The Vallee Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The Vallee Foundation's website says it works by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so a small charity should not send a cold proposal.
- Its stated focus is biomedical research and medical education, with a worldwide geographic focus, so the work needs to sit squarely in those areas to fit.
- Its Scholar Awards go to early-career investigators nominated by institutions its Board selects, and the website describes no application route for organisations for its other programmes, so the sensible first step is to check whether your work matches its named themes and then seek an introduction.
- If an invitation does come, typical grants reported have fallen between $10,000 and $340,000, with half of its grants to organisations at $340,000 or less, and reviewers weigh a candidate's potential as much as the proposed research, so the process looks relationship-led rather than open to competition.
Overview
The Vallee Foundation is a US private foundation based in Cambridge, MA.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Vallee Foundation focuses on biomedical scientific research and medical education, aiming to foster originality, creativity and leadership and to promote scientific dialogue and collaboration internationally. Its Scholar Awards provide flexible, unrestricted support to exceptional early-career investigators undertaking basic biomedical research; nominations come from institutions selected by its Board. Its Visiting Professorships pair outstanding scientists with biomedical research institutes worldwide to promote intellectual exchange and new partnerships. The Foundation also convenes symposia and meetings for visiting professors, scholars and other scientists to discuss biomedical research, and its distinguished lectures celebrate women's achievements in biomedical sciences. Through its diversity work it supports historically under-represented minorities and a partnership scholarship initiative for undergraduates in STEM at historically black colleges and universities.
Themes
- Basic biomedical research
- Medical education
- Biomedical collaboration
- Women in biomedical sciences
- Under-represented minorities
- Undergraduate STEM scholarships
Geographic Focus
Worldwide.
How to apply
For the Vallee Scholar Awards, an investigator must be nominated by an institution selected by the Foundation Board; each selected institution may submit one nominee. The website does not describe an application route for organisations for its other programmes.
Application success factors
- Grant size: Across its TY2022 and TY2023 filings, half of its 12 grants to organisations were $340,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- Reviewers weigh a candidate's potential as much as the proposed research.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 56%
- The largest single recipient received 13% of grant dollars to organisations.
- 56% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Germany).
- 4% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Barcelona Institute Of Science Tech · Vallee scholar award$340,0002023 tax year
- Williams-Franklin Foundation · Undergraduate grants$60,0002023 tax year
- American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology · Bert & natalie vallee award$10,0002023 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Karen Vousden — Director
- Lewis Cantley — Vice President / Director
- Michael F O'Connell — Counsel
- Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker — Director
- Dame Carol Robinson — Director
- Sheila Ohlund — Director
- Evangelina Nogales — Director
- Elizabeth Huidekoper — Assistant Treasurer / Director
- Peter M Howley — President / Director
- Wade Harper — Director
- Jesper Z Haeggstrom — Director
- Peter Campot — Treasurer / Director
- Alexa M Mason — Executive Director / Secretary
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $3,394,444 | $2,305,000 | $55,658,787 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $3,290,610 | $2,230,000 | $61,436,816 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $3,453,106 | $2,200,000 | $64,822,709 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
🎯 You've done the research. Now write an application they can't refuse.
Hinchilla combines funder's specific priorities with your organisation's past successful grants and AI analysis of what reviewers want to see.
Data privacy and security by default
Your organisation's past successful grants and experience
AI analysis of what reviewers want to see
A compelling draft application in 10 minutes instead of 10 hours
Spotted something that needs correcting? Let us know
At a glance
Applying to The Vallee Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Cambridge, MA
- thevalleefoundation.org
Applying to The Vallee Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- Cambridge, MA
- thevalleefoundation.org