THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Private Foundation Funding
Private Foundation Funding
Many private foundations provide funding for research in the social sciences. Their interests range across disciplines and topic areas from artificial intelligence and climate change to inequality and education science.
To secure sustainable foundation funding for your research, it is vital to (1) identify the right opportunities for your research and (2) build relationships with program officers at the foundations you intend to target.
Building relationships with program officers is crucial to securing long-term, sustainable funding for your work. To learn best-practices for identifying foundation funding opportunities for your research and building relationships with program officers, access our Foundations Funding for Social Sciences resource guide here.
*: accept proposals on an invite-only basis.
**: considered restricted organizations, where activity with these foundations requires coordination across the university. Please reach out to Ilana Cohen (iscohen@uchicago.edu), Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations, prior to fundraising outreach to these organizations. A full list of restricted organizations is available here.
Supports social science research that extends the methods, data, and theories of the social sciences as a means of better understanding the nation’s most pressing social, political, and economic problems. Funding is concentrated in its focus areas of Behavioral Science and Decision-Making; Future of Work; Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration; and annual initiatives.
Supports interdisciplinary research and public engagement in key focus areas in line with its values and mission, prioritizing investment in bold ideas from contrarian thinkers. Research grants in the social sciences are awarded in its key focus areas of Character Virtue Development; Individual Freedom & Free Markets; Life Sciences; and Religion, Science, and Society.
Supports research dedicated to ensuring kids have strong families, increasing economic opportunity, and transforming struggling communities. Its grants are concentrated in four focus areas of Child Welfare, Community Change, Economic Opportunity, and Juvenile Justice.
Foundation for Child Development
Supports research relevant to policy and practice, as well as advocacy and communications, to understand the systems which impact young children. Provides a limited number of research grants, as well as funding individual early-career scholars.
World Bank Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund
Supports research through its annual calls for applications, typically focused on evaluating impact of programs and policies to improve education, health, and early childhood development in low and middle income countries. The 2025 call for applications focuses on using technology to advance learning and skill development among vulnerable youth.
Supports original research and education related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics.
Supports research that advances evidence-based social policymaking and policy evaluation in key focus areas. Calls for applications focus on specific topic areas and study designs.
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation*
Supports organizations and research devoted to protecting communities and ecosystems. Grantmaking is concentrated in key topic areas focused on local environmental issues and advancing climate change solutions.
Supports institutions with transformative ideas and scalable solutions, as well as limited support for individual researchers and practitioners through fellowship opportunities. The foundation broadly funds research that addresses the underlying drivers of inequality in key focus areas. Invitation only.
Supports research related to its key focus areas of climate and clean energy, early childhood education, human rights (including immigration and criminal justice), and technology and society (including ramifications of AI developments). Invitation only.
Supports research dedicated to advancing racial equity and economic mobility in the Great Lakes region. Research project proposals are accepted in the focus areas of Education & Economic Mobility, Environment, and Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform.
Supports research in its program areas of Climate Solutions and Criminal Justice, as well as organizational partnerships in the Chicago area. Invitation only; occasionally offers open calls and funds unsolicited proposals.
Supports research that aims to make the world a safer, fairer, and more sustainable place to live through occasional RFPs and grantmaking in key focus areas including Environment, Housing and Homelessness, International Human Rights, Issues Affecting Women, Learning Differences, and more.
World Bank Development Impact Fund*
Supports research through partnerships with university researchers working on topics related to economic growth, governance and institution building, and infrastructure and climate change in the international context. Invitation only.
Supports research that advances evidence-based social policymaking and policy evaluation in key focus areas. Calls for applications focus on specific topic areas and study designs.
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation*
Supports research on the causes, manifestations, and control of violence in the contemporary world, such as crime, war, and human aggression. Additional research topics of interest include terrorism, intimate-partner violence, and climate instability and resource-based conflict. Invitation only; open calls for applications are offered for several fellowship programs.
Supports research related to its key focus areas of climate and clean energy, early childhood education, human rights (including immigration and criminal justice), and technology and society (including ramifications of AI developments). Invitation only.
Supports research dedicated to advancing racial equity and economic mobility in the Great Lakes region. Research project proposals are accepted in the focus areas of Education & Economic Mobility, Environment, and Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform.
Supports research in its program areas of Climate Solutions and Criminal Justice, as well as organizational partnerships in the Chicago area. Invitation only; occasionally offers open calls and funds unsolicited proposals.
Supports original research and education related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics.
Supports research that contributes to important public debates and addresses public policy challenges in the U.S. Funds projects in its focus areas of International Security & Foreign Policy and Domestic Foreign Policy.
