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Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation

Annual Giving
$27.7M
Grant Range
$26K - $0.6M
Decision Time
8mo
Success Rate
3%

Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $27.7 million (2024)
  • Success Rate: ~3.3% overall for Beckman Young Investigator Program (10% if invited to full proposal)
  • Decision Time: 7-9 months for Young Investigator; ~6 months for Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Grant Range: $26,000 - $600,000 (varies by program)
  • Geographic Focus: United States only
  • Total Awards (2024): 228 grants awarded

Contact Details

Address:
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
100 Academy
Irvine, CA 92617

Phone: 949-531-0400
Website: https://www.beckman-foundation.org/
Email: [email protected] (media inquiries)
Media Contact: Kaerie Ray, Communications Officer – 949-560-4232, [email protected]

Overview

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation was established in September 1977 by Dr. Arnold O. Beckman, founder of Beckman Instruments and inventor of the pH meter, and his wife Mabel. Originally intended to disburse its endowment within the Beckmans' lifetimes, the Foundation was restructured in 1990 to operate in perpetuity. The Foundation's mission is to support research in chemistry and the life sciences, broadly interpreted, and particularly to foster the invention of methods, instruments, and materials that will open up new avenues of research in science. In 2024, the Foundation awarded $27.7 million across 228 grants, focusing primarily on early-career researchers. The Foundation's endowment grew by $70 million in 2024 from investment gains. Dr. Beckman's legacy continues through the Foundation's emphasis on supporting young scientists with bold, high-risk research goals, reflecting his belief that "many new scientists struggle to get their first major independent grant, especially if they are interested in research departing from their prior work."

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

1. Beckman Young Investigator (BYI) Program

  • Amount: $600,000 over 4 years ($150,000 annually)
  • Target: Early-career faculty members in chemistry and life sciences
  • Focus: High-risk, innovative research; invention of methods, instruments, and materials
  • Application: Annual cycle; Letter of Intent (June-August), full proposal by invitation only, interviews in late March/early April
  • Eligibility: U.S. citizens or permanent residents; faculty with less than $225,000 in annual external funding

2. Beckman Scholars Program

  • Amount: $156,000 per institution over 3 years (funding 6 undergraduate students at $26,000 each)
  • Breakdown per scholar: $18,200 student stipend, $2,800 scientific supplies/travel, $4,800 mentor research supplies, $200 institutional contact
  • Target: Exceptional undergraduate students at selected institutions
  • Duration: 15-month mentored research experience (two summers + one academic year)
  • Application: Institutional applications only; one application per institution
  • 2025 Awards: More than $2.1 million for 84 scholars at 14 institutions

3. Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship

  • Amount: $224,000 over 2 years (salary, benefits, research); Year 3 renewal: $118,000; Instrumentation fellowships: additional up to $200,000
  • Target: Postdoctoral scholars in fundamental chemistry or chemical instrumentation development
  • Application: Portal open June-September; notifications in mid-March
  • 2024-2025: 14 fellows awarded, totaling more than $4.3 million over three years

4. Beckman Center for Advanced Light-Sheet Microscopy and Data Science

  • Amount: Up to $1.2 million per site
  • Focus: Instrumentation acquisition, development, maintenance; data science collaborations
  • Application: Rolling basis

5. Orange County Community Support Grants

  • Amount: Typically $25,000-$100,000
  • Geographic Focus: Orange County, California only
  • Focus: Innovative STEM/STEAM activities and education
  • Application: Email submissions accepted on rolling basis; must submit at least 3 months before project start
  • Eligibility: U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations serving Orange County

Priority Areas

  • Chemistry and life sciences research
  • Development of new scientific methods, instruments, and materials
  • High-risk, innovative research with transformative potential
  • Early-career researcher support
  • Research that represents a departure from prior work rather than an extension
  • Chemical instrumentation builds and innovation
  • STEM/STEAM education (Orange County community grants only)

What They Don't Fund

  • Overhead and indirect costs (explicit policy across all programs)
  • Non-U.S. organizations or institutions
  • U.S. National Laboratories or service academies
  • Clinical research, clinical trials, or single-target drug discovery projects
  • Projects with substantial existing funding (BYI Program)
  • General institutional expenses
  • General fundraising campaign expenses (dinners, mass mailings)
  • "Matching scholars" for institutions (Beckman Scholars Program)
  • Established, well-funded projects of long duration (preference for new ideas and young investigators)

Governance and Leadership

Executive Director and CEO: Dr. Anne Hultgren (joined 2015)
Dr. Hultgren holds a PhD in Physics and Astronomy from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in Physics and Mathematics from Franklin and Marshall College. She previously worked at the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, focusing on chemical and biological defense technologies.

Governance Structure: The Foundation is overseen by a Board of Directors, with Dr. Hultgren providing executive leadership and strategic direction.

