Foundations · IRS 990 filings
Education foundations in the United States
- 53,084
- foundations
- $95.59B
- grants paid in all causes, FY2021–FY2025
- 13,357
- say they accept unsolicited
- $6,247
- median grant
Grantlas lists 53,084 foundations across the United States that fund education — 51,438 private foundations and 1,646 grantmaking charities such as community foundations and United Ways — from their 990-PF and Form 990 filings for FY2021–FY2025. Together they paid out $95.59 billion in grants across all causes in their latest filing year, and 13,357 of them (25%) say they accept unsolicited requests. The most common home states are California (4,921), New York (4,745) and Texas (4,032).
We read a grant’s purpose from the recipient and the purpose line on the 990-PF or Form 990, and 64% of the grant lines on file say enough to place. So each figure below is a floor — at least this much went to education — and the foundation may well have given more.
Top 25 of 53,084 foundations
Ranked by what each foundation gave to education in its latest filing.
| Funder | Unsolicited requests | Median grant | Education grants, latest filing | Grants paid, latest filing | Filing year | Fit score & contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lilly Endowment IncIndianapolis, IN | Accepts | $50,000 | $1.53B | $3.86B | FY2025 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Gates FoundationSeattle, WA | Accepts | $500,000 | $1.2B | $6.31B | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The Bloomberg Family Foundation IncNew York, NY | Invitation only | $1.5M | $442.2M | $1.02B | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Musk FoundationAustin, TX | Invitation only | $1M | $393.3M | $474.3M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Silicon Valley Community FoundationMountain View, CA · Community foundation | Not stated | $51,717Over $5k only | $383.5M | $3.33B | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Walton Family Foundation IncBentonville, AR | Invitation only | $200,000 | $293.8M | $521.7M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Jewish Communal FundNew York, NY · Federation | Not stated | $24,800Over $5k only | $217M | $1.02B | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The Andrew W Mellon FoundationNew York, NY | Accepts | $500,000 | $213.9M | $555M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Knight FoundationBeaverton, OR | Invitation only | $7.5M | $182M | $226.5M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Foundation for the CarolinasCharlotte, NC · Community foundation | Not stated | $25,000Over $5k only | $172.1M | $804.5M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The Chicago Community TrustChicago, IL · Community foundation | Not stated | $25,870Over $5k only | $158M | $1.23B | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Gordon E and Betty I Moore FoundationPalo Alto, CA | Invitation only | $200,000 | $148.5M | $403M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The Simons Foundation IncNew York, NY | Invitation only | $72,000 | $131.8M | $272M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Charter Fund Inc D/B/A Charter School Growth FundDenver, CO · Grantmaking charity | Not stated | $250,000Over $5k only | $126.8M | $150.1M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The Norman R Rales and Ruth RalesWashington, DC | Invitation only | $115,000 | $126.3M | $131.8M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Sequoia Climate FoundationIrvine, CA | Invitation only | $1M | $126.2M | $305.4M | FY2023 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Michael & Susan Dell FoundationAustin, TX | Accepts | $19,324 | $114.8M | $163.8M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The Duke EndowmentCharlotte, NC | Accepts | $200,000 | $114.3M | $251.2M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Greater Kansas City Community FoundationKansas City, MO · Community foundation | Not stated | $20,000Over $5k only | $109.8M | $357.8M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Clark Charitable Foundation IncChevy Chase, MD | Invitation only | $350,000 | $105.7M | $187M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| City FundBeaverton, OR · Public foundation | Not stated | $150,000Over $5k only | $102.1M | $109.3M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The William & Flora Hewlett FoundationMenlo Park, CA | Accepts | $150,000 | $98.7M | $625M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The Ford FoundationNew York, NY | Accepts | $100,000 | $96.3M | $844.7M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| Foundation to Promote Open SocietyNew York, NY | Invitation only | $257,214 | $96.2M | $481.5M | FY2024 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
| The Susan Thompson Buffett FoundationOmaha, NE | Invitation only | $503,118 | $93.5M | $1.46B | FY2025 | Locked: fit score and contactsLocked |
- Median grant comes from each funder’s grant schedule; a dash means there is none to report. Community foundations and other charities list only grants over $5,000, so their figures run high.
- A dash in that column means we could not read any education grants in this foundation's schedule — not that it gave nothing to education.
Data from 990-PF and Form 990 filings, FY2021–FY2025. Updated November 8, 2026.