Supports interdisciplinary research and public engagement in key focus areas in line with its values and mission, prioritizing investment in bold ideas from contrarian thinkers. Research grants in the social sciences are awarded in its key focus areas of Character Virtue Development; Individual Freedom & Free Markets; Life Sciences; and Religion, Science, and Society.
Washington Center for Equitable Growth
Supports research dedicated to advancing evidence-backed ideas and policies that promote strong economic growth. WCEG funds research across a range of research areas, including AI and the workforce, competition, inequality, labor, and macroeconomics.
World Bank Development Impact Fund*
Supports research through partnerships with university researchers working on topics related to economic growth, governance and institution building, and infrastructure and climate change in the international context. Invitation only.
More information on funders of social sciences and education research available here.
Supports research that advances evidence-based social policymaking and policy evaluation in key focus areas. Calls for applications focus on specific topic areas and study designs.
Carnegie Corporation of New York**
Supports research dedicated to strengthening democracy, through advancing civic learning, streamlining immigrant integration, and increasing international stability and security. Offers fellowships to scholars in the social sciences and humanities researching political polarization. Grants are invitation only.
Supports research related to its key focus areas of climate and clean energy, early childhood education, human rights (including immigration and criminal justice), and technology and society (including ramifications of AI developments). Invitation only.
Supports research focused on education on an international scale. Focus and eligibility varies by open calls, including early-career fellowships and international data collection collaborations.
Supports research dedicated to advancing racial equity and economic mobility in the Great Lakes region. Research project proposals are accepted in the focus areas of Education & Economic Mobility, Environment, and Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform.
Supports data-driven research related to the enrollment, persistence, and completion in adults in postsecondary education. Funds primary research to address knowledge gaps and synthesis of existing research.
Supports education research that cultivates learning and transforms lives, with additional interests in racial equity, the impact of artificial intelligence on education, and increasing educational opportunities. Awards research funding through Research Grants, Field Building Grants, and its annual initiatives.
Supports research focused on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people in the United States. Funds additional research related to its Special Topics; current Special Topics of note include Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, and Research Methods.
Supports research dedicated to helping children thrive, in areas related to early care and education, equality, and improving children’s health.
World Bank Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund
Supports research through its annual calls for applications, typically focused on evaluating impact of programs and policies to improve education, health, and early childhood development in low and middle income countries. The 2025 call for applications focuses on using technology to advance learning and skill development among vulnerable youth.
Supports institutions with transformative ideas and scalable solutions, as well as limited support for individual researchers and practitioners through fellowship opportunities. The foundation broadly funds research that addresses the underlying drivers of inequality in key focus areas. Invitation only.
Supports social science research that extends the methods, data, and theories of the social sciences as a means of better understanding the nation’s most pressing social, political, and economic problems. Funding is concentrated in its focus areas of Behavioral Science and Decision-Making; Future of Work; Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration; and annual initiatives.
Washington Center for Equitable Growth
Supports research dedicated to advancing evidence-backed ideas and policies that promote strong economic growth. WCEG funds research across a range of research areas, including AI and the workforce, competition, inequality, labor, and macroeconomics.
Supports research that advances evidence-based social policymaking and policy evaluation in key focus areas. Calls for applications focus on specific topic areas and study designs.
Carnegie Corporation of New York**
Supports research dedicated to strengthening democracy, through advancing civic learning, streamlining immigrant integration, and increasing international stability and security. Offers fellowships to scholars in the social sciences and humanities researching political polarization. Grants are invitation only.
Supports research across the humanistic social sciences, with a specific focus on strengthening the field of Asia studies, increasing interfaith understanding, and enriching the public discourse. Annual initiatives, reflecting the foundation’s transforming priorities, shape grantmaking.
Supports research dedicated to building vibrant and inclusive democracies and increasing governmental accountability. Grantmaking is concentrated in its four key focus areas of Democratic Practice, Equity in Governance, Future Worlds, and Rights and Dignity. Most grants are invitation only; occasional open calls and fellowship opportunities.
Supports research that advances evidence-based social policymaking and policy evaluation in key focus areas. Calls for applications focus on specific topic areas and study designs.
Supports research related to global health and development and several identified global catastrophic risks, including artificial intelligence. The focus of work on AI governance and policy should be on catastrophic risk on a global scale.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Supports health-related research on improving health systems, supporting healthy communities and families, and helping leaders address health challenges. Offers open calls for research proposals related to various topics in health equity.
Supports research dedicated to helping children thrive, in areas related to early care and education, equality, and improving children’s health.
World Bank Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund
Supports research through its annual calls for applications, typically focused on evaluating impact of programs and policies to improve education, health, and early childhood development in low and middle income countries. The 2025 call for applications focuses on using technology to advance learning and skill development among vulnerable youth.
