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The Charles H. Hood Foundation (also written Charles Hood Foundation, and often shortened to Hood Foundation) is a private foundation whose best-known program is the Child Health Research Awards: two-year grants of $200,000 to early-career investigators at nonprofit institutions in New England. This guide is based on the foundation’s official web pages, checked on 2026-10-29, and separates its three programs so applicants do not pursue the wrong one. It is not related to other organizations that carry the Hood name.
What it is and who runs it
The foundation’s home page credits Charles H. Hood, a New England dairy pioneer of the 1800s whose “commitment to science, education and discovery revolutionized the industry.” The official site (charleshoodfoundation.org) lists these program areas: Child Health Research Grants, the SRC Portal, CH Innovations, the Hood Pediatric Innovation Hub, and the MIT-Hood Pediatric Innovation Symposium 2026. The site also posts the foundation’s Form 990-PF and IRS determination letter. The application page states that the foundation was incorporated in 1942 with a mission to improve the health and quality of life for children, and that the Child Health Research Awards have supported 693 early-career investigators since inception.
The programs page describes three programs, and they are different instruments:
| Program | What the official page says | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Child Health Research Grants | Awards are given in two cycles each year; typically five grants of $200,000 each per cycle, over two years | Early-career investigators (see eligibility below) |
| Program Related Investments | Invests in early-stage start-up for-profit companies seeking seed-stage investors; selected by internal vetting; no amount stated | For-profit start-ups, not academic grant applicants |
| Hood Pediatric Innovation Hub at MIT | A collaboration with MIT HEALS offering “essential seed funding and strategic support”; no amount or eligibility stated | Not described in detail on the programs page |
Most researchers searching for the “Hood Foundation” mean the first row, so the rest of this guide concentrates on it.
Eligibility
The programs page says the Child Health Research Grants support early-career PhD scientists within five years, and physician scientists within seven years, of employment following the conclusion of training (the page says this includes any independent research positions in a for-profit or other professional setting). Applicants need not be U.S. citizens or residents. The research must be relevant to child health and hypothesis-driven, and the page names clinical, basic science, public health, health services and epidemiology as eligible approaches. The investigator must be at a nonprofit academic, medical or research institution in New England; the awards page names Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Two wordings, one thing to check
The application page frames the same award differently: it is for newly independent faculty at nonprofit academic, medical and research institutions in New England. The programs page measures eligibility in years since training (five for PhDs, seven for physician scientists, counted from employment after training). The two pages word the requirement differently, so confirm both the training-time limit and the faculty-appointment status against the foundation’s Request for Applications (RFA), which is linked from the application page, before investing time in a concept paper.
What it funds
The application page describes two-year grants totaling $200,000, which is $100,000 per year “inclusive of 10% indirect costs.” For budgeting, that means the indirect cost share sits inside the $100,000 annual figure rather than on top of it. Compare this with the way federal awards separate direct and indirect costs, described in CASRAI’s dictionary entry on indirect cost recovery.
Application steps
The application page describes a two-stage process, submitted through the foundation’s online portal (connect.charleshoodfoundation.org/apply):
- Concept paper. The page lists scientific aims, research approach and relevance to child health as the content.
- Full proposal, by invitation only. Invitations follow review of concept papers by the Scientific Review Committee.
The RFA and Full Proposal Guidelines are linked from the application page; read both before drafting. For how other private foundations structure intake, CASRAI’s guides to the Kresge Foundation and the Lilly Endowment are useful comparisons.
Typical timeline phases
The foundation’s website shows one cycle labelled April 2027, with a home-page banner announcing that the foundation is accepting submissions for the Child Health Research Awards Program. The phases below are the order of events; the dates apply to that cycle only and change from cycle to cycle.
| Phase | April 2027 cycle, as published on 2026-10-29 |
|---|---|
| Application portal opens | October 1, 2026 |
| Concept paper due | November 5, 2026 |
| Invitations to submit full proposals | December 9, 2026 |
| Full proposal due | January 20, 2027 |
| Funding status communicated | mid-March 2027 |
| Year 1 funding | April 2027 |
The programs page states there are two cycles each year, so a second cycle follows at a different time of year. The foundation announced five investigators in September 2026.
Common mistakes
- Treating the full proposal as the first step. The full proposal is by invitation after the concept paper; there is no route straight to it as described on the application page.
- Applying under the wrong program. Program Related Investments go to for-profit start-ups, not to academic investigators.
- Relying on one eligibility description. The programs page and the application page word eligibility differently (see above); check the RFA.
- Budgeting indirect costs on top of $100,000. The official figure is inclusive of 10% indirect costs.
- Confusing the foundation with other Hood-named entities. The official domain is charleshoodfoundation.org.
Related programs
Other private-foundation funders already covered in CASRAI’s guides, each with its own rules:
| Funder | What CASRAI’s guide covers |
|---|---|
| The Hartwell Foundation | Early-stage biomedical research funded through nominee-only awards |
| Jane Coffin Childs Fellowship | A postdoctoral fellowship, with its experience clock, funding terms and portal steps |
| Kresge Foundation | Eligibility, programs and the letter-of-inquiry-to-proposal steps |
More funding-lifecycle material is collected in the grants management hub.
FAQ
What is the Charles H. Hood Foundation?
A private foundation whose site credits Charles H. Hood, a New England dairy pioneer, and which runs child health research grants, program related investments in early-stage companies and an innovation hub at MIT.
How much does a Hood Foundation Child Health Research grant pay?
Two-year grants totaling $200,000, which is $100,000 per year including 10% indirect costs; typically five are given per cycle.
Who can apply?
Early-career investigators at nonprofit academic, medical or research institutions in New England, with a child-health focus. Citizenship is not required. See the eligibility section for the two wordings to check against the RFA.
When is the next Hood Foundation deadline?
For the April 2027 cycle, the concept paper deadline published on the foundation’s application page is November 5, 2026, with full proposals due January 20, 2027 for invited applicants. Check the page again before planning, since dates change by cycle.
Are the Charles H. Hood Foundation, the Charles Hood Foundation and the Hood Foundation the same organization?
These are variant names for the same funder, whose official site is charleshoodfoundation.org. Other organizations with Hood in the name are unrelated.
Is the full proposal open to everyone?
No. The application page says full proposals are by invitation only after the concept paper is reviewed.
Does the foundation fund start-ups?
Its Program Related Investments program invests in early-stage for-profit start-ups, selected by internal vetting.
Sources
All checked 2026-10-29.
- Charles H. Hood Foundation, home page: https://charleshoodfoundation.org/
- Programs page: https://charleshoodfoundation.org/about-the-hood-foundation/programs/
- Apply for a Child Health Grant: https://charleshoodfoundation.org/research-grants/apply-child-health-grant/
- Child Health Research Awards: https://charleshoodfoundation.org/child-health-research-awards/
