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NLN Scholarships  

 

NLN DNP Project Fund 

Request for Applications

 

The 2026 scholarship & award application period is now closed.

The 2026 application period has now closed. Applicants will be notified by the end of July 2026 and awardees will be recognized at the NLN Summit in the Fall of 2026 in Washington, DC. Scholarship applications will re-open in February 2027.

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The NLN Foundation for Nursing Education is proud to offer the DNP Project Fund, to provide support to DNP students who are ready to conduct their final scholarly project and are in need of financial assistance to implement the project. Unlike our NLN Nurse Educator scholarships, this fund will accept applications twice a year and will focus solely on providing assistance for student projects in amounts of up to $500. 

 

Eligible applicants must be current DNP students in accredited programs with projects focused on addressing important issues within healthcare, and will add value to nursing education, clinical practice, and/or health outcomes. Eligible applicants must also be NLN members, either through organizational or individual membership. 

 

Resources to Review Before Preparing Proposals:

Eligibility

  • The Project Lead(s) must be a DNP student in a nursing program at the time that the funds are awarded. 

  • The money must be used for a final DNP scholarly project.  

  • The project site/agency must have given permission for the project to be implemented. Provide a letter of permission from the project site. 

  • The project has been determined to be “non-human subjects research” or approved as research by the nursing program’s affiliated Institutional Review Board or ethics board.  

  • The award amount will vary depending on the scope of the DNP project proposal. The budget for a proposal cannot exceed a total of $500. 

  • The award may be expended across a 1-year period. All funds must be used within the 1-year period. The award letter will stipulate the end date of the award. Any funds not used by that time will be forfeited. 

  • Unused funds cannot be reallocated for any use to other funded or unfunded grants or projects. 

  • Funds can be used for instruments, laboratory analyses, travel specific to the project site (i.e., data collection), and postage and copying expenses. Strong budget justification needs to be submitted for software requests. 

  • Funds may not be used to support student, faculty, or secretarial salaries. 

 

 

Application Requirements

Each proposal must include the content areas below. Carefully review the DNP Project Fund Rubric. Incomplete applications will be disqualified. Applications must be single-spaced, in no less than 11-point size font, submitted as one complete PDF. 

 

  1. Title Page: Title, DNP student’s name and contact information; names, ranks, and departments of the DNP committee members. 

  1. Abstract: 300 words or less 

  1. CV. 

  1. Letter of Financial Need: A letter (1-page maximum) signed by the project lead indicating why the award is required to complete the DNP scholarly project. 

  1. Budget & Justification: Provide a detailed budget with dollars requested and justification for how the funds will be spent. If the project lead has received other funds to support the project, they should designate which expenses will be charged to which grant. 

  1. DNP Chair Letter of Support: Provide a letter (1-page maximum) signed by the DNP scholarly project chair indicating that the project lead will be a DNP student at the time of the award receipt and attesting to feasibility of completion. 

  1. Project Site/Agency Letter of Support: Provide a letter signed by an authorized person from the project site/agency indicating permission for the project to be implemented at the project site/agency. If no project site/agency will be used, provide a short statement indicating this. 

  1. IRB Determination or Approval Letter: Letter from the IRB affiliated with the nursing program approving the project or determining the project as non-human subjects research. If there is not an affiliated IRB, then the program director can provide a letter attesting that the project is non-human subjects research. 

 

Please note that there is not a specific application template, however, each application should attempt to follow the order of the checklist and use headings indicative of these requirements.  

Online Submission System:

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NOTE: If you have questions related to the application process, please contact Emma Wolfe at ewolfe@nln.org or foundation@nln.org.  

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