Eligibility

Applications are open to members of the research community of any country wishing to advance the conversation about mirror life. Grants are expected to be administered through 501(c)(3) organizations or international equivalents.

Examples of such organizations typically include:

  • Academic institutions

  • Non-profit research institutions 

  • Scientific organizations or consortia

For-profit entities will not typically be eligible.

Individuals and organizations from any country are welcome to submit expressions of interest. However, grants to organizations not recognized as charitable entities under U.S. law will require additional due diligence. 

Applicants should also be aware that different jurisdictions may have specific rules and regulations that govern the receipt of foreign funds, which could necessitate additional compliance measures that may delay the granting process. MBDF will only recommend funding when it is able to do so consistent with applicable law.

Eligible events are scheduled to occur between April 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026.

Questions about eligibility should be directed to events@mbdf.org. 

Budget

Typical awards are expected to be between $5,000 and $50,000. Award funds may be used to cover the following categories of expenses:

  • Conference facilities and services.

  • Supplies and expendable materials necessary for the event.

  • Publication costs (if applicable).

  • Travel costs for speakers and/or attendees (if applicable).

  • Salaries. 

    • Salary support (up to 10% of total salary) may be requested for one staff member who would be directly involved in the preparation and/or conduct of the event.

    • No other salary support will be provided.

  • Speaker/participant fees. 

  • Meals and coffee breaks. 

  • Dependent care costs. 

MBDF maintains a policy that limits indirect costs (‘overhead’). For universities and community colleges, indirect costs may not exceed 10% of total direct costs. MBDF defines indirect costs as expenses related to the general operations and administration of an organization, which are not directly allocated to or identified with a specific project.

Expression of Interest

Prospective applicants should submit an Expression of Interest via this Google Form. We suggest that applicants spend no more than two hours on their initial submission. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Applications need to be submitted at least four months in advance of the proposed event. 

Applicants will receive a reply within four weeks of submission. Promising applicants will be invited to develop a full proposal. The full application should not take more than six hours to complete. After receiving the full proposal, MBDF aims to respond within four weeks about whether the full application has been successful.

By default, we will share your application with MBDF staff as well as a select number of advisors. MBDF may share your application proposals with other potential funders, at its discretion. If there’s any information that you’d like to keep confidential to MBDF staff, please share it in the relevant field in the Expression of Interest form.

If you have any issues with accessing the Google Form, or questions about the application, please reach out to events@mbdf.org.

We expect the final deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest to this program will be March 31, 2026.