ACBS Foundation Grants
ACBS Foundation GrantsThe ACBS Foundation aims to promote CBS projects around the world. With the goal of facilitating interventions that promote well-being, this funding mechanism is for ground-breaking projects that share this aim in the realms of interventions, training, and research (these projects are funded through the General Fund, or the Aaron S. Luoma Fund for Global Equity).
The Robert J. Kohlenberg Research Award will support graduate student, early or experienced career research focused on advancing knowledge and expertise in Functional Analytic Psychotherapy or its dissemination to the general public via the Awareness, Courage & Love Global Project.
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Available Grants
4 | Funding Opportunities - Closing 1 March |
ACBS Foundation General Fund (projects of no more than $2,000 USD) | |
Aaron S. Luoma Fund for Global Equity (projects of no more than $2,000 USD) | |
Robert (Bob) J. Kohlenberg Research Award (FAP projects of no more than $5,000 USD) | |
Robert (Bob) J. Kohlenberg Research Award (FAP projects of no more than $5,000 USD; student/early career applications prioritized) | |
Value and Duration
- ACBS Foundation General Fund Grant will typically be awarded to projects of no more than $2,000 USD; however, larger projects will be considered based on their merits. Typical projects should be completed within 18 months of the award.
- ACBS Foundation Grant - LAMIC (Low, Lower Middle and Upper Middle Income Countries) is awarded to qualifying projects of no more than $2,000 USD annually. Projects must align with the goals and requirements of the Aaron S. Luoma fund for Global Equity.
- Robert J. Kohlenberg Research Award will be awarded to a project of no more than $5,000 USD. Typical projects should be completed within 18 months of the award. (2 awards available annually)
Conditions of Award
Awardees will be required to report their findings to the ACBS Foundation in the form of a brief written report. The results will be made public by the ACBS Foundation and the awardees are requested (but not required) to submit their project for presentation consideration (oral or a poster) at an ACBS World Conference.
Eligibility
For all applications, the principal investigator must be a member of ACBS at the time of submission.
Details for the Robert J. Kohlenberg Research Award may be found on the Award page.
For the Aaron S. Luoma Fund for Global Equity, working and residency requirements can be found here.
Ethics
All projects must consider ethical issues. If the primary applicant is employed at a university, institution of higher and further education, registered charity, research institute, and this is a research study, they must obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. If the project is applied or training-based, and the primary applicant does not work one of the above listed institutions that has an IRB, the applicant must include a statement in the application about how the ethical approach of the project is being independently reviewed for compliance with ethical guidelines of a relevant professional organization (e.g., https://www.apa.org/ethics/code or similar). These formal requirements must be met before the funds can be released, and a formal statement of attestation to adherence to ethical principles is required.
Foundation Grant Topics
In particular, we are looking to support and fund projects that break new ground. These could include - but are not limited to - projects focusing on climate change, interventions in hitherto untested populations, novel applications or modalities of interventions, projects focused on dissemination, projects that address public policy, projects that measure outcomes of training, projects that examine interventions in naturally occurring groups (prosocial), projects that have the potential to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion and/or address institutional racism, projects involving developing nations, refugees or other disenfranchised or marginalized people, projects that address biological correlates of CBS-relevant targets (multi-level approaches), or interventions using technology that would have a wide reach to help people in their natural contexts.
Funding Program Aims
The aim of these awards is to provide financial support for innovative and original projects of high quality and potential. The choice of theme and the design of the project rests entirely with the Principal Applicant). The applications will be judged both on fit with the call, scientific quality, originality, and potential to maintain the implementation (for applied projects) or to clearly and compellingly demonstrate how the project will be subsequently implemented in the real-world and the planned steps that will be taken to ensure this (for research projects). Funding will only be allocated for costs directly related to the proposed project (e.g., programming costs, participant payment, etc.). The grants will not provide salary support for the Applicant, but may be used to support staff engaged on the project. Institutional Facilities & Administrative expenses (indirect expenses) will not be covered.
