Funding search · EIN 133794889 · New York, NY

The Simons Foundation

Name: The Simons Foundation grants, 2022–2024
Creator: PaperOrbit
License: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organization-public-disclosure-and-availability-requirements

A private foundation (files IRS Form 990-PF). Most private foundations do not take unsolicited applications; the route in is usually a program officer.

5,303
grants reported: $846.7M
total given: 2022–2024
filing years: $72,495
median grant

Based on grants this organization reported to the IRS for tax years 2022–2024. This is what they filed, not a complete record of their giving, and recent years may be incomplete because filings lag.

What they fund

simons theory investigator autism research geometry brain collaboration

Funder website ↗Full IRS filings ↗How this is built Report an error

Funding pattern

What this funder pays for, at what size, and how to position adjacent work. Read from their filings, with every number checked against the record.

Where the money goes

Autism genetics, sex differences, and ASD mechanism research
Fundamental mathematics, theoretical physics, and theory of computing
Marine microbial ecology, plankton biogeography, ocean 'omics
Computational and quantitative biology centers, often NSF-Simons cofunded
STEM education pipelines, scholars programs, and science outreach
Institutional capital and matching gifts, heavily Stony Brook and NYC

Typical grant

Median grant is about $72,000, with the middle half running $8,400 to $160,804, so most of the file is small: fellowships, travel, individual investigator supplements, and pieces of larger collaborations. The big checks, $1M to $20M, go to institutional infrastructure and named centers (New York Genome Center, Stony Brook matching gifts, Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, NSF-Simons centers) rather than to single projects. Giving repeats hard: the same universities and the same collaboration titles reappear year over year in multi-site, multi-project structures.

Their words

Phrases from their own grant descriptions, worth speaking back to them.

“SIMONS COLLABORATION ON”
“SIMONS JUNIOR FACULTY FELLOWS”
“NSF-SIMONS CENTER”
“PRINCIPLES OF MICROBIAL ECOSYSTEMS”
“AUTISM SEX DIFFERENCES”
“SIMONS INVESTIGATOR”

Positioning adjacent work

Frame work as one project or core within a multi-site collaboration, the structure they already fund repeatedly.
For autism-adjacent work, connect to sex differences, somatic variants, or SPARK/Simons VIP cohort data.
Ask in the $400K to $900K range for a single-lab project; that matches their per-site awards.
Emphasize theory, computation, and open data tools; they fund arXiv modernization and big-data pipelines.

Worth knowing: Money concentrates in NY, CA, and MA, with Stony Brook receiving repeated eight-figure institutional and matching support tied to the founders' history there. A large share flows to a stable set of elite institutions inside named Simons collaborations, so entry usually comes through joining an existing collaboration or being recruited as an investigator rather than arriving cold.

