Foundation Funders
This archive features 59 published foundation profiles in the impact economy. Compare mandates, geographies, sectors, and check sizes across Foundation investors indexed on Causeartist. Open a profile for thesis detail, portfolio links, and application or contact information.
American Heart Association Social Impact Funds
Impact Fund, FoundationThe American Heart Association Social Impact Funds are investment vehicles managed by American Heart Association, focused on advancing health equity and improving cardiovascular outcomes. The funds invest in companies addressing social determinants of health, access to care, and innovations that reduce disparities in underserved communities.
By combining mission-driven capital with strategic partnerships, the platform supports startups and growth-stage companies working across healthcare, digital health, and community-based solutions that improve long-term health outcomes.
Health & WellnessUnited States
BlackRock Foundation
Corporate, Foundation, GrantmakerThe BlackRock Foundation is the philanthropic arm of BlackRock, focused on expanding financial security and economic opportunity for individuals and communities. The foundation supports nonprofit organizations and large-scale initiatives that improve access to savings, workforce development, and long-term financial well-being.
Through flagship programs like the $100 million Future Builders initiative and the Emergency Savings Initiative, BlackRock Foundation partners with nonprofits, employers, and public sector organizations to build resilient communities and create pathways to stable, well-paying careers.
Impact FinanceUnited States
Blue Meridian Partners
FoundationBlue Meridian Partners is a pioneering philanthropic model that brings together values-aligned philanthropists to find, fund, and scale solutions that increase economic and social mobility for young people and families in America. With an investor mindset, they provide transformative capital to social sector leaders expanding strategies that create opportunity and help break cycles of poverty.
The organization employs a rigorous, performance-based approach, treating grants as investments and measuring success through outcomes for people. They make long-term investments in strategies that help individuals reach key success markers from cradle to career, while also investing in organizations that influence public policies and build sustainable infrastructure for mobility over time.
Community DevelopmentUnited States
Common Fund for Commodities
FoundationThe Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) is an autonomous intergovernmental financial institution established within the United Nations framework. Established in 1989 with its first project approved in 1991, the CFC provides impact finance to small and medium enterprises, cooperatives, and governments in the commodity sector across developing countries. The organization focuses on creating economic opportunities and unlocking potential in commodity value chains, with particular attention to least developed countries and vulnerable markets. With 101 Member States and 9 Institutional Members, the CFC operates through various mechanisms including direct project financing, technical assistance, and specialized funds like the ACT Fund for climate-resilient agricultural systems.
Sustainable Food & AgricultureUganda
Knight Foundation
FoundationKnight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots that has been fostering informed and engaged communities for 75 years. The foundation invests in journalism, arts, and economic opportunity to support a more effective democracy and vibrant communities, focusing specifically on the 26 cities and towns where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once owned and operated newspapers.
Guided by the Knight brothers' belief that well-informed communities can best determine their own true interests and are essential to a thriving democracy, the foundation supports people, organizations, and insights that lead to healthier communities. Knight Foundation operates as a nonpartisan and community-centered organization, promoting access to information, free and creative expression, and inclusive economic growth across their target communities.
Arts, Culture & MediaUnited States
Kresge Foundation
FoundationThe Kresge Foundation is a strategic philanthropy located in metro Detroit that has been promoting human progress since 1924. The foundation works to expand opportunity in America's cities through grantmaking and social investing, with a central focus on advancing equity and dismantling barriers while building pathways to justice. Operating with six core values, Kresge centers diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of their work and funding approach. The foundation deploys over $160 million annually through grants, loans, and innovative financial tools to strengthen communities across the United States, with particular attention to effective and inclusive community development in urban areas.
Community DevelopmentUnited States
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
FoundationMargaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) is among the top ten foundations in the United States, supporting efforts to enhance quality of life and prevent suffering of children, families, and older adults. Founded by the late Margaret A. Cargill, the organization preserves and promotes the environment and arts while encouraging humane treatment of animals.
MACP operates through seven programmatic domains: Arts & Cultures, Disaster Relief & Recovery, Environment, Animal Welfare, Quality of Life, Teachers & Students, and Legacy & Opportunity. The foundation follows an invitation-based grantmaking process, partnering with capable organizations to make lasting differences for individuals and communities with particular attention to overlooked causes.
Impact FinanceMinnesota, United States
Minderoo Foundation
FoundationMinderoo Foundation is a proudly Australian philanthropy dedicated to forging a fair future by courageously challenging inequalities and campaigning for meaningful change. The foundation focuses on four key areas: uplifting communities to help all children in Australia reach their full potential, advancing gender equality so all people realize their inherent freedom and equality, protecting natural ecosystems for future generations, and responding agilely to existential threats and urgent challenges.
Minderoo maximizes impact by backing those closest to the problems they seek to solve, using a comprehensive approach that includes partnering with organizations through grants and impact investing, advocating for system change and policy reform, developing and testing solutions collaboratively, and generating evidence to drive meaningful change across their focus areas.
Impact FinanceAustralia
Mott Foundation
FoundationThe Mott Foundation is a century-old philanthropic organization that promotes a just, equitable and sustainable society through strategic grantmaking worldwide. Founded by automotive pioneer Charles Stewart Mott, the foundation operates from four offices across the U.S., England and South Africa to support nonprofits on a global scale. The foundation focuses on empowering communities through four core program areas: Civil Society, Youth Engagement, Environment, and Flint Area initiatives. Their approach emphasizes strengthening what founder Charles Stewart Mott called 'the capacity for accomplishment' by supporting individuals and institutions working together to create positive change in their communities.
