Science
Here’s Why Open Philanthropy Is Doubling Down on Abundance
Australia’s Ainsworth Family Invests Big in Endometriosis Research
With Federal Support for Alzheimer’s Research Scrambled, Can Funders Fill In?
How the American Brain Foundation’s Targeting a Key Element in Neurological Health
A Funder-Backed Model to Translate Academic Science into Real-World Treatments
Psychedelics Research Needs Coordination. This Funder Collaborative Wants to Help
A Deep Dive into an HHS Document Itemizing Billions in Terminated Funding
One Way Philanthropy Can Help Defend the Planet from Asteroids
Philanthropy’s Essential Role in Filling Science Funding Gaps
Another Major Science Funder Dives into How Climate Change Affects Animal Brains
Why a Top Science Funder Is Centering AI in Its Support for Biology and Life Sciences Research
Why Three Top Science Philanthropies Think Open Source Software’s a Good Investment
We've written before about the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's grantmaking for the development of open source software to better enable and advance science research. CZI has been, if not alone, the highest-profile philanthropic funder of these unsung … [Read more...] about Why Three Top Science Philanthropies Think Open Source Software’s a Good Investment
How a New Philanthropy Advisory Firm Aims to Drive Science and Tech Innovation
Philanthropists and foundation professionals focused on science and technology often cite as one of the sector's key strengths its flexibility and willingness to fund out-of-the-box ideas, novel but potentially valuable research that can't land more … [Read more...] about How a New Philanthropy Advisory Firm Aims to Drive Science and Tech Innovation
What’s Next for the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation?
Centibillionaires Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer might be the richest philanthropists minted at Microsoft, but there’s another such figure whose philanthropic legacy is still very much evolving – even though he passed away in 2018. The late Paul G. … [Read more...] about What’s Next for the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation?
Neuroscience Funders Are Moving in Unexpected Directions: Three Boundary-Pushing Initiatives
All scientific disciplines are advancing, but few so fast and with such potential to impact our lives as the field of neuroscience. That's what Dana Foundation President Caroline Montojo told me last month when we discussed that foundation's newest … [Read more...] about Neuroscience Funders Are Moving in Unexpected Directions: Three Boundary-Pushing Initiatives
AI Is Here, for Better and for Worse. This Tech Funder Doesn’t Want to Leave It to the Marketplace
In late December last year, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation announced a new round of grants totaling $66.4 million to roughly 150 recipients developing artificial intelligence and other data solutions that advance the public good. That’s a … [Read more...] about AI Is Here, for Better and for Worse. This Tech Funder Doesn’t Want to Leave It to the Marketplace
Jim Simons Gave Billions for Basic Science in an Era of Short-Term Thinking
A Longtime Neuroscience Funder Pivots to Giving the Public a Voice in Research
If you're not a working research neuroscientist, you may not have heard of the Dana Foundation. But you've very likely heard of its founder, the late Charles A. Dana, via the more widely known Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It was back in 1950 that … [Read more...] about A Longtime Neuroscience Funder Pivots to Giving the Public a Voice in Research
Who’s Backing Archaeological Research? Here are Five Funders Digging Up the Past
Archaeology stands out among the humanities for the extent to which it’s been romanticized and sensationalized over the years. In your typical Hollywood treatment, whoever’s financially backing the work tends to figure in the plot, often bringing … [Read more...] about Who’s Backing Archaeological Research? Here are Five Funders Digging Up the Past
A Public-Private Cancer Funder Backs Team Science and Targets Inequities in Care and Outcomes
A set of sizable recent grants from Cancer Grand Challenges — a deep-pocketed global research funder — puts the focus on two areas of medical research increasingly common in philanthropic funding: cooperative team science and equity in healthcare. … [Read more...] about A Public-Private Cancer Funder Backs Team Science and Targets Inequities in Care and Outcomes
A Huge Gift to Cut Medical School Tuition Looks to Make a Dent in a Deep Systemic Problem
News broke this week of a $1 billion donation to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a gift that's earmarked to pay for tuition for all future students at the Bronx, New York, institution. It's the latest big philanthropic gift to address one of … [Read more...] about A Huge Gift to Cut Medical School Tuition Looks to Make a Dent in a Deep Systemic Problem
How CZI’s Tech Team Builds New Tools to Unlock Advances in Biomedical Research
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is atypical among grantmaking organizations for a few reasons. While it makes traditional grants to nonprofits — in areas like education, science, health, climate and justice — it's not technically a foundation or … [Read more...] about How CZI’s Tech Team Builds New Tools to Unlock Advances in Biomedical Research
Can Philanthropy and Government Work Together to Drive Socially Responsible Tech?
Technology, whether in the form of stone axes or cell phones, has always been part of human life and society, for better or for worse. Recently, people have begun asking how technology can be developed such that it falls more predictably on the "for … [Read more...] about Can Philanthropy and Government Work Together to Drive Socially Responsible Tech?
How the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Is Working to Ensure Equitable Access to Care
In the world of cancer research funding, there’s been a surging interest in equitable access to treatment, a trend we explored at length in our 2023 white paper on the topic. In the first in a series of follow-up posts on the topic, we took a closer … [Read more...] about How the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Is Working to Ensure Equitable Access to Care
How Two Bioscience Funding Giants are Partnering to Advance Synthetic Biology Research
The Allen Institute and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative share some DNA when it comes to their approach to research in the biosciences: both are interested in furthering what's called foundational science, the basic knowledge and tools that can help … [Read more...] about How Two Bioscience Funding Giants are Partnering to Advance Synthetic Biology Research
The Biggest XPRIZE Yet Seeks Therapies that Roll Back the Depredations of Aging
If death is our inescapable fate, it's probably safe to say that “old age” would be one of the preferred causes (along with "by chocolate"). But most people would probably also agree that it's not just years, but good health, that matters. To use the … [Read more...] about The Biggest XPRIZE Yet Seeks Therapies that Roll Back the Depredations of Aging
A Major Bequest Finally Puts the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence on Solid Financial Ground
For 40 years, the scientists of the SETI Institute have been scanning the galaxy for evidence of extraterrestrial life, and more specifically, intelligent life. But that’s a tough line of study for a research institute, what with so few philanthropic … [Read more...] about A Major Bequest Finally Puts the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence on Solid Financial Ground
Paul Allen’s Philanthropic Legacy Continues with Funding for a Brand-New Field of Health Research
Since Paul Allen’s death five years ago, the philanthropic instruments carrying on his vision have done so in part through an array of science funding, enabling open research into human and animal biology, and backing research teams and organizations … [Read more...] about Paul Allen’s Philanthropic Legacy Continues with Funding for a Brand-New Field of Health Research
Starting With a Big Boost for Rare Disease Research, This Couple Are Ramping Up Their Giving
A recently announced $17 million gift to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will be transformative for the recipient — itself the largest nonprofit regrantor for research into blood cancers. But the gift also signals a new strategic direction for the … [Read more...] about Starting With a Big Boost for Rare Disease Research, This Couple Are Ramping Up Their Giving
