Clinical Cancer Research

How to Apply

Upcoming Deadline: November 23rd, 2025

Grants Management System: SmartSimple

Applicants can apply for RTFCCR funding opportunities through the online grant management system. The portal manages the entire grant process, including progress reports and awarded project payments.

New to the Rising Tide Foundation? Please register before applying.

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Application Process

Step 1

Letters of Intent (LOIs) are accepted on a rolling basis, with deadlines for internal assessment three times per year. LOIs must be submitted through our application portal, SmartSimple. The upcoming deadlines:

  • November 23rd, 2025
  • March 9th, 2026
  • May 29th, 2026
  • November 23rd, 2026

Before applying, please read our Terms and Conditions.

Step 2

LOIs deemed the most meritorious and aligned with our funding criteria will be invited to submit full applications. Instructions and deadlines are provided after the LOI evaluation.

Step 3

Full applications are assessed by a Grant Review Committee (GRC), an independent panel of external experts that includes scientific peer reviewers, a patient partner, and a biostatistician.

Following that evaluation, the highest-ranking applications are scored according to their strategic fit to RTFCCR portfolio, based on the following criteria:

  • Patient community perception
  • Focus areas priorities
  • Portfolio fit
  • Innovation
  • Reach patients
  • Researcher and team reputation

Step 4

Recommendations from the GRC and the RTFCCR Advisory Board are submitted to the Rising Tide Board of Directors for final funding approval. Once the Board of Directors approves, the award recipients will be notified within a month of the board meeting. Board meetings occur three times a year.

Pre-Application Grant

Patient partners involved in designing the application for a new research project can be financially supported via the pre-application grant.

Learn More

Funding Guidelines

RTFCCR invites academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations to collaborate on innovative, patient-centered clinical trials. Our mission is to improve cancer patients’ treatment options and quality of life by funding studies focused on detection, treatment, and implementation.

We support phase I to phase III interventional clinical trials but do not fund basic research, phase IV trials, or observational studies. Funding is available to institutions worldwide where effective grant oversight is feasible.

Download Full Guidelines
  • The interventional clinical trial can be an early—to—late—stage clinical trial (Phase 1, 2, and 3) with a patient partner involvement in the study protocol design.
  • Only applications aimed at detecting and intervening in early cancer (pre-cancerous changes) can also be considered at the pre-clinical validation stage.
  • Pharmaceutical agents used in the study can be generic (off-patent repurposing), registered for this indication, or under development by an academic institution.
  • Clinical trials testing immunotherapies should be discussed with RTFCCR before application submission.
  • Final selection will be contingent on scientific review, strategic portfolio fit, and availability of funds.
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