Funding search · EIN 226029397 · Princeton, NJ

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Name: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grants, 2020–2024
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.

13,555
grants reported: $2.27B
total given: 2020–2024
filing years: $29,091
median grant

Based on grants this organization reported to the IRS for tax years 2020–2024. This is what they filed, not a complete record of their giving, and recent years may be incomplete because filings lag.

What they fund

matching gifts gift health research policy cohort equity

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

State and federal health policy advocacy, Medicaid and coverage defense
Racial equity and structural racism work across health, housing, economy
Health data infrastructure, dashboards, county rankings, disaggregated data
Research and leadership programs run through university national program centers
Family economic policy: childcare, paid leave, progressive tax, food security
New Jersey health equity, food security, and local institutions

Typical grant

Median grant is about $29,000, but the money is barely there: half of all grants sit between $1,250 and $150,000 while the top of the range runs $1M to $12M. The large checks go to national coordinating offices, university program centers, and multiyear general operating support for policy advocacy groups. Repeat giving is the norm, with organizations like Community Catalyst, PolicyLink, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Third Sector New England appearing multiple times in a single year.

Their words

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

“health equity”
“structural racism”
“narrative change”
“general operating support”
“technical assistance and direction”
“communities most impacted”

Positioning adjacent work

Frame research as building the field, not producing a paper. Name the policy audience and the systems change sought.
Connect to an existing named program (Evidence for Action, Policies for Action, Systems for Action) rather than proposing a standalone study.
For a first university-based project, ask $1M to $3M over two to three years; that is their standard research center size.
Center community leadership and lived experience in the design, and say who holds decision-making power in the project.

Worth knowing: Giving is heavily concentrated in DC policy shops, New Jersey (their home state, with dedicated initiatives), and a small set of intermediaries like New Venture Fund, Third Sector New England, and Borealis that regrant on their behalf. The 2020-2024 record shows an unmistakable turn toward explicitly antiracist framing and movement infrastructure, so adjacent work that reads as neutral clinical research will not land.

13 grants matching “champions” · $6.0M

$1.3M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2024
82386 supporting the protect our care education fund in championing medicaid, expanded premium tax credits, and legal defense of healthcare, 2024-2026
$630,000
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2024
80848 supporting protect our care in championing medicaid, expanding access to coverage, and defeating legal threats to healthcare, 2023-2024
$500,000
State Innovation Exchange (Six) · Madison, WI · 2024
81724 supporting the economic power project in resourcing lawmakers as champions of children and families
$250,000
Roosevelt Institute · New York, NY · 2024
82389 expanding leadership capacity and building the power of emerging leaders from diverse communities to champion the public good
$100,000
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2024
78576 providing message and policy guidance for champions of expanding coverage, addressing racial disparities, lowering costs, and improving care quality
$1.3M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2023
80848 supporting protect our care in championing medicaid, expanding access to coverage, and defeating legal threats to healthcare
$371,610
Center for Rural Strat · Whitesburg, KY · 2023
80847 supporting the next phase of the rural assembly as champion of rural equity, inclusion, social justice, and well-being
$125,000
James B Hunt Jr Institute for Educati · Cary, NC · 2023
78142 expanding a 'cadre of state champions' dedicated to addressing early care and education
$900,000
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2022
78576 providing message and policy guidance for champions of expanding coverage, addressing racial disparities, lowering costs, and improving care quality
$225,000
New Jersey Audubon Soc · Bernardsville, NJ · 2022
80188 creating the n.j. Children in nature coalition to champion outdoor learning to benefit children's health and well-being and ensure healthy communities
$100,000
National Domestic Workers Allian · New York, NY · 2022
78915 championing a culture-change strategy through the care can't wait campaign to create an accessible, equitable care infrastructure for all
$125,000
James B Hunt Jr Institute for Educati · Cary, NC · 2020
78142 Expanding a 'cadre of state champions' dedic
$109,000
Breakout · New York, NY · 2020
77206 Championing grassroots change-makers and giv

Top recipients

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

Community Catalyst26 grants · $53.3M
New Venture Fund84 grants · $47.3M
Third Sector New England38 grants · $19.9M
Community Catalyst9 grants · $17.3M
Center On Budget and Policy Priorities11 grants · $17.0M
Urban Inst40 grants · $16.9M
Policylink20 grants · $15.5M
Borealis Philanthropy18 grants · $14.7M
Center On Budget & Pol Priorities20 grants · $13.9M
University of Wisconsin Population Healt4 grants · $13.2M

Giving over time

$531.4M

2020

$569.4M

2022

$543.6M

2023

$621.9M

2024

Grant history

The 100 largest of 13,555 grants.