Leadership Philosophy

Dr. Hultgren and the Foundation operate under the principle that "many new scientists struggle to get their first major independent grant, especially if they are interested in research departing from their prior work." The Foundation aims to fill this gap and support young scientists with bold research goals to start them on successful career paths, honoring Dr. Arnold O. Beckman's preference to "favor young investigators, new ideas, and a variety of projects rather than fund large, established ones of long duration."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Beckman Young Investigator Program:

  1. Letter of Intent (LOI): Submit through online portal (generally open June-August)
    • Required: PI profile, scanned citizenship/permanent residency documentation, four-page pre-proposal (inclusive of images and citations)
    • Funding limit: No more than $225,000 in direct, annualized external funding at LOI and full application deadlines
  2. Full Proposal: By invitation only (~100 invited from ~300 LOIs)
  3. Interview: By invitation only (~14 finalists invited to Irvine, CA for presentation in late March/early April)
  4. Award: ~10 awards made annually

Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship:

  • Application portal open June-September
  • Submit through online application system

Beckman Scholars Program:

  • Institutional applications only
  • One application per institution
  • Institutions in Year 1 or Year 2 of current awards are ineligible
  • Institutions in final year of current award may reapply

Orange County Community Grants:

  • Email submissions on rolling basis
  • Must submit at least 3 months prior to planned project start date
  • Must be submitted by U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization

General Application Guidelines:

  • The Foundation "strongly urge applicants to submit early to avoid website traffic and last-minute mishaps"
  • Firmly adheres to predetermined deadlines with no exceptions for late applications
  • U.S. citizenship or permanent residency required at time of award
  • Applicants with conditional permanent residency who have received Form I-797 are eligible
  • Those who have applied for permanent residency but not received documentation are eligible to apply but must receive documentation before interviews/awards

Decision Timeline

Beckman Young Investigator Program:

  • LOI submission: June-August
  • Full proposal invitation: Fall
  • Interview invitation: ~14 finalists invited
  • Interviews: Late March/early April
  • Total timeline: 7-9 months from LOI to final decision

Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship:

  • Application: June-September
  • Notification: Mid-March
  • Total timeline: ~6 months

Beckman Scholars Program:
Timeline not publicly specified; institutional award covers three years

Orange County Community Grants:
Rolling basis; minimum 3-month advance notice required

Success Rates

Beckman Young Investigator Program (most competitive):

  • ~300 applications received annually
  • ~100 invited to submit full proposals (33% advance rate)
  • ~14 invited to interview (14% of full proposals)
  • ~10 awards made (3.3% overall success rate; 10% from full proposals; 71% from interviews)

Other Programs:
Success rates not publicly disclosed

Reapplication Policy

Beckman Young Investigator Program:
No individual may apply more than two times (including LOI submissions)

Beckman Scholars Program:

  • Institutions receiving awards cannot apply again until after their three-year term ends (e.g., 2026 awardees ineligible until 2029)
  • Institutions in their final (third) year are eligible to reapply
  • Institutions in Year 1 or Year 2 are ineligible

Feedback Policy:
The Foundation provides limited written feedback on unsuccessful applications but is unable to provide additional critical commentary via telephone, meeting, or email due to administrative requirements.

Application Success Factors

Foundation's Stated Priorities

Innovation and Risk:
Projects "should be truly innovative, high-risk, and show promise for contributing to significant advances in chemistry and the life sciences." They "should represent a departure from current research directions rather than an extension or expansion of existing programs."

Instrumentation and Methods:
Proposals that "open new avenues of research in chemistry and life sciences by fostering the invention of methods, instruments and materials will be given additional consideration."

Institutional Focus:
For the Beckman Scholars Program, the Foundation advises: "Try not to worry about what other institutions are doing or proposing. Rather, focus on what makes your institution and its students unique and a particularly good fit for the goals of the Beckman Scholars Program."

Recent Funded Projects

2025 Beckman Young Investigator Projects: Projects span diverse areas from "developing new methods to directly probe chirality-induced spin selectivity to imaging the role of topological surface states in efficient heterogeneous catalysis to integrating synthetic and natural nanomaterials for next generation immunotherapy." For example, Dr. James Gaynor (Northwestern University) will develop new tools to probe how an electron's spin and motion interact with the shape of its molecule.

2024 Beckman Young Investigator Projects: Work includes "creating vaccines that match immunity at the pace of viral mutation to synthesizing ammonia at room temperature and pressure for global fertilizer production to designing tools that detect cell-specific patterns of RNA modification."

Review Process

The Foundation employs a "rigorous and thorough review process in all programs, calling upon panels of outside experts to recommend the top applicants for awarding." The application process uses blinded reviews at initial stages to reduce institutional prestige bias, ensuring proposals are evaluated on scientific merit.

Strategic Considerations

Funding Limits Matter:
For the BYI Program, proposals with substantial existing funding will not be considered. The $225,000 annualized external funding cap is strictly enforced (excluding start-up funds, department-wide instrumentation grants, and transition grants like NIH K99/R00).

Submit Early:
The Foundation emphasizes submitting early to avoid technical issues and strictly enforces deadlines.

Eligibility Documentation:
Ensure citizenship/permanent residency documentation is ready and valid before the interview stage for BYI applicants.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Target high-risk, innovative research: The Foundation explicitly seeks bold, transformative projects over incremental advances. Proposals should demonstrate departure from prior work, not extensions of existing research.

  • Emphasize methods, instruments, and materials development: Projects that invent new scientific tools and methodologies receive additional consideration, honoring Dr. Beckman's legacy as an instrument inventor.

  • Early-career focus is paramount: The Foundation prioritizes young investigators who struggle to secure their first major independent grants. Established researchers with substantial funding are explicitly excluded from BYI.

  • Understand the highly competitive landscape: With a 3.3% overall success rate for BYI, applications must be exceptional. Making it to the full proposal stage (33% advance rate) significantly improves odds to 10%.

  • Submit early and ensure eligibility: The Foundation strictly enforces deadlines and eligibility requirements (citizenship, funding limits). Technical compliance is non-negotiable.

  • Be prepared for limited reapplication opportunities: With only two attempts allowed for BYI and multi-year waiting periods for institutional programs, each application must be highly polished.

  • No overhead or indirect costs allowed: Budget accordingly, as all grant funds must go directly to research activities, not institutional administration.

References

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