54 grants matching “approaches” · $8.8M

$2.9M
Ucsf · San Francisco, CA · 2024
Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd
$252,215
Howard Hughes Medical Institute · Chevy Chase, MD · 2024
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation
$200,000
Columbia University · New York, NY · 2024
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation; leveraging dynamical smoothness to predict motor cortex population activity; neural dynamics of a multi-timescale social behavior
$186,400
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2024
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation
$154,800
Rockefeller University · New York, NY · 2024
A cell-type specific approach for mitochondrial profiling toward understanding the aging brain
$120,000
Carnegie Mellon University · Pittsburgh, PA · 2024
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation; communication between neural populations: circuits, coding, and behavior
$68,002
University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA · 2024
Conceptual approaches to fukaya categories and mirror symmetry
$58,025
University of Minnesota · Minneapolis, MN · 2024
The tap approach and diluted models in mean-field spin glasses
$52,128
University of Oxford · 2024
Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd - project 1
$30,000
Iiser Pune · 2024
2023 and 2024 computational approaches to memory and plasticity
$30,000
Iiser Pune · 2024
Computational approaches to memory and plasticity (camp)
$23,575
Carnegie Mellon University · Pittsburgh, PA · 2024
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation; communication between neural populations: circuits, coding, and behavior
$10,000
Gordon Research Conferences · West Kingston, RI · 2024
2024 optogenetic approaches to understanding neural circuits and behavior grc
$8,400
Syracuse University · Syracuse, NY · 2024
Homological approaches to differential forms, differential operators, and transfer of algebra structures
$8,400
Texas Tech University · Lubbock, TX · 2024
Fluid mechanics and related equations: deterministic and stochastic approaches
$8,400
Tulane University · New Orleans, LA · 2024
Algebraic approach to tropical geometry and applications
$8,400
University of Colorado Foundation · Denver, CO · 2024
Singular groupoids, spectral triples and their spectral invariants: a noncommutative approach
$976,985
Uc San Francisco · San Francisco, CA · 2023
Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd
$145,257
Carnegie Mellon University · Pittsburgh, PA · 2023
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation; communication between neural populations: circuits, coding, and behavior
$100,000
Princeton University · Princeton, NJ · 2023
Theory-driven approaches to identify minimal circuits for susceptibility and resilience
$93,200
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2023
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation
$85,000
The Scripps Research Institute · La Jolla, CA · 2023
An alternative approach to prebiotic building blocks using dap phosphorylation chemistries
$77,400
Rockefeller University · New York, NY · 2023
A cell-type specific approach for mitochondrial profiling toward understanding the aging brain
$70,000
Howard Hughes Medical Institute · Ashburn, VA · 2023
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation
$68,002
University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA · 2023
Conceptual approaches to fukaya categories and mirror symmetry
$60,000
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2023
Theory-driven approaches to identify minimal circuits for susceptibility and resilience
$57,499
University of North Texas · Denton, TX · 2023
Open dynamical systems-singular perturbations approach
$55,798
University of Minnesota · Minneapolis, MN · 2023
The tap approach and diluted models in mean-field spin glasses
$50,938
University of Oxford · 2023
Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd - project 1
$30,000
Iiser Pune · 2023
2023 and 2024 computational approaches to memory and plasticity
$15,000
Technical University of Denmark · 2023
Trait-based approaches to ocean life
$8,500
Cajal Advanced Neuroscience · 2023
Modern approached to behavioural neuroscience
$8,400
University of Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2023
New approaches for covariance estimation and model selection in high dimensions
$8,400
Texas Tech University · Lubbock, TX · 2023
Fluid mechanics and related equations: deterministic and stochastic approaches
$8,400
Syracuse University · Syracuse, NY · 2023
Homological approaches to differential forms, differential operators, and transfer of algebra structures
$8,400
University of Florida · Gainesville, FL · 2023
Group-theoretic approaches to graphs, incidence geometries, and error-correcting codes.
$1.5M
Univ of California San Francisco · San Francisco, CA · 2022
Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd
$200,000
Princeton University · Princeton, NJ · 2022
Theory-driven approaches to identify minimal circuits for susceptibility and resilience
$199,421
The University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA · 2022
A trna-based gene therapy approach for high-fidelity repair of scn2a premature termination codons
$197,909
The Scripps Research Institute · La Jolla, CA · 2022
An alternative approach to prebiotic building blocks using dap phosphorylation chemistries
$140,000
Howard Hughes Medical Institute · Ashburn, VA · 2022
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation
$120,000
Icahn School of Medicine · New York, NY · 2022
Theory-driven approaches to identify minimal circuits for susceptibility and resilience
$100,000
Columbia University · New York, NY · 2022
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation; leveraging dynamical smoothness to predict motor cortex population activity; neural dynamics of a multi-timescale social behavior
$97,040
Carnegie Mellon University · Pittsburgh, PA · 2022
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation; spi cohen: communication between neural populations: circuits, coding, and behavior
$93,915
Harvard College · Cambridge, MA · 2022
Integrative approaches to understanding whole-brain computation
$67,080
University of Washington · Seattle, WA · 2022
Combining in vivo trans-skull imaging of neonatal brain activity with computational approaches to elucidate early abnormalities of brain activity in a mouse model of autism
$57,499
University of North Texas · Denton, TX · 2022
Open dynamical systems-singular perturbations approach
$25,000
Nat'L Centre for Biological Science · 2022
2019 and 2020 computational approaches to memory and plasticity
$8,400
University of Cincinnati · Cincinnati, OH · 2022
New approaches for covariance estimation and model selection in high dimensions
$8,400
University of Florida · Gainesville, FL · 2022
Group-theoretic approaches to graphs, incidence geometries, and error-correcting codes.
$8,400
Georgia Tech Research Corporation · Atlanta, GA · 2022
Mathematical approaches to imaging, optimization and classification
$8,400
Syracuse University · Syracuse, NY · 2022
Homological approaches to differential forms, differential operators, and transfer of algebra structures
$8,400
Texas Tech University · Lubbock, TX · 2022
Fluid mechanics and related equations: deterministic and stochastic approaches
$5,000
Gordon Research Conferences · West Kingston, RI · 2022
Optogenetic approaches to understanding neural circuits and behavior

