Grants for STEM Education

Learn about STEM education grants by browsing our curated list of top STEM funders below. STEM grantmaking also occurs through Inside Philanthropy’s Grants for Science Research and Diseases Funders guides, which center on institutional and academic funding for scientists, engineers, doctors, medical researchers, and other professions related to STEM. can also research funding opportunities by using the search tool for Grant Finder. Become a member.

Since the 2007 publication of a National Academies report on the need to bolster U.S. competitiveness in science and technology, there has been a national focus on the importance of STEM education to jobs, prosperity, and innovation. 

According to the OECD’S latest PISA report, a global study of student assessment, American students lag behind peer nations in math, and perform just above average in science. Despite the number of American students pursuing STEM majors at the college level, fewer are actually working in STEM after graduation. Indeed, many STEM students end up pursuing other careers due to a perception that there are better jobs elsewhere. 

Further, the issue of whether there are too few or too many Americans educated for STEM jobs has been debated for years. According to Michael S. Teitelbaum, demographer and former vice president of the Sloan Foundation, there are no general shortages of scientists and engineers. Rather, he suggests, there are more science and engineering graduates in the U.S. than attractive positions available in the workforce. That said, in 2021, about a quarter of the U.S. workforce worked in STEM occupations (National Science Foundation).

Now, educators and nonprofits are asking how to prepare students for careers in the 21st century in light of the rise of AI, which could result in massive job losses in STEM and other fields. Ray Dalio, speaking about the rise of AI, echoes these concerns. In 2024, a significant drop in programmers suggests a turning point in job losses to AI.

Throughout all the debates and changes, women of all races and Latino, Black and Indigenous men have been underrepresented in the STEM workforce (NSF). Diversifying STEM and increasing opportunities for women and people of color in STEM has long been a priority of nonprofits and grantmakers in STEM education.

Where STEM education grants are going 

Philanthropy has been involved in supporting STEM education on all fronts, making grants for efforts ranging from research to curriculum development, teacher training and after-school programs. STEM education is a favorite funding area of corporations related to STEM and major donors, especially in technology, as well as foundations with education portfolios. Community foundations also make grants for STEM education, especially to support local schools and museums.  

Several major foundations are concerned with increasing the number of students who enroll in postsecondary education and graduate with the skills to meet the demands of the 21st-century workforce. Alongside more traditional investments in scholarships and research awards, innovative programs have taken off that seek to use technology to empower students and bridge the pathway from high school to college. 

Additional funding trends include high-profile gifts to cover medical school tuition, as well as grants to projects promoting science literacy throughout society.  

Philanthropy has significantly supported efforts to increase representation of women and girls and students of color in STEM. This work is threatened by the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.  Grantmaking for STEM education overlaps with grantmaking for K-12 education, higher education, science research, neuroscience research and diseases, additional philanthropic spaces for which IP has dedicated Grant Finder pages.

Much of the grant funding for STEM education goes to K-12 math programs, IP found in our State of American Philanthropy report on Giving for STEM Education. Grantmaking also supports college and university programs, including medical schools and engineering schools. Donors and grantmakers from the tech sector are increasingly supporting initiatives related to AI, such as Salesforce’s $20 million gift to “expand pathways into tech and AI careers,” as IP’s Connie Matthiessen reported. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has made a big investment in backing research by AI scholars. 

Grants are also made to science museums, teacher recruitment and teacher training programs, curriculum development, after-school programs, and nonprofits focused on improving access and outcomes for women and girls and students of color in STEM. 

Grants to increase science literacy throughout society support projects such as documentaries and STEM journalism.

Gaps in funding for STEM education 

While STEM education has been a priority of both private and public funding in recent decades, changes in the federal government could produce massive gaps in funding for STEM education. The U.S. government has been a major funder in this space, funding more than half of higher education research and development and supporting 15% of science and engineering graduate students in 2021, according to the National Science Foundation. Trump administration freezes, pauses or cuts to federal funding for science research and for all levels of education could have a disastrous impact on the field. 

Further, the administration’s anti-DEI campaign could harm decades-long work by nonprofits and the philanthropies that fund them to diversify STEM and make the field more equitable. Within weeks of Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute cut a $60 million program focused on making STEM education at the university level more inclusive, Science reported.