Supports research across the humanistic social sciences, with a specific focus on strengthening the field of Asia studies, increasing interfaith understanding, and enriching the public discourse. Annual initiatives, reflecting the foundation’s transforming priorities, shape grantmaking.
Supports research in the humanistic social sciences in key focus areas of Arts and Culture, Humanities in Place, and Public Knowledge, as well as several Presidential Initiatives. Offers fellowships and grants in collaboration with other organizations that share its funding priorities.
Supports research in anthropology, archaeology, and related disciplines. Offers several grants and fellowships for scholars at various stages in their careers, as well as research that empowers those who have historically been the subject of anthropological research.
Supports research related to its key focus areas of climate and clean energy, early childhood education, human rights (including immigration and criminal justice), and technology and society (including ramifications of AI developments). Invitation only.
Supports research that aims to make the world a safer, fairer, and more sustainable place to live through occasional RFPs and grantmaking in key focus areas including Environment, Housing and Homelessness, International Human Rights, Issues Affecting Women, Learning Differences, and more.
Supports social science research that extends the methods, data, and theories of the social sciences as a means of better understanding the nation’s most pressing social, political, and economic problems. Funding is concentrated in its focus areas of Behavioral Science and Decision-Making; Future of Work; Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration; and annual initiatives.
More information on funders of social sciences and inequality research available here.
Funds innovative research in economics, among other topics in STEM. Makes grants in four key focus areas in economics, including the economics of caregiving.
Supports evidence-based solutions to challenges in topics related to inequality, including health care, infrastructure, higher education, climate and energy, and housing.
Supports Chicago-area projects that advance its priorities of expanding and advancing LGBTQ+ health, rights, and education and empowering communities of color. Invitation only.
Supports research dedicated to ensuring kids have strong families, increasing economic opportunity, and transforming struggling communities. Its grants are concentrated in four focus areas of Child Welfare, Community Change, Economic Opportunity, and Juvenile Justice.
Funds community-centered programs and interventions in the Chicagoland area, with a focus on addressing economic, social, and racial inequality. Primarily funds grants with nonprofit organizations and with direct community involvement.
Supports community power-building across Chicago (esp. on South and West sides) through several programs on arts, community growth, and journalism and storytelling. Primarily funds grants with nonprofit organizations and with direct community involvement.
Supports institutions with transformative ideas and scalable solutions, as well as limited support for individual researchers and practitioners through fellowship opportunities. The foundation broadly funds research that addresses the underlying drivers of inequality in key focus areas. Invitation only.
Foundation for Child Development
Supports research relevant to policy and practice, as well as advocacy and communications, to understand the systems which impact young children. Provides a limited number of research grants, as well as funding individual early-career scholars.
Supports projects fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the word. Four major areas of impact: health, gender equality, global development, and education.
Supports research related to its key focus areas of climate and clean energy, early childhood education, human rights (including immigration and criminal justice), and technology and society (including ramifications of AI developments). Invitation only.
Supports research dedicated to advancing racial equity and economic mobility in the Great Lakes region. Research project proposals are accepted in the focus areas of Education & Economic Mobility, Environment, and Gun Violence Prevention & Justice Reform.
Works to expand equity and opportunities through grantmaking in several areas, including health and climate inequality. Creates pathways for low-income communities to improve their life circumstances and join the economic mainstream. Primarily invitation only, with occasional open calls.
Offers grants in three areas: Arts Learning, Education, and Employment, to organizations with commitment to address persistent problems of urban Chicago.
Supports projects in Chicago and beyond centered on addressing local and global challenges, in topics including criminal justice, climate solutions, and community-building in Chicago.
Invests in projects to improve access to resources for children and families throughout Chicago. Supports improving early childhood education and thriving communities on the city’s South and West sides.
Supports programs in arts, culture, and the humanities, with a focus on social justice and advancing knowledge. Offers occasional open calls but primarily funds on an invite-only basis.
Michael and Susan Dell Foundation**
Invests in programs centered on expanding access to education and identifying innovative solutions to improve outcomes in education, healthcare, and economic stability.
Supports research that aims to make the world a safer, fairer, and more sustainable place to live through occasional RFPs and grantmaking in key focus areas including Environment, Housing and Homelessness, International Human Rights, Issues Affecting Women, Learning Differences, and more.
Supports research dedicated to building vibrant and inclusive democracies and increasing governmental accountability. Grantmaking is concentrated in its four key focus areas of Democratic Practice, Equity in Governance, Future Worlds, and Rights and Dignity. Most grants are invitation only; occasional open calls and fellowship opportunities.
Supports initiatives across Chicagoland oriented around three key goals, including building community wealth across generations and fostering participatory, multiracial democracy. Invite only until Fall 2026, after which requests for proposals will be released.