$12.2M
Center On Budget and Policy Priorities · Washington, DC · 2024
79658 advancing racially equitable economic, tax, and social policy in states and growing essential state policy infrastructure
$10.5M
Community Catalyst · Boston, MA · 2020
77294 Serving as the national coordinating/program
$10.0M
Community Catalyst · Boston, MA · 2023
80591 supporting the coverage and care initiative to expand coverage, improve the enrollment experience and benefits, and ensure access to trusted providers
$8.6M
Community Catalyst · Boston, MA · 2024
80588 serving as the national coordinating/program office for rwjf's voices for health justice authorization
$8.3M
Community Catalyst · Boston, MA · 2023
80588 serving as the national coordinating/program office for rwjf's voices for health justice authorization
$7.4M
University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · Madison, WI · 2024
80417 continuing the county health rankings & roadmaps' path in developing narratives to address the structural drivers of health inequities
$7.4M
University of Wisconsin Population Healt · Madison, WI · 2023
80417 continuing the county health rankings & roadmaps' path in developing narratives to address the structural drivers of health inequities
$7.4M
American Heart Assn · Dallas, TX · 2020
77906 Supporting the American Heart Association's
$5.8M
American Heart Assn · Dallas, TX · 2022
77906 supporting the american heart association's next phase of the voices for healthy kids initiative, specifically to advance health equity for children
$5.8M
Vose River Charitable Fund · Bethesda, MD · 2024
78878 transforming local data environments through principles of health equity and justice to enable a better use of local data infrastructure and systems
$5.6M
Illinois Pub Hlt Inst · Chicago, IL · 2020
77041 Supporting the Data Across Sectors for Healt
$5.2M
Economic Policy Institute · Washington, DC · 2024
81568 anchoring work to make families an economic priority through the support of a new policy ecosystem -- economic policy institute
$5.2M
Family Values Work a Multi State Consortium · Milwaukee, WI · 2024
81571 anchoring work to make families an economic priority through the support of a new policy ecosystem -- family values @ work
$5.0M
Faith in Action Ntwk · Washington, DC · 2022
80311 supporting the faith in action endowment in creating racial and economic justice in the united states
$5.0M
Naacp Foundation · Baltimore, MD · 2022
80310 supporting the naacp endowment in helping to sustain the fight for civil rights and to weather the rising tides of inequality and injustice
$5.0M
Strategic Investment Fund for La Raza (S · Washington, DC · 2022
80339 supporting the unidosus endowment in enabling action on issues/policies that require an immediate response on behalf of the latino community
$4.9M
Princeton U · Princeton, NJ · 2022
79459 continuing direct technical assistance to states, including advancing community leadership in policymaking, 2022-2024
$4.8M
Princeton U · Princeton, NJ · 2023
79459 continuing direct technical assistance to states, including advancing community leadership in policymaking, 2022-2024
$4.8M
Princeton U · Princeton, NJ · 2020
77271 Providing technical assistance and peer lear
$4.8M
Race Forward · Washington, DC · 2023
81035 general operating support for race forward, 2023-2025
$4.5M
University of Wisconsin Population Healt · Madison, WI · 2022
78090 strengthening county health rankings & roadmaps' efforts to change narrative and catalyze action on health and equity in communities
$4.5M
Borealis Philanthropy · Minneapolis, MN · 2024
82080 supporting the black-led movement fund and disability inclusion fund in catalyzing investments in the racial justice and disability justice movements
$4.5M
Trust for Am Hlt · Washington, DC · 2020
77527 General operating support during the COVID-1
$4.4M
Community Catalyst · Boston, MA · 2022
79840 assisting with enrollment and renewal for populations most likely to be or become uninsured during a historically complex coverage environment
$4.3M
Roosevelt Inst · New York, NY · 2022
78053 accelerating learning about base-building organizations' role in creating community power, advancing systems change, and combating structural racism
$4.3M
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · New York, NY · 2020
77575 Advancing Forward Promise's efforts to addre
$4.3M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2022
79851 recruiting and onboarding a second cohort of participants for the culture of health leadership institute for racial healing
$4.2M
Princeton University · Princeton, NJ · 2024
81812 continuing direct technical assistance to states, including promoting community leadership in policymaking and advancing health equity, 2024-2025
$4.2M
Center On Budget & Pol Priorities · Washington, DC · 2022
79658 advancing racially equitable economic, tax, and social policy in states and growing essential state policy infrastructure
$4.2M
New York U · New York, NY · 2023
80586 continuing to build the city health dashboard's impact and to deepen engagement
$4.1M
Johns Hopkins University · Baltimore, MD · 2024
82057 supporting johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health as national program center for rwjf's health policy research scholars program, 2024-2026
$4.0M
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Sch of Pub Hlt · Baltimore, MD · 2022
79853 supporting johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health as national program center for rwjf's health policy research scholars program, 2022-2024
$4.0M
Center for Black Health and Equity · Durham, NC · 2024
81364 supporting the center for black health and equity as regional hub to advance equitable commercial tobacco control in the south and midwest
$4.0M
