The Science Philanthropy Alliance’s mission is to advance scientific discovery through visionary philanthropy. We provide advising services and learning opportunities to help philanthropists make informed, effective, and satisfying investments in basic science. The Alliance also works to make philanthropic support more impactful and effective by helping both funders and researchers understand the broader emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities for philanthropy to support science. We do not make grants, match funders and researchers together, or accept proposals; however, our close engagement with funders enables us to share general resources like those below with research institution stakeholders interested in learning more about working with philanthropic organizations.

Events and Related Resources

• AAAS workshop: Philanthropy Launchpad: Elevating a Research Career with Foundation Support | February 16^th, 2024
  • Resources: event summary
• Research Institutions Meeting: Insights into Science Philanthropy | March 8-9^th, 2023
  • Resources: event summary; recordings and reading lists

Open Funding Calls

There are many well-maintained central hubs that collect open funding calls for both philanthropic and government support. The Alliance has curated a selection of freely available aggregate resources here.

Alliance Member Priorities

Many of our members have elected to share information here about their priorities and approaches. This includes links to their open funding calls, where relevant.

Working with the Alliance

Although research institutions are welcome to reach out to us about their experience with philanthropy, it is not our approach to pitch specific projects or institutions to funders. On limited occasions we may directly solicit a white paper from a project or initiative; this would be based on our familiarity with our members’ interests or a direct member request. Ways research institutions can engage with us include:

• Referring philanthropists to work with our experienced advisors. Many of the organizations we work with are connections made through referrals from research institution stakeholders.
• Following our website and social media for announcements and to stay aware of opportunities and access resources. We regularly share information about our members’ activities.
• Expanding the role of science philanthropy at your institution. Philanthropy is a key area of support but often left out of the conversation, and we encourage research and development teams to identify and highlight the ways philanthropy is already making a difference and where it has not yet reached.
• Amplifying your philanthropy stories in collaboration with the foundations that support you. We are always happy to hear news about our member foundations.
• Sharing your thoughts, ideas, and questions with us at researchinstitutions@sciphil.org. Knowing what is on your mind helps us shape events and develop resources.