OVERVIEW: The Carnegie Corporation of New York supports education, democracy, voting & immigration, and international peace & security. It also invests in higher education and research in Africa.
IP TAKE: The Carnegie Corporation of New York is one of the oldest charitable organizations in the world, known for its staid support of organizations working in its areas of interest. An organization with gravitas, Carnegie is generally considered to be a nonpartisan outfit that’s committed to a traditional vision of a strong U.S. democracy and a pluralistic society. Lately, it’s been in a period of transition: in 2023, Carnegie welcomed a new president, Dame Louise Richardson, after the unexpected passing of longtime President Vartan Gregorian. There is no indication, however, that the foundation’s strategy and priorities are set to change direction, as Richardson has affirmed her commitment to the foundation’s giving legacy.
Carnegie is a transparent funder, with a searchable grants database on its website, but it is only somewhat accessible. Unsolicited grant proposals are not accepted, and questions about grants are referred to a generalized contact page. Staff bios are included on the website, but without accompanying email addresses. This funder has been in the philanthropy game for over a century, and many of its recipients are established organizations that have seen grants year after year. Carnegie also makes room for new grantees, but without many open calls for grant applications, it is not easy to pitch your work here.
PROFILE: The Carnegie Corporation of New York was founded in 1911 by the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, considered by some to be the “father of modern philanthropy.” The Carnegie Corporation is known as “America’s oldest grant making foundation.” During his lifetime, Carnegie wrote The Gospel of Wealth, which articulated his view of the rich as “trustees of their wealth who should live without extravagance, provide moderately for their families, and use their riches to promote the welfare and happiness of others.” While the foundation is based in New York, its scope is global, as it gives to major national and international organizations. Boasting over $4.5 billion in endowments, the corporation pursues a mission to “to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that Carnegie considered most important.” Its four main programs are Education, Democracy, International Peace and Security and Higher Education and Research in Africa.
Carnegie also offers revolving “special projects,” which currently include:
Grants for Education
Carnegie’s Education program is is largest giving area, with close to $60 million in grants going out the door in a recent year. The program focuses on education as a means to increased socioeconomic mobility and civic participation, especially among groups underrepresented in postsecondary completion rates. This program outlines two main focus areas.
- Education for Economic and Social Mobility supports direct interventions, schools and other programs that “increase the number of people on track to successfully complete a postsecondary pathway that leads to a mobility wage career.” Grants have supported initiatives for both K-12 and higher education success, as well as teacher and leadership development and related policy work. Grantees include the Urban Schools Human Capital Academy, Digital Promise, KIPP, the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools and the James B. Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, among others.
- A second focus area supports Education for Civic Participation. Grantmaking focuses on increasing youth and family participation in community and civic life. Grants from this subprogram have supported Generation Citizen, the Collective Change Lab, the Parent Institute for Quality Education and the National Center for Civic Innovation.
Grants for Global Development and Security
The corporation’s International Peace and Security program is its second largest, with annual grantmaking recently at about $48 million. This program works responsively to “build a more secure, peaceful, and prosperous world” across five focus areas.
- Nuclear Security is one of Carnegie’s longest-standing commitments, dating back to the 1980s. In recent years, however, the corporation has reinvigorated its work in this area as “the world is facing a new era of nuclear risk.” In 2025, the corporation launched a consortium of funders to coordinate and galvanize support for de-escalating nuclear threats, with millions earmarked for research on “emerging and disruptive technologies in the field.” Partners in the new consortium so far include Founders Pledge, Longview Philanthropy and PAX sapiens.
- Grantmaking for Global Dynamics focuses on “reducing the risks to global stability” through support research and analysis that will strengthen working relationships between governments in the Euro-Atlantic and Asia-Pacific regions. Specifically, this program focuses on U.S. relationships with Russia and China, as well as “emerging challenges” related to technological advances.
