Top Priorities for Support

The University has identified the following funding entities as top priorities for support. If you are interested in pursuing an opportunity, contact the Corporate & Foundation Relations Office by clicking the button below.

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ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION

Founded by the late Alfred P. Sloan, who was for many years the President and C.E.O. of General Motors Corporation. He was active in the affairs of the foundation until his death in 1966. The Sloan Foundation makes grants in six general areas; basic research, public understanding of science, economic performance and quality of life. The Foundation is unique in its focus on science, technology, and economic institutions. It believes the scholars and practitioners who work in these fields are chief drivers of the nation’s health and prosperity. In each grant program, the Foundation seeks proposals for original projects led by outstanding individuals or teams.

  • Initial Approach: Letter of Interest; Contact Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Areas of Interest: Science, Retention, Economic Performance and Quality of Life, Public Policy
  • Websitewww.sloan.org

THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK

Founded by Andrew Carnegie to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding of teaching. Mr. Carnegie established the Carnegie Steel Company, which launched the steel industry in Pittsburgh, PA. During his lifetime, he personally donated over $300 million in gifts, including over $56 million for more than 2,500 municipal library buildings throughout the English-speaking world. Under Carnegie's will, grants must benefit the people of the United States, although up to 7.4 percent of the funds may be used for the same purpose in countries that are or have been members of the British Commonwealth, currently limited to selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The foundation is interested in projects involving international peace and security, the advancement of teaching, civic and democratic issues, dissemination of knowledge and higher education in Africa and Eurasia.

  • Initial Approach: Letter of Interest; Contact Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Areas of Interest: Teaching, Journalism, Higher Education, Islam, Democratic and Civic Engagement
  • Websitewww.carnegie.org

JOHN D. AND CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

Founded by the late John D. MacArthur, a Midwestern businessman and real estate magnate. He built a vast fortune, primarily through ownership and development of Bankers Life and Casualty Co. of Chicago, the largest health and casualty underwriter in the nation, as well as other businesses including considerable property in Florida and New York. U.S. Programs address issues in the United States, including community and economic development; housing, with a focus on the preservation of affordable rental housing; juvenile justice reform; education, with a focus on digital and media learning; and policy research and analysis on issues such as the implications of an aging society, America’s fiscal future, and the use of economic analysis in policy making.

  • Initial Approach: Varies; Contact Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Areas of Interest: Journalism, Health, Maternal Morbidity, Health Policy, Public Policy, Aging, Population Studies, Affordable Housing
  • Websitewww.macfound.org

THE LUMINA FOUNDATION

The mission of Lumina Foundation for Education is to expand access and success in education beyond high school, particularly among adults, first-generation college going students, low-income students and students of color. This mission is directed toward a single, overarching big goal; to increase the percentage of Americans with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025.

  • Initial Approach: Letter of Interest; Contact Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Areas of Interest: Retention, Next-Generation College Preparation, Adult Degree Completion, Higher Education
  • Websitewww.luminafoundation.org

THE NATHAN CUMMINGS FOUNDATION

The Nathan Cummings Foundation is rooted in the Jewish tradition and committed to democratic values and social justice, including fairness, diversity, and community. The Foundation seeks to build a socially and economically just society that values nature and protects the ecological balance for future generations; promotes humane health care; and fosters arts and culture that enriches communities.

  • Initial Approach: Letter of Interest; Contact Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Areas of Interest: Arts and Culture, Ecology. Health, Jewish Initiatives
  • Websitewww.nathancummins.org

THE SPENCER FOUNDATION

Concerned with advancing the learning and development of children and adults, Spencer is interested in studies that lead to better understanding and improvements in the intellectual, material, and organizational resources that contribute to successful teaching and learning. A key aim of research in this initiative is to support investigations of questions that are grounded directly in teaching practice as well as in research about important aspects of teaching and learning processes that hold promise for enriching opportunities to learn and for guiding informed policymaking.

  • Initial Approach: Letter of Interest; Contact Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Areas of Interest:Teaching, Learning and Instructional Resources, Organizational Learning, Purposes and Values of Education
  • Websitewww.spencer.org

W.M. KECK FOUNDATION

The W. M. Keck Foundation’s objective is to support outstanding science, engineering and medical research that will have a significant impact in solving complex issues and problems. The Foundation strives to fund endeavors that are distinctive and novel in their approach. It encourages projects that are high-risk with the potential for transformative impact. High-risk comprises a number of factors, including questions that push the edge of the field, present unconventional approaches to intransient problems, or challenge the prevailing paradigm. Transformative may mean creation of a new field of research, development of new instrumentation enabling observations not previously possible, or discovery of knowledge that challenges prevailing perspectives.

  • Initial Approach: Contact Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Areas of interest: Biological sciences; Chemistry; Computer science; Engineering; Life science; Marine science; Mathematics; Physical sciences
  • Websitewww.wmkeck.org