Catholic Charities USA · Alexandria, VA · 2020
77463 Providing emergency assistance during the CO
$4.0M
Feeding Am · Chicago, IL · 2020
77464 Providing emergency assistance during the CO
$4.0M
Mary Reynolds Babcock Fdn · Winston Salem, NC · 2020
77538 Providing emergency assistance during the CO
$4.0M
Meals On Wheels Am · Arlington, VA · 2020
77467 Providing emergency assistance during the CO
$3.9M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2023
80940 supporting the national collaborative for health equity in recruiting cohort 3 for the culture of health leadership institute for racial healing
$3.7M
Urban Inst · Washington, DC · 2022
79821 identifying policy and practice changes for medicaid and the social safety net to move the nation toward health equity and racial justice, 2022-2023
$3.6M
Center On Budget & Pol Priorities · Washington, DC · 2020
77522 General operating support during the COVID-1
$3.6M
Roosevelt Inst · New York, NY · 2020
78053 Accelerating learning about base-building or
$3.6M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2024
80940 supporting the national collaborative for health equity in recruiting cohort 3 for the culture of health leadership institute for racial healing
$3.5M
Minnesota U of · Minneapolis, MN · 2022
79917 continuing support for and evaluating the rwjf interdisciplinary research leaders program, 2022-2023
$3.5M
Third Sector New England · Boston, MA · 2023
80607 supporting the network for public health law, 2023-2025
$3.4M
New York University · New York, NY · 2024
80586 continuing to build the city health dashboard's impact and to deepen engagement
$3.4M
Ideo Org · San Francisco, CA · 2022
79490 implementing phase 2 of the health equity collective in advancing equity and addressing racism, sexism, ageism, and discrimination in institutions
$3.3M
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · New York, NY · 2024
81429 renewing support for the center for community investment in its capital absorption approach to addressing structural racism in community investment
$3.3M
Right To the City Allian · Brooklyn, NY · 2023
78048 strengthening base-building organizations to bring tens of thousands of people impacted by housing instability into a powerful movement for change
$3.3M
Rockefeller Philanthropy Adv · New York, NY · 2023
81429 renewing support for the center for community investment in its capital absorption approach to addressing structural racism in community investment
$3.3M
Leadership Conf Edu Fund · Washington, DC · 2022
78879 advancing state and federal policies for meaningful data disaggregation, allowing research and advocacy to identify gaps in and achieve racial equity
$3.3M
Smart Growth Am · Washington, DC · 2023
80673 reconnecting small and midsize communities harmed by divisive transportation infrastructure
$3.3M
Center for Community Change · Washington, DC · 2024
81556 developing a vision for antiracist health policy and other resources for organizations working to advance an antiracist health equity movement
$3.2M
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health · Baltimore, MD · 2024
79853 supporting johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health as national program center for rwjf's health policy research scholars program, 2022-2024
$3.1M
Praxis Project · San Francisco, CA · 2024
81799 supporting the health equity collective in growing and sustaining the movement for liberated leadership, phase 4
$3.1M
Third Sector New England · Boston, MA · 2024
80607 supporting the network for public health law, 2023-2025
$3.1M
Vose River Charitable Fund · Bethesda, MD · 2023
78878 transforming local data environments through principles of health equity and justice to enable a better use of local data infrastructure and systems
$3.1M
Praxis Proj · Oakland, CA · 2023
80797 implementing phase 3 of the health equity collective as a stand-alone, self-determined, co-led entity for modeling and spreading health equity
$3.0M
Leadership Conf Edu Fund · Washington, DC · 2023
78879 advancing state and federal policies for meaningful data disaggregation, allowing research and advocacy to identify gaps in and achieve racial equity
$3.0M
University of Minnesota Sponsored Projects Administration · Minneapolis, MN · 2024
82063 providing technical assistance and direction for the rwjf interdisciplinary research leaders program, 2024-2025
$3.0M
Princeton Area Community Foundation · Princeton, NJ · 2024
82014 rwjf president's grants fund at the princeton area community foundation - 2024
$3.0M
Peoples Action Inst · Chicago, IL · 2023
78049 training local tenant-led collectives and supporting base-building innovations to address crises in housing insecurity, homelessness, and evictions
$3.0M
Princeton Area Comm Fdn · Princeton, NJ · 2023
80890 rwjf president's grants fund at the princeton area community foundation - 2023
$3.0M
Urban Inst · Washington, DC · 2023
80785 providing actionable research to inform policy choices aimed at improving access to affordable coverage and care and addressing equity, 2023-2025
$3.0M
Peoples Action Inst · Chicago, IL · 2022
78049 training local tenant-led collectives and supporting base-building innovations to address crises in housing insecurity, homelessness, and evictions
$3.0M
Borealis Philanthropy · Minneapolis, MN · 2020
77744 Supporting Borealis Philanthropy's Black-led
$3.0M
National Domestic Workers Allian · New York, NY · 2020
77472 Providing emergency assistance during the CO
$3.0M
National Low Income Hous Coal · Washington, DC · 2020
77462 Providing emergency assistance during the CO
$3.0M
Notah Begay Iii Fdn · Santa Ana Pueblo, NM · 2020
77976 General operating support during the COVID-1
$3.0M
Peoples Action Inst · Chicago, IL · 2020
78049 Training local tenant-led collectives and su
$3.0M
Southern Partners Fund · