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California · Private foundation

The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation

Its FY2024 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$244M
Granted FY2024(still arriving)
379
Grants FY2024
170
Organizations funded FY2023
63%
First-time grantees FY2023
Read the full brief
Median grant, FY2024
$100,000
Largest grant, FY2024
$12,500,000
Organizations funded a year
59 to 170
FY2018 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024
30
Total assets, FY2024
$1.6B
Applications
Preselected organizations only
Per its most recent filing; check its own site

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 63% of the organizations The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 38% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 62% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $71M went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’19’20’21’22’23
EducationInternationalScience & TechEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementPublic BenefitOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.
The numbers by year
Fiscal yearOrganizations fundedTo those organizationsFirst-time grantees
FY2024still arriving261$222M62%
FY2023170$186M63%
FY2022146$93M79%
FY202171$25M70%
FY202081$34M64%
FY201959$58M71%
FY201866$23Mn/a
100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Science & Tech$279MEducation$177MSocial Science$56MEnvironment$36MPhilanthropy$30MInternational$21MPublic Benefit$20MHealth$18MOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
VT
WA
ID
MT
ND
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
SD
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
UT
CO
MO
KY
VA
MD
DE
AZ
NM
KS
TN
NC
DC
HI
LA
GA
TX
FL

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2018 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Show all 291 grantees
All grantees of The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation by total granted
GranteeTotal grantedYearsShare of their budget
Convergent Research Inc$67,028,169381%
California Institute of Technology$26,019,46730%
Future House Inc$19,200,000246%
The Barack Obama Foundation$10,000,00015%
Digital Harbor Foundation$9,594,431213%
Cambridge in America$8,932,701314%
University of Chicago$8,869,83430%
New York University$8,558,27540%
University of Washington Foundation$6,557,48622%
Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University$5,830,00071%
Science and Technology Futures Inc$4,330,000342%
Johns Hopkins University$4,208,00030%
Carnegie Mellon University$3,911,71130%
The Trustees of Princeton University$3,819,26230%
Ohio State University Foundation$3,500,00040%
Ganna Walska Lotusland$3,500,000125%
University of Utah$3,150,0005n/a
Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation$3,000,00022%
Swaniti Initiative$3,000,000232%
Cornell University$2,917,16330%
Chancellor Masters & Scholars of the University of Oxford$2,670,96310%
University of Rochester$2,504,25920%
Uc San Diego Foundation$2,473,61411%
Homeworld Collective Inc$2,350,000235%
Regents of the University of Michigan$2,333,8571n/a
University of Washington$2,150,5031n/a
Activate Global Inc$2,125,000230%
Carnegie Learning Inc$2,100,0004n/a
University of North Carolina at Chapel H Arts & Sciences Foundation$2,043,25017%
National Academy of Sciences$2,039,99830%
Worcester Polytechnic Institute$2,000,00030%
The Craft Education System$1,981,2002n/a
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai$1,950,00010%
US Digital Response$1,929,613314%
Battelle Memorial Institute$1,888,49010%
Yale University$1,810,0003n/a
Science for America Inc$1,800,000111%
Mission Asset Fund$1,750,00014%
Every Cure Inc$1,693,890234%
Northeastern University$1,600,61830%
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System$1,600,0002n/a
Merit America$1,529,000318%
Regents of the University of California at San Diego$1,515,2603n/a
United Way of Dane County Inc$1,500,00024%
Kqed Inc$1,500,00012%
Upwardly Global$1,500,00025%
Climb Hire Inc$1,496,000221%
National Center for Civic Innovation In$1,450,00036%
University of Arizona Foundation$1,448,25411%
Teachers College Columbia University$1,350,00021%
Regents of the University of Colorado$1,273,1281n/a
Propel America$1,250,000215%
Atlantic Council of the United States Inc$1,250,00022%
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems$1,250,000137%
Actuate Innovation Inc$1,200,0001n/a
Economic Justice Institute Inc$1,100,0001n/a
Organ Alliance Inc$1,000,000246%
The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles$1,000,00014%
Global Fund for Women Inc$1,000,00013%
Southern Education Foundation Inc$1,000,00028%