Invests in systems-level change and resourcing work related to equitable K-12 education, reducing and ending youth homelessness, philanthropic giving to organizations, and democracy resourcing.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation**
Supports health-related research on improving health systems, supporting healthy communities and families, and helping leaders address health challenges. Offers open calls for research proposals related to various topics in health equity.
Funds projects to harness technological innovation and novel partnerships to improve public health and advance meaningful economic opportunity, among other topics related to addressing inequality.
Supports social science research that extends the methods, data, and theories of the social sciences as a means of better understanding the nation’s most pressing social, political, and economic problems. Funding is concentrated in its focus areas of Behavioral Science and Decision-Making; Future of Work; Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration; and annual initiatives.
Supports education research that cultivates learning and transforms lives, with additional interests in racial equity, the impact of artificial intelligence on education, and increasing educational opportunities. Awards research funding through Research Grants, Field Building Grants, and its annual initiatives.
Funds initiatives in Chicago and Lake County across the education continuum, from early childhood education and care through college and career success. Supports projects on experiential learning, violence reduction, and mental health and wellbeing.
Invests in Chicago-area projects on environmental sustainability, migration and immigrant communities, Jewish life and culture, and more. Invitation only.
Supports research focused on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people in the United States. Funds additional research related to its Special Topics; current Special Topics of note include Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, and Research Methods.
Supports research and programs addressing youth inequality, including maternal health care, caregiver career pathways, early care and education, and racial inequality.
World Bank Development Impact Fund*
Supports research through partnerships with university researchers working on topics related to economic growth, governance and institution building, and infrastructure and climate change in the international context. Invitation only.
Carnegie Corporation of New York**
Supports research dedicated to strengthening democracy, through advancing civic learning, streamlining immigrant integration, and increasing international stability and security. Offers fellowships to scholars in the social sciences and humanities researching political polarization. Grants are invitation only.
Supports projects on identified potential “large-scale risks” of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and nuclear weapons through annual open calls. Past calls for applications have supported research on AI safety and governance and the humanitarian impacts of nuclear war.
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation*
Supports research on the causes, manifestations, and control of violence in the contemporary world, such as crime, war, and human aggression. Additional research topics of interest include terrorism, intimate-partner violence, and climate instability and resource-based conflict. Invitation only; open calls for applications are offered for several fellowship programs.
Supports research that contributes to important public debates and addresses public policy challenges in the U.S. Funds projects in its focus areas of International Security & Foreign Policy and Domestic Foreign Policy.
Brain and Behavior Research Foundation*
Supports psychological and neuroscientific research to alleviate the suffering caused by mental illness. Grantmaking is focused on basic research, development of new technologies, early intervention and diagnostic tools, and next generation therapies. Invitation only.
Supports interdisciplinary research and public engagement in key focus areas in line with its values and mission, prioritizing investment in bold ideas from contrarian thinkers. Research grants in the social sciences are awarded in its key focus areas of Character Virtue Development; Individual Freedom & Free Markets; Life Sciences; and Religion, Science, and Society.
Supports basic research in neurobiology, with specific interest in investigations of neural mechanisms involved in complex function of organisms, as relates to behavior.
More information on funders of social sciences and artificial intelligence research available here.
Supports original research and education related to science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and economics.
Supports institutions with transformative ideas and scalable solutions, as well as limited support for individual researchers and practitioners through fellowship opportunities. The foundation broadly funds research that addresses the underlying drivers of inequality in key focus areas. Invitation only.
Supports projects on identified potential “large-scale risks” of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and nuclear weapons through annual open calls. Past calls for applications have supported research on AI safety and governance and the humanitarian impacts of nuclear war.
Supports research related to its key focus areas of climate and clean energy, early childhood education, human rights (including immigration and criminal justice), and technology and society (including ramifications of AI developments). Invitation only.
Supports research related to global health and development and several identified global catastrophic risks, including artificial intelligence. The focus of work on AI governance and policy should be on catastrophic risk on a global scale.
Supports research dedicated to building vibrant and inclusive democracies and increasing governmental accountability. Grantmaking is concentrated in its four key focus areas of Democratic Practice, Equity in Governance, Future Worlds, and Rights and Dignity. Most grants are invitation only; occasional open calls and fellowship opportunities.
Supports interdisciplinary research and public engagement in key focus areas in line with its values and mission, prioritizing investment in bold ideas from contrarian thinkers. Research grants in the social sciences are awarded in its key focus areas of Character Virtue Development; Individual Freedom & Free Markets; Life Sciences; and Religion, Science, and Society.
Washington Center for Equitable Growth
Supports research dedicated to advancing evidence-backed ideas and policies that promote strong economic growth. WCEG funds research across a range of research areas, including AI and the workforce, competition, inequality, labor, and macroeconomics.