Top recipients

Repeat recipients are the strongest signal of whether a funder has an open door or quietly re-funds the same organizations.

New York Genome Center6 grants · $40.9M
University of California San Diego38 grants · $34.1M
MIT141 grants · $30.2M
Stony Brook Foundation19 grants · $28.4M
Columbia University142 grants · $22.5M
New York University89 grants · $20.9M
New York Genome Center3 grants · $20.5M
Uc San Diego43 grants · $20.4M
Princeton University111 grants · $19.5M
Math for America1 grant · $19.0M

Giving over time

$300.9M

2022

$283.8M

2023

$261.9M

2024

Grant history

The 100 largest of 5,303 grants.

$26.5M
University of California San Diego · La Jolla, CA · 2022
Simons observatory
$20.0M
New York Genome Center · New York, NY · 2024
New york genome center 2018 "new gift"
$20.0M
New York Genome Center · New York, NY · 2023
New york genome center 2018 "new gift"
$20.0M
New York Genome Center · New York, NY · 2022
New york genome center 2018 "new gift"
$19.0M
Math for America · New York, NY · 2022
Mfa new pledge
$12.8M
Uc San Diego · La Jolla, CA · 2023
Simons observatory
$7.9M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2022
Presidential innovation and excellence fund matching gift
$6.7M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2024
Simons infinity investment matching gift
$5.6M
University of Edinburgh · 2023
A major programme of fundamental and clinical autism research
$5.1M
University of Edinburgh · 2024
A major programme of fundamental and clinical autism research
$4.8M
University of Edinburgh · 2022
A major programme of fundamental and clinical autism research
$4.5M
Uc Berkeley · Berkeley, CA · 2023
Simons institute for the theory of computing
$4.4M
New York University · New York, NY · 2024
Simons center for computational physical chemistry
$4.4M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2023
Presidential innovation and excellence fund matching gift
$4.2M
Clinical Research Associates · New York, NY · 2024
Autism research
$4.1M
Northwestern University · Chicago, IL · 2024
National institute for theory and mathematics in biology
$4.0M
National Museum of Mathematics · New York, NY · 2023
Momath capital campaign matching pledge
$3.9M
University of California Berkeley · Berkeley, CA · 2022
Simons institute for the theory of computing
$3.8M
Uc Berkeley · Berkeley, CA · 2024
Simons institute for the theory of computing
$3.5M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2024
Simons math/physics operating fund
$3.4M
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · Cold Spring Harbor, NY · 2024
Applications of genomics to breast cancer detection, risk assessment and treatment response
$3.3M
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · Cold Spring Harbor, NY · 2023
Applications of genomics to breast cancer detection, risk assessment and treatment response
$3.2M
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · Cold Spring Harbor, NY · 2022
Applications of genomics to breast cancer detection, risk assessment and treatment response
$3.2M
Clinical Research Associates · New York, NY · 2022
Autism research
$3.1M
Clinical Research Associates · New York, NY · 2023
Autism research
$3.1M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2024
Presidential innovation and excellence fund matching gift
$3.0M
Institute for Advanced Study · Princeton, NJ · 2022
Institute for advanced study (ias) unrestricted gift
$2.9M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2023
Simons math/physics operating fund
$2.9M
Ucsf · San Francisco, CA · 2024
Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd
$2.6M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2022
Simons math/physics operating fund
$2.6M
University of California San Diego · La Jolla, CA · 2022
Array project 3
$2.5M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2023
Scgp current use fund
$2.5M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2022
Scgp current use fund
$2.2M
Hautes Etudes Scientifiques · 2024
Operating support
$2.1M
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · Cold Spring Harbor, NY · 2022
Genetic contribution to autism
$2.1M
University of Washington · Seattle, WA · 2023
Scope-uw operations support
$2.0M
University of Cambridge · 2022
The autism prenatal sex differences (apex) program
$2.0M
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · Cold Spring Harbor, NY · 2024
Genetic contribution to autism
$2.0M
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · Cold Spring Harbor, NY · 2023
Genetic contribution to autism
$1.9M
Northwestern University · Chicago, IL · 2023
National institute for theory and mathematics in biology
$1.8M
Uc San Diego · La Jolla, CA · 2023
Array project 3
$1.7M
New York University · New York, NY · 2022
Simons center for computational physical chemistry
$1.5M
Cornell University · Ithaca, NY · 2024
Support for arxiv mmodernization
$1.5M
Northwestern University · Chicago, IL · 2024
Nsf-simons center for quantitative biology
$1.5M
Univ of California San Francisco · San Francisco, CA · 2022
Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd
$1.5M
Research Foundation of the Cuny · New York City, NY · 2024
Cuny masters in astrophysics bridge program
$1.4M
MIT · Cambridge, MA · 2022
The new simons center for the social brain
$1.3M
MIT · Cambridge, MA · 2023
Computational biogeochemical modeling of marine ecosystems
$1.3M
Eth Zurich · 2024
Prime - principles of microbial ecosystems
$1.3M
Esther & Joseph Klingenstein Fund · New York, NY · 2023
Klingenstein-simons fellowship awards in the neurosciences
$1.3M
Esther & Joseph Klingenstein Fund · New York, NY · 2022
Klingenstein-simons fellowship awards in the neurosciences
$1.3M
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2024
Nsf-simons center for mathematical and statistical analysis of biology
$1.3M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2024
Scgp current use fund
$1.3M
California Institute of Technology · Pasadena, CA · 2023
Planetary context of habitability and exobiology
$1.3M
Institut Des Hautes Etudes Scient · 2022
Operating support
$1.2M
University of Hawaii · Honolulu, HI · 2022
Scope-uh operations support
$1.2M
Boston Children'S Hospital · Boston, MA · 2023
Identification and impact of somatic mutations in regulatory regions in autism brain
$1.2M
University of Hawaii · Honolulu, HI · 2023
Scope-uh operations support
$1.1M
Columbia University · New York, NY · 2024
Simons junior faculty fellows
$1.1M
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2024
Ultra-quantum matter
$1.1M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2023
Stony brook simons stem scholars program
$1.1M
MIT · Cambridge, MA · 2023
Arithmetic geometry, number theory, and computation
$1.1M
Washington University in St Louis · St Louis, MO · 2024
Analysis of mechanisms underlying sex epistasis in autism - core
$1.0M
University of Washington · Seattle, WA · 2024
Data and tools to define the biogeography of marine phytoplankton
$1.0M
Georgia Tech Research Corporation · Atlanta, GA · 2023
Nsf-simons southeast center for mathematics and biology
$1.0M
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2024
Nsf-simons center for mathematical and statistical analysis of biology
$1.0M
Jet Propulsion Laboratory · Pasadena, CA · 2024
Planetary context of habitability and exobiology
$1.0M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2024
Nyce matching grant
$1.0M
Uc Berkeley · Berkeley, CA · 2024
