The Trust in American Institutions Challenge is a $10 million initiative designed to scale a bold solution that will build and restore public trust in the core institutions that form the pillars of society in the United States.
This challenge seeks transformative solutions that are poised to reverse recent trends and significantly increase public trust in fundamental institutions in the United States in the next five years. Applicants best fit for this opportunity will utilize key leverage points to renew, rebuild, and/or establish trust in core institutions for Americans across the country.
The Trust in American Institutions Challenge is open to organizations across the United States, including partnerships and collaborations. Competitive applications will present solutions that are bold, transformative, scalable, and durable.
Before applying, complete the Organizational Readiness Tool and refer to the Challenge Rules to help determine eligibility and to ensure that your solution is a strong fit for the Challenge. Take some time to review the application, which is accessible in PDF form here.
Interested applicants must register to apply before 5 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Complete applications are due before 5 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
Valid applications will be scored by four fellow applicants during Participatory Review in May 2025. Top-scoring applicants will advance to Evaluation Panel Review, where they will be scored by four Evaluation Panel Reviewers. Scores will be adjusted to ensure fairness. Once evaluations are complete, The Trust in American Institutions team will review the top-scoring submissions and may request additional information as needed in order to select up to five finalists who will move on to the next phase.
$1 million in project development support will be split among the finalists who will also receive technical assistance to strengthen their proposals. The $9 million grant will be given to one of the finalists, who will be named The Trust in American Institutions Challenge Awardee.
- If you have registered for The Trust in American Institutions Challenge, you will have received a confirmation email confirming your registration. Within the hour, you will have received another email containing instructions for accessing The Trust in American Institutions Challenge application.
- If you have already begun your application, you may sign in to your Submittable account at manager.submittable.com/login. Once signed in, you may access and continue your application. You may also view your application, once complete, via your Submittable account. If you have lost or forgotten your password, please follow the instructions here.
About the Application
In advance of beginning an application, take the Organizational Readiness Tool and spend time reviewed the information provided on this website, including the Challenge scoring rubric, process timeline, and a PDF version of the application to confirm that your organization meets the eligibility requirements.
Applying to The Trust in American Institutions Challenge is comprised of two steps.
1. Register: Any organization that believes that they meet The Trust in American Institutions Challenge criteria may register for the Challenge by answering a few short administrative information questions in Section A: Registration. Interested organizations must register before 5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
2. Apply: Once you submit your completed registration, you will receive an email containing instructions for accessing the The Trust in American Institutions Challenge application. This form is entitled Section B: Application. A draft of your application will automatically save every few minutes. Be sure to complete and submit your application no later than 5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email from Submittable.
Once the initial application submission deadline passes, the Challenge team will perform an administrative review to confirm that each submission meets the Rules and application requirements before advancing to the required Participatory Review.
During Participatory Review, each applicant organization will review the applications of four peer applicant organizations using the Scoring Rubric that outlines four criteria: bold, transformative, scalable, and durable. Top-scoring applications from Participatory Review will advance to the Evaluation Panel, where they will receive additional review and comments from four Evaluation Panel Reviewers who will use the same scoring rubric to assess each entry.