University of Colorado Foundation$1,000,00020%
Meridian Prime Inc$1,000,0001n/a
Precision Development Inc$1,000,000218%
Institute for Advanced Study - Louis Bamberger & Mrs Felix Fuld Foundation$1,000,00012%
Social Finance Inc$999,99932%
The Energy for Growth Hub Inc$998,306120%
Vehicles for Change Inc$990,000215%
California Biomanufacturing Center$990,000298%
The University of Montana Foundation$846,26611%
University of Hawaii Foundation$818,37811%
Lsst Inc$801,730456%
Recidiviz Inc$800,000227%
Govern for America Inc$731,846162%
Duke University$700,00010%
Protect Democracy Project$650,00024%
Pennsylvania State University$650,0001n/a
Biobuilder Educational Foundation$640,000232%
Regents of the University of California at Riverside$600,0682n/a
Npower Inc$600,00012%
Do Something Inc$600,00025%
Northwestern University$596,95820%
The Aspen Institute Inc$570,47840%
Coding It Forward Inc$562,000341%
Service Year Exchange Inc$550,00029%
National Conference on Citizenship$540,00034%
Mercatus Center Inc$500,00021%
Interact ATX$500,000298%
Global Talent & Innovation Fund$500,00014%
National League of Cities$500,00013%
American Association for the Advancement of Science$500,00010%
Trustees of Boston University$500,00010%
Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia$500,0002n/a
Labor Mobility Partnerships Inc$500,000123%
Trustees of Purdue University$500,0001n/a
The University of Texas Foundation Inc$500,00011%
Social Good Labs Incorporated$500,000231%
African Leadership Foundation$500,00018%
Berkeley Lab Foundation$480,73515%
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovatio Institute Inc$480,000117%
Economic Security Project Inc$475,00023%
Limn$470,0001n/a
US Ignite Inc$450,00013%
The Miller Center Foundation$417,000112%
Wisconsin Early Childhood Association Inc$400,00014%
People-Centered Internet Inc$400,000165%
Better World Fund Inc$400,000110%
Cignition Inc$400,0001n/a
Democracy Works Inc$400,00024%
VotingWorks$400,0001n/a
Millennium Campus Network Inc$400,000163%
National Digital Inclusion Alliance$396,220211%
University of DC Foundation Inc$375,00035%
Tecnologico De Monterrey Foundation$373,800246%
Federation of American Scientists$373,31911%
Buckminster Fuller Institute$370,800232%
William Marsh Rice University$346,92420%
Dakota State University Foundation$331,00032%
Jobs for the Future Inc$320,00021%
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution$309,71710%
Games for Change Inc$308,00026%
Information Equity Initiative Inc$300,000138%
Upsolve Inc$300,000212%
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Inc$300,00031%
Institute for Local Self Reliance$300,00015%
Center for AI Safety Inc$298,00013%
Spurs Give$285,0001n/a
Array Education Inc$283,38811%
Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute$275,00022%
Conservation X Labs Inc$262,50017%
Civic Nation$250,00011%
Hispanic Federation Inc$250,00011%
Citizen Schools Inc$250,00012%
Community Access Inc$250,00011%
STEM Alliance of Larchmont- Mamaroneck Inc$250,000121%
Spark Climate Solutions$250,00012%
The Hope Program Inc$250,00013%
Spirit of America Worldwide$250,00013%
The Mind Trust Inc$250,00011%
Society for Science & the Public$250,00030%
Unitary Fund$250,000117%
Computers for Children Inc$250,000122%
Westchester Library System$250,00013%
Baltimore Corps Inc$250,00014%
Mitchell Kapor Foundation$250,00010%
Albany Can Code Inc$250,000123%
University of California Berkeley Foundation$250,00010%
The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy Inc$250,00013%
Transcend Inc$250,00013%
Meto Inc$250,000123%
The George Washington University$241,81520%
Eth Zurich Foundation (Usa) Inc$230,000135%
National Policing Institute$225,00013%
The Rand Corporation$210,00010%
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace$200,48720%
Hacking for Defense Incorporated$200,0001n/a
Tilting Futures Incorporated$200,00022%
Young Professionals in Foreignpolicy$200,000247%
NEW YORK PHARMA FORUM INC co BENCIVENGA WARD & COMPANY CPAS PC$200,0001n/a
World Science Foundation$200,00012%
Ffwd$200,00011%
House New York Inc$200,000127%
The Armand Hammer United World College of the Amer$200,00020%
Multiplier$200,0001n/a
Syracuse University$199,75620%
Igem Foundation Inc$195,00014%
Allied Media Projects Inc$188,75010%
Institute for the Future$180,00011%
Baylor University$178,25010%
Kinfolk Tech Foundation$175,00013%
George Mason University Foundation Inc$170,00020%
The Queens Library Foundation Inc$167,84913%
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois$167,7321n/a
Contina Impact$160,000214%
The Hack Foundation D/B/A Hack Club$155,89235%
Fund for the City of New York Inc$152,24010%
US Chamber of Commerce Foundation$150,00011%
Growth Teams Inc$150,000142%
The Common Application Inc$150,00010%
Dimagi Inc$150,0002n/a
Georgia Tech Research Corporation$149,59810%
Healthy Schools Campaign$146,00016%
Friends and Foundation of the Alb Pub Lib Inc$133,000171%
Watttime Corporation$125,00022%
Reut USA$125,00017%
Science Debate Inc$125,000183%
Convergence Center for Policy Resolution$125,00019%
General Assembly Space Inc$125,0001n/a
Marist University$120,15310%
Synbiobeta LLC$112,0001n/a
Center on Rural Innovation Inc$100,0001n/a
Emory University$100,00010%
America Achieves Inc$100,00012%
University of Cape Town Fund Inc$100,000119%
Wnet$100,00010%
Georgetown University$100,00010%
Code for America Labs Inc$100,00011%
With Honor Action Inc$100,00014%
Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania$100,00016%
Decentralized Pictures Foundation Inc$100,0001n/a
Black Public Media Inc$100,00013%
Nucleate Bio Inc$100,000176%
Children of the Setting Sun Product$100,00011%
Naturalistic Decision Making Association$100,0001n/a
Association for Computing Machinery Inc$100,00030%
Vanderbilt University$99,72310%
Impact Labs Foundation Inc$99,000190%
The Kansas University Endowment Association$97,22810%
University of Oregon Foundation$96,86610%
Spring Impact Incorporated$95,00017%
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law$94,00010%
Media Arts Center San Diego$90,00015%
Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated$84,00010%
The Explorers Club$82,50011%
The Washington Center for Internships & Academic Seminars$75,00010%
New Georgia Project Inc$75,00010%
Yale University$75,0001n/a
Fractured Atlas Inc$71,00010%
National Public Education Support Fund$70,00021%
Alaska Native Heritage Center Inc$70,00011%
American University in Kosovo Foundation$65,00014%
Summit Impact$65,00012%
Fungal Diversity Survey Inc$65,000111%
Uniondocs Inc$60,00013%
Project Evident Inc$60,00011%
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers$55,00012%
Let's Save America Foundation Inc$51,021125%
Andeco Institute$50,00010%
American University$50,00010%
Bay Area Hybrid College Initiative DBA Rivet School$50,00014%
The Human Space Program Inc$50,000180%
Arizona Advocacy Foundation$50,00012%
Ocean Conservancy$50,00010%
Human Rights Watch Inc$50,00010%
Science History Institute$50,00010%
National Skills Coalition$50,00011%
University of Rhode Island Foundation & Alumni Engagement$50,0001n/a
Pomona College$50,00010%
McNeese State University Foundation$50,00010%
The New School$50,00010%
Elemental Excelerator Inc$43,75020%
Student Clubs of HBS Inc$35,00011%
American Governance Foundation Inc$35,00016%
Interfaith Works of Central New York$30,00010%
Brooklyn Public Library$30,00010%
Healthy Community Alliance Inc$30,00011%
Gettysburg College$30,00010%
Adirondack Health Institute Inc$30,00010%
United Way of the Greater Capital Region$30,00011%
The New York Academy of Medicine$30,00010%
Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation$30,00012%
Finger Lakes Digital Inclusion Coalition Inc$30,0001100%
Stony Brook Foundation Inc$30,00010%
Givedirectly Inc$25,00010%
Pupin Initiative$25,000116%
Friends of Fondation de France Inc$25,00010%
Climate Neutral$25,00012%
Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology$25,00012%
Pro Bono Net Inc$25,00010%
American Institute of Chemical Engineers$25,00010%
Engineering Biology Research Consortium$20,00013%
Transatlantic Leadership Network$20,00016%
Hypothesis Project$20,00011%
Mass General Brigham Incorporated$20,0001n/a
Legacy Global Programs$20,00010%
Concordia Summit Inc$20,00011%
Open Contracting Partnership$20,00010%
Ml Collective Inc$20,0001n/a
Gordon Research Conferences Inc$20,00010%
Bio-Design Automation Consortium$15,0001n/a
Anthology Film Archives$15,00012%
Renew Inc$15,00015%
Nona Research Foundation Inc$15,000186%
Natl Assn of Secondary School Principals$15,00010%
Creo Family Office Syndicate Inc$12,50011%
Makerghat USA$10,00013%
Alliance for Young Artists and Writers Inc$10,00010%
The Foresight Institute$10,00012%
New America Foundation$10,00010%
United Nations Foundation Inc$10,00010%
The Center for Effective Philanthropy Inc$10,00010%
Abundance Network Education$10,00013%
Institute for War & Peace Reporting-Us$10,00010%
Capitol City Robotics Inc$10,00013%
Standards Coordinating Body for Gene Cell and Regenerative Medicine$10,00012%
Youth Leadership Incubator Inc HackPlus$7,5001n/a
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Inc$5,00010%
Technology Association of Grantmakers Inc$5,00010%
National Alliance Against Disparities in Patient Health$5,0001n/a
Build Nigeria Inc$3,0001n/a
Work on Climate$2,00010%
Education Matters Africa Foundation$60010%

