Sample Grants
Grant Title Award Date Grant Amount
 
Religion and Relationships in Urban America

David Blankenhorn, President
Institute for American Values (New York, NY)

This project focuses on the state of religion and relationships in urban America. The research explores the ways in which religion influences the relationships of married and unmarried couples in urban America, with a focus on African American and Latino couples. The project will also explore how positive character values, spiritual beliefs, and social networks mediate the relationship between religious practice and relationship quality among urban couples.
 January 2006 $95,240
Positive Psychology Research

Martin E.P. Seligman, Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology
Director, Positive Psychology Center
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia PA)

These grants helped to establish the Positive Psychology Center. Positive Psychology is the study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The Center promotes research, training, and education. The field of Positive Psychology is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.
 January 2001 $2,199,500
Renewing American Culture and the Pursuit of Happiness: Rethinking the Public Humanities

Dr. Scott Massey, President and CEO
Indiana Humanities Council (Indianapolis IN)

This funding supports the production of a PBS documentary and book deriving from the 2004 Aspen Summit, "Rethinking the Public Humanities." The documentary will explicitly address the relationship between religious faith, freedom, and what makes us human. The book Renewing American Culture and the Pursuit of Happiness was published by Scrivener Press in May 2005.
 February 2005 $200,000
Development of Measures of Positive Behaviors For Children and Youth

Dr. Kristin A. Moore, Senior Scholar
Child Trends, Inc. (Washington DC)

Laura Lippman, Director, Education
Child Trends, Inc. (Washington DC)

This grant supported a conference at the National Institutes of Health to catalyze the development of measures of positive behaviors among children and youth. The project synthesized research into the development of rigorous measures of positive child and youth development that can be incorporated into the nation's statistical system, into longitudinal research, and into program development and evaluation. Resulting from this research are a special issue on positive indicators by Adolescent and Family Health and the edited volume What Do Children Need to Flourish? Conceptualizing and Measuring Indicators of Positive Development (Springer Science and Business Media, 2005).
 November 2002 $100,000
Templeton Advanced Research Program [TARP]: Innovative Scientific Studies on Religion and Spirituality

Dr. William J. Grassie, Executive Director
Metanexus Institute (Philadelphia PA)

This program aims to advance the quality and sophistication of research design and methods in the study of three distinct topical areas:
 September 2004 $5,791,000
Through a Sacred Lens: Creating New Spiritual Knowledge About Marriage, Pregnancy and the Transition to Parenthood

Professor Kenneth I. Pargament, Co-Director
Spirituality and Psychology Research Team [SPiRiT]
Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green OH)

Professor Annette Mahoney, Co-Director
Spirituality and Psychology Research Team [SPiRiT]
Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green OH)

These grants support a longitudinal study to examine whether the sanctification of marriage, pregnancy, and entry into parenthood facilitates parental, marital, and infant well-being.
 May 2005 $1,192,043
Funding Areas