Public Knowledge Program

Public Knowledge Program is a grant initiative from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that funds organizations working to preserve, organize, and make knowledge accessible to the public.

Supported activities include archives and libraries creating or preserving cultural and scholarly records, organizations addressing gaps in the historical record, and collaborative projects building technology infrastructure to sustain and share knowledge. Grants typically range from $50,000 to over $500,000. Eligible applicants are U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

Most Mellon grants are invitation-only; foundation staff proactively identify and cultivate innovative leaders, librarians, archivists, and culture bearers before inviting a proposal submission.

Knowledge should be accessible to all. Knowledge is alive, ever-changing. Passed on through writing, photographs, audio, and emerging forms, knowledge is pervasive—but fragile.

It survives when it is collected, preserved, and shared. Our Public Knowledge grants support the work of the institutions and community groups that strengthen our cultural record by preserving, recording, organizing, and making knowledge accessible to the public in libraries, archives, and other settings. Through this work, we can build a more informed, engaged, and fair society—and ensure that vital voices and stories endure.

Grantee news Grants database Regrant programs Through grants to eligible recipients, we support: Archives and libraries engaged in creating, preserving, and making accessible cultural and scholarly records. Organizations working to address gaps in the historical record and to increase public access to knowledge. Collaborative projects focused on creating and sustaining technology and infrastructure to preserve and share knowledge.

Our staff seek out and get to know innovative leaders, scholars, librarians, archivists, and culture bearers before inviting them to submit a proposal for funding. Most Mellon grants are made through these invitations. Program Director, Public Knowledge “ For me, public knowledge means ensuring that knowledge access and production are treated as public and social goods ...

for purposes that matter to people. ” Ten Surprising Things You Can Enjoy Online, Thanks to JSTOR PEN America Receives $1.

4 Million From the Mellon Foundation to Support America’s Public Libraries Washington State University Designed with Care: Mukurtu Provides Ethical Tools for Archiving and Preservation of Indigenous Heritage Defining Public Knowledge with Program Officer Patricia Hswe We support the work of knowledge bearers who are creating an informed and engaged society.

About our grantmaking process Expanding Public Knowledge Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora Public Places‚ Public Stories Evolving Higher Education Get news about what we are supporting and more by subscribing to our newsletter. © 2026 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Public Knowledge Grant Programs | Mellon Foundation