Conference Support for Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder Communities Participating in Simons Searchlight

About this funding opportunity

Search SFARI Home Funding Application Available

November 6, 2025 Application Deadline

March 5, 2026 at 12:00 pm (noon) Eastern time Award Notification

April 2026 Award Letters Sent

May-July 2026, depending on conference date Scientific Inquiries

sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org Administrative Inquiries

sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org Technical Support

samsupport@simonsfoundation.org Office Hours

Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Application Available

November 6, 2025 Application Deadline

March 5, 2026 at 12:00 pm (noon) Eastern time Award Notification

April 2026 Award Letters Sent

May-July 2026, depending on conference date Scientific Inquiries

sciencerfa@simonsfoundation.org Administrative Inquiries

sfarigrants@simonsfoundation.org Technical Support

samsupport@simonsfoundation.org Office Hours

Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Eastern Time SFARI Mission:

SFARI’s mission is to advance the basic science of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Opportunity:

SFARI is accepting applications for funding of Patient Advocacy Group Family Conferences, with a focus on groups in the Simons Searchlight community. This funding is intended to support and enhance the research component of conferences, from scientist presentations to in-person research opportunities for families. It is open to both patient advocacy groups (PAGs) with well-established conferences as well as those in early years of convening families and connecting to science. As they plan their conferences, we encourage PAGs to connect with the SFARI science team who may be able to facilitate connections to scientists with whom to explore possible conference involvement. Eligibility:

Applicants should be patient advocacy groups (PAGs) for Simons Searchlight Gene/CNV groups who use Simons Searchlight as their major registry. Preference is given to those communities actively supporting Simons Searchlight recruitment and ongoing engagement within their communities. Conferences must be scheduled to occur between January 2026 and February 2027. Depending on the date of your conference, payments may be issued retroactively. We welcome applications for conferences held and/or organized by groups both in and outside the United States. Groups in the United States must have 501(c)(3) nonprofit status; international organizations will be required to be deemed the equivalent of a U.S. public charity via requested documentation or the completion of an equivalency determination.

SF and SFI do not provide funding to institutions in China or to fiscal sponsors or agents of institutions in China. This includes funding to support subcontracts at institutions in China or consultants residing or working for institutions in China.

Simons Foundation employees who receive a W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement) from the Simons Foundation, including employees of the Flatiron Institute, may not apply as a principal investigator (PI) to any Simons Foundation or Simons Foundation International Requests for Applications (RFAs) released by the Simons Foundation. PIs and any project personnel listed on the application who will receive funding for salary, travel, support for students, postdocs or research staff, lab equipment, computing time or other individual expenses may not be employees of the Simons Foundation, which includes the Flatiron Institute. Level and Duration of Funding:

Funding will be provided in the form of a one-year gift. Only one gift can be issued per group per funding cycle (12 months) and should be used within that cycle. Failure to do so will make a group ineligible to apply for further PAG funding.

Funding is offered in three tiers as outlined below. Please note that we do not typically fund any conference in its entirety, and all applicants are strongly encouraged to seek multiple sources of funding support.

SFARI will request a descriptive post-meeting report that reflects the impact of this gift.

Funding levels per year, quoted in U.S.…

Topic areas: Life Sciences and Health, Social Innovation and Community Development.

Funding amount

This grant provides Varies in funding.

Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; there is no single fixed deadline.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• Not specified by the program.

Eligibility

The program did not publish a separate eligibility statement. See the official opportunity page for the full eligibility criteria.

Agency

Conference Support for Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder Communities Participating in Simons Searchlight is administered by Simons Foundation (Simons), listed via Simons Foundation.