Collaboration on the theoretical foundations of deep learning
$1.0M
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2023
New york climate exchange fund matching pledge
$1.0M
Uc Berkeley · Berkeley, CA · 2023
Collaboration on the theoretical foundations of deep learning
$1.0M
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · Cold Spring Harbor, NY · 2022
Cshl cancer research gift
$1.0M
Ecole Nationale Des Ponts Et Chaus · New York, NY · 2022
Computational oncology program
$999,342
Georgia Tech Research Corporation · Atlanta, GA · 2023
Nsf-simons southeast center for mathematics and biology
$998,293
MIT · Cambridge, MA · 2022
Arithmetic geometry, number theory, and computation
$988,360
Cornell University · Ithaca, NY · 2022
Arxiv operating grant
$976,985
Uc San Francisco · San Francisco, CA · 2023
Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd
$958,610
Research Foundation of Cuny · New York, NY · 2023
Cuny masters in astrophysics bridge program
$953,149
University of Washington · Seattle, WA · 2023
Data and tools to define the biogeography of marine phytoplankton
$948,145
MIT · Cambridge, MA · 2024
Arithmetic geometry, number theory, and computation
$937,500
Rutgers State University of Nj · Piscataway, NJ · 2023
Simons junior faculty fellows
$914,085
University of Kwazulu-Natal Durban · 2023
The hydrogen intensity and real-time analysis experiment (hirax)
$914,008
Boston Children'S Hospital · Boston, MA · 2024
Identification and impact of somatic mutations in regulatory regions in autism brain
$900,675
Institute for Advanced Study · Princeton, NJ · 2022
Simons bridge for postdoctoral fellowships at ias
$890,169
MIT · Cambridge, MA · 2024
Computational biogeochemical modeling of marine ecosystems
$884,750
Life Sciences Research Foundation · Charlotte, NC · 2022
Life sciences research foundation fellowships
$880,262
Ucsd · La Jolla, CA · 2024
Array project 3
$856,641
Geisinger Clinic · Danville, PA · 2024
Simons variation in individuals project (vip) recruitment core and phase 2 coordination site
$846,293
Washington University in Stlouis · St Louis, MO · 2023
Analysis of mechanisms underlying sex epistasis in autism - core
$830,226
Uc Los Angeles · Los Angeles, CA · 2023
Topology of cortical and thalamic gene expression in asd
$825,000
University of Pennsylvania · Philadelphia, PA · 2024
Collaborative research: transferable, hierarchical, expressive, optimal, robust, interpretable networks (theorinet)
$810,000
MIT · Cambridge, MA · 2023
The new simons center for the social brain
$808,494
University of Texas Southwestern · Dallas, TX · 2023
Cellular resolution multi-omics of white matter tracts in asd
$794,685
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2024
Stony brook simons stem scholars program
$772,090
Cornell University · Ithaca, NY · 2023
Support for arxiv mmodernization
$770,284
New York University · New York, NY · 2024
Simons-nyu science explorations program
$750,146
Stony Brook Foundation · Stony Brook, NY · 2023
Simons junior faculty fellows
$750,000
Columbia University · New York, NY · 2024
Sex-specific differences in cognitive and brain aging; spi murphy: conserved regulatory pathways in age-related loss of plasticity and cognitive function
$750,000
Smithsonian Institution · Washington, DC · 2024
The role of microbiomes in shaping the ecology and evolution of tropical forest ecosystems
$750,000
Uc Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara, CA · 2023
The simons fund for visiting scientists at the kavli institute of theoretical physics

View all 5,303 grants →

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Source: IRS Form 990-PF, Part XV, as filed by the foundation. These are grants already paid — a record of what this funder backs, not an open call.