- The Arab Region Research and Scholarship focus area focuses on current issues relating to enduring tensions and conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Areas of particular interest include social science research, building “connections among relevant expert communities,” and policy transparency in the region.
- The goals of the Peacebuilding in Africa subprogram overlap with those of Carnegie’s Higher Education and Research in Africa program. Grants support the development of “sustainable peace” through “policy-relevant” research and input from scholars and other stakeholders. This program also prioritizes collaborative work and information sharing.
- The broader Cross-Cutting Challenges subprogram targets programs and initiatives that forge “connections between the policymaking and academic communities on critical peace and security issues.” A portion of this work focuses on new security challenges relating to “new technologies” and the spread of “misinformation and doctored content professing to be trustworthy news and facts.”
- Grantees of the International Peace and Security program include the National Committee on United States-China Relations, Partnership for a Secure America, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and the Henry L. Stimson Center, a think tank that focuses on international security and sustainability.
- Colleges and universities whose faculty are engaged in relevant research have also received significant funding from this program. Grantees include Georgetown University, Tufts University, the University of Minnesota and Columbia University, among others.
- The foundation appears to have recently ended its funding program for Higher Education and Research in Africa, as its webpage has been removed from the site and no recent grants have been awarded. The program’s past grantees include Makerere University in Uganda, the African Population and Health Research Center, the University of Ghana and the University of Witwatersand in South Africa.
Grants for Community Development, Civic Engagement, Democracy, Journalism, Immigrants and Refugees
Carnegie’s Democracy program is a somewhat smaller giving area, with annual giving at about $20 million recently. The aim of this program is to “to foster a fair, diverse, and vibrant democracy that welcomes and offers opportunities to all.” It names five focus areas that extend thematically to address issues related to journalism, immigration and community organizing.
- A subprogram for Alliance Building supports efforts to “bring together a left-to-right spectrum of viewpoints on civics, citizenship, and immigration” through the lens of the American tradition of pluralism.
- Field Building, similarly, works in the areas of civic engagement and immigration, but targets national nonprofits that connect, support and strengthen the infrastructure of smaller local and regional organizations.
- The Policy Development subprogram supports rigorous, nonpartisan research to inform state and federal policy on immigration, voter engagement and more.
- Carnegie’s Strategic Communications funding supports “intelligent, unbiased, nonpartisan news coverage to deepen public understanding of civic issues.”
- Giving for Nonpartisan Voter Engagement and Voting Rights targets initiatives to engage voters and protect the rights of eligible voters everywhere in the U.S. for national and state elections.
- Grantees of the Democracy program include the National Immigration Forum, the Center for Rural Strategies, Civic Nation and Defending Democracy Together.
- Carnegie also supports democracy via one of its special projects, the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program, which was revamped in 2024 to support research on “political polarization in the United States.” An inaugural cohort of 28 fellows at various career levels were selected in 2024. The fellowship includes a grant of $200,000 to help fellows “devote their time to significant research and writing.” Check the program page for the latest information about the nomination process.
- Another special program, Great Immigrants, recognizes immigrants who have “enriched and strengthened our democracy through their actions and contributions.”
Grants for Philanthropy
Philanthropy is not an area of significant grantmaking for the Carnegie Corporation, but it annually awards the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy to recognize “outstanding philanthropists who emulate the values of Andrew Carnegie and have embraced his philosophy of giving.”
Important Grant Details
The Carnegie Corporation’s grants range from about $10,000 to $5.2 million.
- Many Carnegie grantees receive multi-year support.
- Carnegie funds well established organizations, universities and institutes; a significant portion of its funding goes to research that serves as the basis for policy development in the corporation’s areas of interest.
- Carnegie’s staff works proactively to identify potential grantees, and unsolicited proposals are not accepted.
- Names and short bios of leadership and staff are provided on the website, although email addresses are not available.
- For information about past grantees, see the searchable grants database.
Submit general inquiries to the Carnegie Corporation via the contact page. The organization’s phone number is (212) 371-3200.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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