Proposals are favored which:
● demonstrate compelling scientific excellence in the design and project plan;
OR
● involve projects that may not be easily funded at present by an alternative source;
AND
● surmount traditional disciplinary boundaries; involve projects which, if successful, are sustainable in the future and/or has the chance of obtaining additional funding in the future; include people early in their career; include diverse collaborators (if multiple investigators are included).
Grant Application Schedule
The grant call is open annually from 15 January – 1 March 1.
Grant Award Announcements by 1 June.
Grant Start Dates, by 1 September.
How to Apply
1. Read Instructions and create application document
2. Submit application here between 15 January and 1 March 1 17:00 GMT (10:30pm Delhi/ 5:00pm London/ 1:00pm New York).
- The same application will be used for all 4 grants.
- Additional Grant Details (Grant Policy)
Aaron S. Luoma Fund for Global Equity
Aaron S. Luoma Fund for Global EquityAaron S. Luoma Fund for Global Equity Mission
The Aaron S. Luoma Fund aims to advance global health, reduce global disparities, and promote global equity.
This fund is intended to support the application of CBS principles by individuals or organizations operating in or residing in low, low-middle and upper middle income countries.
Possible uses of this fund include (amongst others):
- scholarships for individuals to obtain CBS-related training (such through attending the ACBS annual conference)
- support of scientific research projects or research capacity building by investigators residing in low and low-middle income countries
- support for organizations or individuals located in low, low-middle and upper middle income countries to enable public health projects informed by CBS principles
About Aaron

Just because a person has died, their story doesn’t need to end. Aaron was one of the many people who walk this world as quiet revolutionaries, building bridges of love and compassion. He called himself a “citizen of the world” and identified with a global community above his identity as part of a particular nation, place, or group. Throughout his life, he worked to transcend geography, political borders, ethnicity, race, and other aspects of group identity. This fund is intended to continue that legacy.
Robert (Bob) J. Kohlenberg Research Fund
Robert (Bob) J. Kohlenberg Research Fund.jpg)
“My mission is to engage as fully and deeply as I can with the world—including interpersonal, cultural and physical realms. This includes: 1) striving to love ever more deeply and increasing the scope and intensity of my attachment to, caring for and benefiting others; 2) increasing my concern and involvement with solving sociopolitical problems; 3) passionately playing with ideas that foster creativity and intellectually challenging myself and stimulating others to do the same: and 4) learning about, deepening my understanding, and having hands-on involvement and connection to the physical and technological features of the world in which I live.” Robert J. Kohlenberg (1937-2021)
Dr. Kohlenberg was a dedicated member of ACBS from its inception. He co-conceptualized Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) in the 1980s, a “contextual, behavioral, relational approach to psychotherapy in which therapists focus on what happens in session between the client and therapist to shape the interpersonal behaviors, emotional awareness, and self-expression necessary for clients to create and maintain close relationships and to live meaningful liveslives” (Kohlenberg & Tsai, 1991; Tsai et al., 2009; Tsai, Callaghan & Kohlenberg, 2013).” This endowed fund honors the legacy of Dr. Kohlenberg’s pioneering work by continuing this spirit of inquiry.
The Robert J. Kohlenberg Research Award will support graduate student, early, or experienced career research focused on advancing knowledge and expertise in Functional Analytic Psychotherapy or its dissemination to the general public via the Awareness, Courage & Love Global Project. This grant is made possible through the generosity of Mavis Tsai and Barbara Kohlenberg.
Two awards are available annually to qualifying applications. Priority for one award each year is given to high quality student and early career research applications.
(For the Kohlenberg Award, the ACBS Foundation defines “graduate student and early career” for the purpose of this grant as a post-baccalaureate student seeking a degree in a field relevant to the purposes of the association, or an early career researcher as a person who completed their terminal degree within the past 7 years (or 10 years if you took time off for personal reasons such as family). An early career researcher includes individuals in current postdoctoral and faculty positions, as well as those in other employment positions.)
To learn more about Bob Kohlenberg’s life and legacy, please read the beautiful obituary published on Recompose.
To contribute to the Robert J. Kohlenberg Fund, click the donate button below: