Wyss Foundation

The Wyss Foundation is one of the most consequential conservation funders in the world, with $1.71 billion in assets and $222.6 million distributed across approximately 130 organizations in FY2024. Before any other strategy consideration, grant seekers must internalize a foundational constraint: this foundation conducts its grantmaking entirely by invitation and does not accept unsolicited proposals. There is no application portal, no open RFP, and no grant submission process for cold applicants. Any organization that submits materials without being invited will receive no review and no response.

The foundation's philosophy, shaped by Swiss-American billionaire and Chairman Hansjoerg Wyss, centers on permanent, systemic change — language about "innovative, lasting solutions" is not aspirational rhetoric but a literal screening criterion. Grantmaking is organized around three pillars:

• Protections: Land, ocean, freshwater, and ecosystem conservation, anchored by the $1 billion Wyss Campaign for Nature targeting 30% of global land and ocean protection by 2030. This is the dominant pillar by dollar volume and strategic energy.
• Discovery: Medical research and higher education, particularly biologically inspired engineering and orthopedic trauma care in underserved communities — roughly equivalent in dollar volume to Protections at ~41% of annual giving.
• Community: Economic opportunity, gender equity, civic engagement, and food security — approximately 18% of giving, growing in recent years.

Known major grantees include the Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, Wildlife Conservation Society, Trout Unlimited, Conservation Fund, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Western Rivers Conservancy, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles — all established institutions with decades of sector credibility. The relationship progression for a new organization begins long before any formal invitation: appearing in sector convenings where program staff are present, publishing research aligned with foundation priorities, and being introduced through current grantees. President Molly McUsic (compensation: $746,910 in FY2024) oversees all grantmaking alongside VP Mary Killingsworth. Building relationships with program staff — not cold-contacting the chairman's office — is the appropriate entry point. A realistic timeline for a first invitation ranges from two to five years of sustained visibility-building.

Total annual giving has grown dramatically over five fiscal years: $125.7M (FY2020), $132.2M (FY2021), $163.3M (FY2022), $149.3M (FY2023), and $222.6M (FY2024) — a 77% increase. Net investment income hit $259.4M in FY2024, accelerating grant deployment as the 30x30 campaign approaches its 2030 deadline. The foundation's assets have declined from a peak of $2.16B (FY2019) to $1.71B (FY2024), a deliberate pattern consistent with Chairman Wyss's stated intent to distribute substantially during his lifetime — suggesting grant volume will remain elevated or increase through the decade.

Grant size ranges from roughly $2,000 to $22.1 million across all programs, with the practical range for institutional grantees at $100,000 to $10 million per the foundation's published program guidelines. FY2025-2026 recent examples illustrate actual distribution across the full range: - Large anchor grants: $10M (Children's Hospital Los Angeles), $5M (Western Rivers Conservancy) - Mid-tier program grants: $2.3M (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities) - Community and specialist grants: $300K (Pro Mujer, Latin America), $250K (Teton Youth and Family Services) - Fellows Program: $140K per host organization per cohort

The Wyss Campaign for Nature has committed and disbursed more than $1 billion since 2018, resulting in approximately 90 million acres of land and 1.7 million square kilometers of ocean protected as of mid-2025. This campaign-scale spending operates above and beyond ordinary grantmaking and is not accessible to new organizational applicants.

By program area (approximate): - Conservation & Environment: ~41% — land trusts, international conservation, policy and advocacy organizations, Indigenous stewardship partnerships - Medical Research & Healthcare: ~41% — bioengineering research centers, pediatric hospitals, orthopedic trauma programs in underserved communities - Education & Arts: ~11% — Wyss Scholars at graduate universities, cultural institutions, conservation leadership programs - Economic Opportunity & Social Services: ~7% — budget policy think tanks, gender equity organizations, community food and financial services

Geographically, conservation grantees concentrate in the Mountain West and Western U.S., alongside international ocean and ecosystem partners. Healthcare grantees span major research medical centers nationally. The Fellows Program targets host organizations specifically in Arizona, Washington, Oregon, and New Mexico.

