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STEM Education Grants for Nonprofits is an Inside Philanthropy resource that profiles foundation and corporate funders supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Since a landmark 2007 National Academies report on U.S. competitiveness in science and technology, private philanthropy has made STEM education a major funding priority.
The resource highlights funding trends, key grantmakers, and strategic intelligence not found in tax filings, helping nonprofits identify high-fit prospects. Eligible organizations are nonprofits delivering STEM programming, curriculum, teacher training, or enrichment activities from K-12 through college level. Access to the full grant finder requires an Inside Philanthropy subscription.
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STEM Education Grants for Nonprofits | Inside Philanthropy You are here: Find a Grant / Grant Finder / Grants for STEM Education Grants for STEM Education Grant Finder gives you high-fit prospects with funding intelligence you won’t find in 990s.
Funding trends for STEM education grants Since the 2007 publication of a National Academies report on the need to bolster U.S. competitiveness in science and technology, there has been a national focus on the importance of STEM education to jobs, prosperity, and innovation.
According to the OECD’S latest PISA report , a global study of student assessment, American students lag behind peer nations in math, and perform just above average in science. Despite the number of American students pursuing STEM majors at the college level, fewer are actually working in STEM after graduation. Indeed, many STEM students end up pursuing other careers due to a perception that there are better jobs elsewhere.
Further, the issue of whether there are too few or too many Americans educated for STEM jobs has been debated for years. According to Michael S. Teitelbaum, demographer and former vice president of the Sloan Foundation, there are no general shortages of scientists and engineers.
Rather, he suggests, there are more science and engineering graduates in the U.S. than attractive positions available in the workforce. That said, in 2021, about a quarter of the U.S. workforce worked in STEM occupations ( National Science Foundation ).
Now, educators and nonprofits are asking how to prepare students for careers in the 21st century in light of the rise of AI, which could result in massive job losses in STEM and other fields. Ray Dalio , speaking about the rise of AI, echoes these concerns. In 2024, a significant drop in programmers suggests a turning point in job losses to AI .
Throughout all the debates and changes, women of all races and Latino, Black and Indigenous men have been underrepresented in the STEM workforce ( NSF ). Diversifying STEM and increasing opportunities for women and people of color in STEM has long been a priority of nonprofits and grantmakers in STEM education.
Where STEM education grants are going Philanthropy has been involved in supporting STEM education on all fronts, making grants for efforts ranging from research to curriculum development, teacher training and after-school programs. STEM education is a favorite funding area of corporations related to STEM and major donors, especially in technology , as well as foundations with education portfolios.
Community foundations also make grants for STEM education, especially to support local schools and museums. Several major foundations are concerned with increasing the number of students who enroll in postsecondary education and graduate with the skills to meet the demands of the 21st-century workforce.
Alongside more traditional investments in scholarships and research awards, innovative programs have taken off that seek to use technology to empower students and bridge the pathway from high school to college. Additional funding trends include high-profile gifts to cover medical school tuition, as well as grants to projects promoting science literacy throughout society.
Philanthropy has significantly supported efforts to increase representation of women and girls and students of color in STEM. This work is threatened by the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs .
Grantmaking for STEM education overlaps with grantmaking for K-12 education , higher education , science research , neuroscience research and diseases , additional philanthropic spaces for which IP has dedicated Grant Finder pages. Much of the grant funding for STEM education goes to K-12 math programs, IP found in our State of American Philanthropy report on Giving for STEM Education .
Grantmaking also supports college and university programs, including medical schools and engineering schools. Donors and grantmakers from the tech sector are increasingly supporting initiatives related to AI, such as Salesforce’s $20 million gift to “expand pathways into tech and AI careers,” as IP’s Connie Matthiessen reported . Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has made a big investment in backing research by AI scholars .
Grants are also made to science museums, teacher recruitment and teacher training programs, curriculum development, after-school programs, and nonprofits focused on improving access and outcomes for women and girls and students of color in STEM. Grants to increase science literacy throughout society support projects such as documentaries and STEM journalism.
Gaps in funding for STEM education While STEM education has been a priority of both private and public funding in recent decades, changes in the federal government could produce massive gaps in funding for STEM education.
The U.S. government has been a major funder in this space, funding more than half of higher education research and development and supporting 15% of science and engineering graduate students in 2021, according to the National Science Foundation . Trump administration freezes, pauses or cuts to federal funding for science research and for all levels of education could have a disastrous impact on the field.
