; 10-point Times New Roman or 9-point Arial font type may be used for figures, legends, and tables.
• Margins: > 0.5 inches all around unless a form with different margins is supplied in the Application Templates.
• Page numbering: Number the pages in upper right corner according to the proposal sections listed in the Table of Contents.
• Do not number: Signature Page, Contact Page, General Audience Summary, Structured Technical Abstract, Statement of Cancer Relevancy and Impact, Justification of Alignment with Research Priorities, Budget & Justification, if applicable, or the Appendix.
• NIH Biosketches: Use the current NIH format for all NIH Biosketches. If the NIH has modified the NIH biosketch, applicants may use the newly modified template, or the template provided in ProposalCentral.
• Application Sections: When uploading multiple templates for one attachment type (e.g., key personnel letters of support), all completed templates may be combined into a single PDF and uploaded as the designated attachment type or they may be individually uploaded as the designated attachment type.