The Wyss Foundation occupies a distinct niche among private foundations of comparable asset size — one of very few institutions at the $1.5–2B asset level that maintains a strict invitation-only policy while simultaneously operating a named billion-dollar campaign. This combination makes it simultaneously one of the highest-impact and least accessible funders in the conservation and healthcare sectors.

Among these peers, W M Keck Foundation is the notable exception, operating a transparent letter of inquiry process that conservation-science and medical-research organizations can access without a prior relationship. The Wallace Foundation occasionally publishes RFPs when entering new strategic initiatives, making it another accessible comparable. Wyss stands apart in its payout rate: distributing $222.6M on $1.71B in assets represents a ~13% annual payout, well above the IRS-mandated 5% minimum — a signal of the chairman's intent to deploy capital aggressively. For organizations that cannot gain entry to Wyss, Builders Initiative and Dalio Foundation represent similar-size alternatives with overlapping food, climate, and education priorities.

The headline development of FY2025-2026 is the Wyss Campaign for Nature reaching 90 million acres of permanently protected land and 1.7 million square kilometers of ocean by July 2025 — the most significant milestone since the campaign launched in 2018. The 2030 target remains ahead, and the foundation has signaled accelerating investment to close the gap.

Recent grant awards demonstrate continued multi-pillar breadth: - February 2026: $250,000 to Teton Youth and Family Services (Wyoming community services) - January 2026: 2026 Wyss Fellows cohort announced, with $140,000 per host organization - December 2025: $2,300,000 to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (economic equity) - October 2025: $10,000,000 to Children's Hospital Los Angeles (Discovery/healthcare) - July 2025: $5,000,000 to Western Rivers Conservancy (Protections/conservation) - June 2025: $300,000 to Pro Mujer (gender equality, Latin America) - June 2025: $140,000 per host organization confirmed for Fellows Program

Yale's 2025 Wyss Scholars cohort — focused on conservation justice, climate equity, and land preservation — signals a thematic evolution within the Protections pillar toward justice-centered frameworks alongside traditional ecological conservation. No leadership transitions were identified in recent public filings; Molly McUsic continues as President and Hansjoerg Wyss as Chairman. The foundation's social media presence (@WyssCampaign on Twitter/X) remains active and primarily campaign milestone-oriented.

The single most important tip for any organization pursuing Wyss Foundation funding: do not submit an unsolicited proposal. The foundation explicitly states it does not review cold requests. No amount of a compelling mission statement, strong financials, or urgent need will change this — the process is relationship-first, and bypassing that step disqualifies an applicant before they begin.

Relationship-building pathway (the only way in):

• Map your network to existing grantees first. The foundation has funded Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, Wildlife Conservation Society, Trout Unlimited, Conservation Fund, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Western Rivers Conservancy, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. A warm introduction from a program officer at any of these organizations is the highest-value action an applicant can take.

• Anchor language in the 30x30 frame. The Wyss Campaign for Nature's goal of protecting 30% of global lands and oceans by 2030 is the dominant conceptual frame. Proposals (when eventually invited) should explicitly connect work to permanent protection, biodiversity outcomes, and ocean or freshwater conservation — not generalized environmental stewardship.

• Emphasize Indigenous partnership explicitly. Indigenous community land stewardship is a named priority. Projects that co-design with and transfer meaningful decision-making authority to tribal nations have a materially stronger alignment with the current Protections pillar.

• Attend sector convenings where program staff are present. NRDC events, Land Trust Alliance conferences, Society for Conservation Biology meetings, and conservation finance forums are where Wyss program staff build field visibility. Present, publish, and participate there.

• For Scholars Program applicants: Contact your graduate school's conservation program coordinator in the fall — not the foundation. Schools including Yale participate; check with your program directly.

• For potential Fellows Program host organizations: The host invitation is issued by the foundation. Initiate a preliminary conversation at (202) 232-4418 or through the contact form at wyssfoundation.org/contact, framed as an organizational introduction rather than a grant request.

• Avoid: requests for ongoing programmatic operating costs, general support without systemic impact framing, or projects scoped at sub-$100,000 for general grantmaking (the floor for institutional grants is effectively $100K).