Further, the administration’s anti-DEI campaign could harm decades-long work by nonprofits and the philanthropies that fund them to diversify STEM and make the field more equitable. Within weeks of Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute cut a $60 million program focused on making STEM education at the university level more inclusive, Science reported .
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: Nonprofit organizations focused on STEM education. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates Varies Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
Federal grant success rates typically range from 10-30%, varying by agency and program. Build a strong proposal with clear objectives, measurable outcomes, and a well-justified budget to improve your chances.
Requirements vary by sponsor, but typically include a project narrative, budget justification, organizational capability statement, and key personnel CVs. Check the official notice for the complete list of required attachments.
Yes — AI tools like Granted can help research funders, draft proposal sections, and check compliance. However, always review and customize AI-generated content to reflect your organization's unique strengths and the specific requirements of the solicitation.
Review timelines vary by funder. Federal agencies typically take 3-6 months from submission to award notification. Foundation grants may be faster, often 1-3 months. Check the program's timeline in the official solicitation for specific dates.
Many federal programs offer multi-year funding or allow competitive renewals. Check the official solicitation for continuation and renewal policies. Non-competing continuation applications are common for multi-year awards.
Human Rights Grants for Nonprofits is an Inside Philanthropy resource that identifies and profiles funders supporting a broad range of human rights work for nonprofits worldwide. The resource covers major foundations investing in human rights philanthropy, including civil and political rights, freedom from violence, resource rights, workers' rights, and cultural rights across diverse national and political contexts. Funders profiled include the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and others. Nonprofits working on human rights advocacy, protection, and justice-related programming can use this resource to identify high-fit grant prospects and funding intelligence not easily found through tax filings alone.
Grants for Immigrants and Refugees is an Inside Philanthropy resource that identifies and profiles foundations and funders supporting nonprofits working with immigrant, refugee, and asylum seeker populations globally. The resource profiles major philanthropic funders including the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, Heising-Simons Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and others. It provides funding intelligence, giving trends, and funder strategies not available from 990 data alone. Nonprofits delivering legal services, resettlement assistance, workforce integration, and advocacy for immigrants and refugees can use this resource to identify high-fit grant prospects across the immigration and refugee funding landscape.
Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education & Human Resources (IUSE: EHR) Program is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). This program promotes novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. It supports projects that bring recent advances in STEM knowledge into undergraduate education, adapt, improve, and incorporate evidence-based practices, and lay the groundwork for institutional improvement in STEM education. Professional development for instructors to ensure adoption of new and effective pedagogical techniques is a potential topic of interest.
The National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program (NLG-L) supports projects that address critical needs of the library and archives fields and have the potential to advance practice and strengthen library and archival services for the American public. Successful proposals will generate results such as new models, tools, research findings, services, practices, and/or alliances that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend and leverage the benefits of federal investment. Applications to IMLS should both advance knowledge and understanding and ensure that the federal investment made generates benefits to society. Specifically, the goals for this program are to generate projects of far-reaching impact that: • Build the workforce and institutional capacity for managing the national information infrastructure and serving the information and education needs of the public. • Build the capacity of libraries and archives to lead and contribute to efforts that improve community well-being and strengthen civic engagement. • Improve the ability of libraries and archives to provide broad access to and use of information and collections with emphasis on collaboration to avoid duplication and maximize reach. • Strengthen the ability of libraries to provide services to affected communities in the event of an emergency or disaster. • Strengthen the ability of libraries, archives, and museums to work collaboratively for the benefit of the communities they serve. Throughout its work, IMLS places importance on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This may be reflected in an IMLS-funded project in a wide range of ways, including efforts to serve individuals of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; individuals with disabilities; individuals with limited functional literacy or information skills; individuals having difficulty using a library or museum; and underserved urban and rural communities, including children from families with incomes below the poverty line. Application Process: The application process for the NLG-L program has two phases; applicants must begin by applying for Phase I. For Phase I, all applicants must submit Preliminary Proposals by the September 20th deadline listed for this Notice of Funding Opportunity. For Phase II, only selected applicants will be invited to submit Full Proposals, and only those Invited Full Proposals will be considered for funding. Invited Full Proposals will be due March 20, 2024. Funding Opportunity Number: NLG-LIBRARIES-FY24. Assistance Listing: 45.312. Funding Instrument: G. Category: AR,HU. Award Amount: $50K – $1M per award.