Grants for biological research centers

250 biology and life sciences research centers received at least $235.5 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 537 grants made from 449 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 449 foundations, 91% made just a single grant to bio research centers, and 1% made grants to four or more bio research centers. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$235,527,908
Total grant dollars given to biological research centers
537
Number of grants made annually to biological research centers
449
Number of grantmakers funding biological research centers
$1,000
Median grant size to biological research centers

Foundations that support biology and life sciences research centers

Out of all grants made to biological research centers, 76% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 89% of the dollar-value of grants to bio research centers. Foundations funding bio research centers also made grants to universities, land conservation groups, animal shelters, high schools, and food banks.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
343
Medium
 
41
Large
 
65
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
11
Private
 
372
Corporate
 
31
Other
 
35

Grants made

Grants made to bio research centersNumber of grantmakers
1
 
410
2-3
 
32
4-10
 
4
11+
 
3

Top 10 foundations supporting biology and life sciences research centers

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to bio research centersNumber of grants made to bio research centersMedian grant size
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational0.1%14$500
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational0.0%11$350
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.0%11$250
Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationWANational0.9%7$3,188,501
Chubb Charitable FoundationPANational0.1%6$200
Baird FoundationWINational0.1%5$500
Salesforce Com FoundationCANational0.0%4$50
J M Kaplan FundNYState0.2%3$4,000
Seattle FoundationWAState0.0%3$1,000
Florence V Burden FoundationNYNational0.4%3$1,000

Biology and life sciences research centers grantees

Biological research centers with more than $5 million in total revenues received 98% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 65% of all bio research centers.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
513
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
24

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$2,500
$100k-$500k
 
$1,000
$500k-$1M
 
$1,000
$1M-$5M
 
$1,000
>$5M
 
$1,500

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
New York
 
114
Virginia
 
53
Illinois
 
51
California
 
48
Other
 
271

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
98
Washington DC
 
94
Chicago
 
51
North Port
 
26
Other
 
190

Top 25 grants made to biological research centers

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Stanley Manne Childrens Research Institute$44,621,754Mission SupportAnn and Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Stanley Manne Childrens Research Institute$26,904,425Released From RestrictionAnn and Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
TB Alliance (TB Alliance)$23,850,000TuberculosisBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL)$12,838,392Cash ValueThe University of Chicago (UChicago)
Morgridge Institute for Research$12,474,822To Support Ongoing Research & EducationMorgridge Institute for Research
Morgridge Institute for Research$12,474,822Morgridge Institute for Research
New York Academy of Sciences$12,244,488Support for Scientific Research and KnowledgeBlavatnik Family Foundation
Morgridge Institute for Research$11,800,000See Program Service Accomplishments; Form 990, Part Iii, Line 4BWisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)
National Academy of Sciences$10,600,000For the Ford Fellowships Program for Predoctoral Dissertation and Postdoctoral FellowshipsThe Ford Foundation
Salk Institute for Biological Studies$8,359,623Civil Rights, Social Action, AdvocacyHopewell Fund
Jackson Laboratory$7,983,498The Jackson Laboratory's Next-Generation Research Mouse Production FacilityMaine Technology Institute (MTI)
CGIAR System Organization$6,396,694Agricultural DevelopmentBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI)$6,225,000Daf - EnvironmentCombined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston
Research Triangle Institute (RTI)$5,768,624Sub-AwardJohns Hopkins University (JHU)
Foundation for the National Institute of Health (FNIH)$5,294,112MalariaBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Southwest Research Institute$3,819,121Sub-AwardJohns Hopkins University (JHU)
iBiology$3,300,000Open AccessHoward Hughes Medical Institute
Foundation for the National Institute of Health (FNIH)$3,188,501MNCH Discovery and ToolsBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Truth Initiative$3,150,000Anti-Vaping Curriculum Truth InitiativeEast Bay Community Foundation (EBCF)
Jackson Laboratory$2,758,632ResearchThe Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation (MWRI)$2,700,000Community GrantHamot Health Foundation
Child Mind Institute$2,647,560HealthSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Foundation for the National Institute of Health (FNIH)$2,640,522TuberculosisBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Salk Institute for Biological Studies$2,511,185HealthSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Gordon Research Conferences (GRC)$5,000Development of Solutions To Improve Global HealthBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Biological research centers" category for this page is determined by the "U50: Biological, Life Science Research" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.