What it could do for these grantees

Plus 304 recipients with no EIN on record ($315M), not named here.

Where it is load-bearing

The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 33 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 200 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetConvergent Research Inc: $67,028,169 over 3y, 81% of budgetCalifornia Institute of Technology: $26,019,467 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetFuture House Inc: $19,200,000 over 2y, 46% of budgetThe Barack Obama Foundation: $10,000,000 over 1y, 4.8% of budgetDigital Harbor Foundation: $9,594,431 over 2y, 13% of budgetCambridge in America: $8,932,701 over 3y, 14% of budgetUniversity of Chicago: $8,869,834 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetNew York University: $8,558,275 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUniversity of Washington Foundation: $6,557,486 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetArizona State University Foundation for a New American University: $5,830,000 over 7y, 1.0% of budgetScience and Technology Futures Inc: $4,330,000 over 3y, 42% of budgetJohns Hopkins University: $4,208,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCarnegie Mellon University: $3,911,711 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetThe Trustees of Princeton University: $3,819,262 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetOhio State University Foundation: $3,500,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetGanna Walska Lotusland: $3,500,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetMonterey Bay Aquarium Foundation: $3,000,000 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetSwaniti Initiative: $3,000,000 over 2y, 32% of budgetCornell University: $2,917,163 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetChancellor Masters & Scholars of the University of Oxford: $2,670,963 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUniversity of Rochester: $2,504,259 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetUc San Diego Foundation: $2,473,614 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetHomeworld Collective Inc: $2,350,000 over 2y, 35% of budgetActivate Global Inc: $2,125,000 over 2y, 30% of budgetUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel H Arts & Sciences Foundation: $2,043,250 over 1y, 7.5% of budgetNational Academy of Sciences: $2,039,998 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetWorcester Polytechnic Institute: $2,000,000 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: $1,950,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUS Digital Response: $1,929,613 over 3y, 14% of budgetBattelle Memorial Institute: $1,888,490 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetScience for America Inc: $1,800,000 over 1y, 11% of budgetMission Asset Fund: $1,750,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetEvery Cure Inc: $1,693,890 over 2y, 34% of budgetNortheastern University: $1,600,618 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetMerit America: $1,529,000 over 3y, 18% of budgetUnited Way of Dane County Inc: $1,500,000 over 2y, 3.9% of budgetKqed Inc: $1,500,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetUpwardly Global: $1,500,000 over 2y, 4.7% of budgetClimb Hire Inc: $1,496,000 over 2y, 21% of budgetNational Center for Civic Innovation In: $1,450,000 over 3y, 5.5% of budgetUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $1,448,254 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetTeachers College Columbia University: $1,350,000 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetPropel America: $1,250,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetAtlantic Council of the United States Inc: $1,250,000 over 2y, 1.8% of budgetNational Center for Higher Education Management Systems: $1,250,000 over 1y, 37% of budgetOrgan Alliance Inc: $1,000,000 over 2y, 46% of budgetThe Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles: $1,000,000 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetGlobal Fund for Women Inc: $1,000,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budget

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured
Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 200.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Gates FoundationWA38.6× affinity28 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Gates Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · Carnegie Corporation of New York · New Venture Fund · The Ford Foundation · The Rockefeller Foundation · Alfred P Sloan Foundation · The Schmidt Family Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Tides Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

Compare The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation with peer funders

About The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation

How much does The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation give?
The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation reported 379 grants totaling $244,068,458 in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 59 and 170 organizations a year over FY2018 to FY2023.
What does The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation fund?
By grant dollars over FY2018 to FY2024, its largest causes are Science & Tech (40%), Education (25%), Social Science (8%).
Who are The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation's largest grantees?
By total granted over FY2018 to FY2024: Convergent Research Inc ($67M), California Institute of Technology ($26M), Future House Inc ($19M).
Does The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation fund new organizations?
In FY2023, 63% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Does The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation accept unsolicited applications?
Its most recent filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and does not take unsolicited requests. Check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.
Which funders back the same organizations as The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation?
Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include Gates Foundation, The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Where is The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation based?
The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation is based in CA.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 615 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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