The Society has moved away from its long-running open-call, tiered grant structure: it now funds through time-limited Requests for Proposals, each with its own scope, funding amount, eligibility rules, geographic focus and deadline. Applicants must be at least 18, propose a start date no earlier than six months after submission, apply through the National Geographic Funding Portal, and have completed reporting on any previous grant. Anyone who remembers the old Level I / Level II Explorer grants needs to re-learn the process — there is no longer a standing application to prepare against, so the practical step is to watch the active funding opportunities list.