Founders Pledge

Private foundation · EIN 37-1795297 · since 2020founderspledge.com·California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, United Kingdom, United States·Updated 13 October 2026

At a glance

$33M

Annual giving, 2023 tax year

From the Form 990-PF filing

$20,000 to $1.1M

Grant range

From grants in the 990-PF filings

$150k

Typical grant (median)

75 grants in the latest filing

Open to applications

Rolling, no deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

Apply only if your work is education or job, entrepreneurship or agriculture training in low- and middle-income countries, which is the programme area its website sets out; organisations working outside that area should look to other funders.
Applications are rolling, so you can send an expression of interest through the online form at any time, but the foundation says it is most likely to consider programmes with annual budgets above $1M, measurable impact and a substantial number of beneficiaries.
About 8 in 10 of its grants to organisations fall between $20,000 and $1,150,000, and half are $190,000 or less, so a request in that range fits typical grants, though its largest grant was $3,600,000.
In its latest filing, 47% of its grant dollars to organisations went to groups it had also funded the year before, so existing relationships may matter, and a first-time applicant should prepare a strong case.
For education work, show evidence of literacy or numeracy gains against a relevant comparison group; for training work, show evidence of increased participant income.

Overview

Founders Pledge is a US private foundation based in New York, NY.

What they fund

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

Founders Pledge uses a research-first approach to grantmaking, identifying promising interventions through its own research and supporting organisations that can deliver them at scale. It seeks effective charities working across a wide range of problems, including education, climate change and global risks such as nuclear war. Its thematic Funds focus on cause areas prioritised through extensive research, backing portfolios of organisations and promising solutions. Recipients are chosen through careful evaluations based on research and each Fund’s strategy. Its funding-request page sets out an interest in organisations running education or job, entrepreneurship or agriculture training programmes in low- and middle-income countries, with measurable impact, substantial reach and relevant evidence of outcomes.

Themes

Education
Climate change
Global risks
Animal welfare

Geographic Focus

No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in California, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Illinois, United Kingdom and the United States.

How to apply

Organisations operating programmes that fit the stated funding interests and criteria can submit an expression of interest through the online form. The page lists education and job, entrepreneurship or agriculture training programmes in low- and middle-income countries, and asks applicants to meet the criteria it sets out.

Application success factors

Repeat giving: In its TY2023 filing, 47% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 filing.
Grant size: Across its TY2022 and TY2023 filings, half of its 136 grants to organisations were about $190,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

It is most likely to consider programmes with annual budgets above $1M.
It is most likely to consider programmes that can demonstrate measurable impact.
It is most likely to consider programmes that already reach a substantial number of beneficiaries.
For education programmes, it looks for evidence of literacy or numeracy gains against a relevant comparison group.
For job, entrepreneurship or agriculture training programmes, it looks for evidence of increased participant income.

Where grants go

From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2023.

Grant dollars by state

California44%

Massachusetts17%

District of Columbia6%

Illinois5%

Texas4%

Pennsylvania3%

6 other states: 11%

Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 10%

The largest single recipient received 10% of grant dollars to organisations.
In tax year 2023, 47% of grant dollars went to organisations Founders Pledge had funded in earlier filings.
1% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, The Netherlands).
15% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.

Grants

75 grants in the latest filing analysed · median $150k

How much do they typically give?

Share of 75 grants in tax year 2023 by size

$5k–$10k1%

$10k–$25k15%

$25k–$50k7%

$50k–$100k15%

$100k–$250k20%

$250k–$500k13%

$500k–$1M11%

$1M and over19%

Median $150k (tax year 2023)

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

Tsinghua Education Foundation Na Inc · China carbon neutrality project of the institute of energy, environment and economy, tsinghua university for the components on retrofitting coal power, chinese international climate policy leadership
$2,540,0002023 tax year
Ukraine TrustChain · General support
$2,307,9562023 tax year
Clean Air Task Force · General support
$2,000,0002023 tax year
Center for Applied Rationality · General support of lightcone infrastructure and coordination project
$1,922,0002023 tax year
Alignment Research Center · General support of arc evals team
$1,846,0002023 tax year
ALLFED Institute · General support
$1,586,0002023 tax year
Manifold for Charity · General support
$1,241,0002023 tax year
Far AI · General support
$1,147,0002023 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

Officers and directors

David Klein — Director (From 12/2023)
Danielle Bayer — Director
Philippa Lawrence — Director
Sabrina Pourmand — Secretary
David Jonathan Goldberg — President / Treasurer
Rachel Ash — US Managing Director

From the latest Form 990-PF filing

2 years of tax filings

Year	Total expenses	Grants paid	Assets	Filing document
2022 tax year	$28,065,989	$25,054,234	$9,810,548	Filing for 2022 tax year
2023 tax year	$36,820,678	$33,029,496	$7,697,058	Filing for 2023 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.