Community DevelopmentUnited States
Mozilla Foundation
Grantmaker, FoundationMozilla Foundation is a global nonprofit organization working to build a healthier internet and more trustworthy technology ecosystem. As the parent organization of Mozilla Corporation, the foundation supports open-source innovation, ethical AI, digital rights, internet health, and community-driven technology initiatives.
Mozilla Foundation funds and supports technologists, artists, researchers, educators, and activists building alternatives to harmful digital systems and advancing technology that prioritizes people, transparency, equity, and public interest.
AI & TechnologyCalifornia, United States
Pharo Foundation
FoundationPharo Foundation is a mission-driven, impact-oriented organization that designs, funds, and operates economic development programmes toward a vibrant, productive, and self-reliant Africa. The foundation focuses on three core missions: education, water, and productivity, operating primarily in the Horn of Africa including Ethiopia, Somaliland, Rwanda, and Kenya. Distinguished as a privately funded organization, Pharo Foundation combines sustainable ventures with non-profit projects, prioritizing problem-solving, research, and economic empowerment. In 2019, the foundation expanded its approach by adding a commercial arm called Pharo Ventures, which operates for-profit social enterprises to complement its non-profit activities and create sustainable impact across the continent.
Community DevelopmentEthiopia
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Foundation, GrantmakerThe Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to transforming health in our lifetime through bold and innovative approaches. The foundation works collaboratively with others to achieve health equity faster and create a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a fundamental right for all. RWJF focuses on taking bold leaps to address systemic health challenges and promote inclusive solutions that benefit communities across the nation. The foundation operates with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing that achieving true health equity requires addressing the root causes of health disparities and working toward comprehensive transformation of health systems.
Health & WellnessJersey
Sobrato Family Foundation
FoundationThe Sobrato Family Foundation is the philanthropic arm of The Sobrato Organization, a multi-generational, family-owned firm based in Silicon Valley that has been operating for over 65 years. The foundation advances the Sobrato family's collective philanthropic interests by promoting access to high-quality education, career pathways, and essential human services to make Silicon Valley a place of opportunity for all its residents.
The foundation partners with communities to ensure long-term economic, social, and environmental resilience. They operate programs like the Impact Lab, which provides nonprofit organizations with peer-to-peer and expert-led learning opportunities over 18-month periods. The Sobrato Family is committed to building a strong and vibrant Silicon Valley community through both business and philanthropic leadership, leveraging their extensive real estate and investment expertise to support their charitable goals.
Community DevelopmentCalifornia, United States
Society for Science
FoundationSociety for Science is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting science through comprehensive education programs, prestigious science competitions, and publications including Science News magazine and Science News Explores. The organization operates world-class science research competitions for students, including the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, which nurture and celebrate young innovators tackling the world's most challenging problems.
Their mission centers on expanding scientific literacy, effective STEM education, and scientific research through informing, educating, and inspiring communities. The organization operates as a membership-based nonprofit focused on promoting understanding and appreciation of science and its vital role in human advancement. They provide various programs including STEM outreach, teacher conferences, research grants, and educational resources to support scientific learning at multiple levels.
Society for Science has been a champion for science education and research for more than 100 years, creating significant impact in the scientific ecosystem by identifying and supporting future scientific leaders. Their competitions and programs create lifelong connections that empower the next generation of scientists and researchers. The organization's sustained commitment to scientific advancement has helped shape the careers of countless young scientists who go on to make breakthrough discoveries and innovations.
EducationUnited States
T1D Fund
FoundationT1D Fund is the world's first scaled venture fund dedicated exclusively to type 1 diabetes, operating as an impact investment fund that supports promising companies through equity investments and expertise. They focus specifically on accelerating treatments, prevention, and cures for the approximately 9 million people living with T1D globally.
The fund operates as a powerful platform for collaboration, using catalytic capital and expertise to de-risk investments and create a flywheel effect that attracts other investors to the T1D space. As a wholly owned, not-for-profit independently run subsidiary of Breakthrough T1D, they leverage their intellectual capital and expert network to offer comprehensive support to portfolio companies, steering them through regulatory, clinical, and commercial milestones.
With over $200 million in assets under management and 25+ active portfolio companies, T1D Fund creates significant impact in the diabetes ecosystem by reinvesting 100% of returns to propel continuous progress. Their unique position as subject matter experts combined with access to Breakthrough T1D's extensive network of research, clinical, and medical expertise enables them to transform the landscape of T1D investment and accelerate the development of life-changing therapies.
Health & WellnessUnited States
Wellspring Philanthropic Fund
Foundation, GrantmakerWellspring Philanthropic Fund operated for 25 years as a foundation dedicated to supporting human rights and social and economic justice for all people. From its launch in 2001 until its planned wind-down by 2028, Wellspring maintained a grantmaking approach rooted in respect for human dignity and worth. The foundation supported thousands of organizations working to strengthen communities both in the U.S. and globally, with a particular focus on addressing systemic drivers of inequity, building power among marginalized communities, and countering structural discrimination. Wellspring believed that social justice movements should employ means consistent with their ideals while giving agency to the people whose interests they seek to advance.
Impact FinanceUnited States