Concept papers are due June 1 and December 1 of each year. If these dates fall on a weekend, the papers are due the next business day. Determination of interest in receiving a full proposal is generally made within two weeks. Notification will be made to the primary contact via U.S. mail.

The concept paper should include a cover letter, contact page and 2-page concept paper (12 point type). The letter enables the Foundation staff and Trustees to determine the relevance of the proposed project to the Foundation's programs and to provide advice on whether to submit a full proposal.

• The cover letter should be written by a senior official of the applying organization or from the department chair to which the principal investigator is assigned. The letter should include a brief introduction to the investigator(s), the goals of their research and why they feel this project is a fit with The Gerber Foundation.
• The contact page should include at least a primary and secondary contact with name, title, address, phone, fax and email information. The designated primary contact will receive results of the concept paper review by U.S. mail.
• The concept paper should include the estimated cost, estimated length of study, number of subjects to be studied, age range of subjects, hypothesis(es), study design with an outline of the methods to be used, expected outcome, and the applicability of results to the prebirth to 3 year age group. The first four items are numbers only and need no explanation at this point. Our primary interest is in the hypothesis and study design sections, which should constitute 1 ½ pages of the concept paper.
• Scientific references are not necessary for the concept paper.
• Concept papers may be submitted online in a Word or PDF format, emailed to tgf@ncresa.org, faxed to 231.924.7906 or mailed to The Gerber Foundation, 4747 West 48th Street, Suite 153, Fremont, MI 49412-8119.

Individuals seeking assistance with their concept paper may contact the Foundation at any time.