Dental Trade Alliance Foundation Grants

The Dental Trade Alliance Foundation funds oral health projects, with a particular interest in pilot projects that break new ground. Grant applications are open and close November 30, 2026.

The Foundation has funded projects for more than twenty years, and maintains a searchable database of what it has supported so an applicant can check whether a similar project has been funded before. Its focus areas are oral health for the underserved, innovative oral health solutions, and access to dental careers.

The grant year runs on a long cycle: applications submitted by the November deadline are reviewed over the following months, finalists are asked for a video submission in late winter with a spring due date, final review runs from late spring through the summer, and all applicants are notified by email before August. Funding is provided in September and October, which starts the grant project. A grantee has one full year to complete the project, plus a few months afterwards to report results.

Apply through the Foundation's grant application page.

The principal organization does not have to be a 501(c)(3) — a 501(c)(6), a 509(a), a university or a government agency may apply. Whoever makes the most sense for the organization can complete the application form, whether that is the principal applicant or a project manager.

An organization may submit more than one proposal for different projects, and a past grantee may apply again for a new project.

The Foundation does not fund indirect costs, endowments or fundraising campaigns. Funding for staffing must be for new personnel required to accomplish the goals of the project, not for current personnel's salary. Funds cannot be used to reimburse a program retroactively.

Questions go to Jackie Michaels, DTA Managing Director: jackiemichaels@dentaltradealliance.org.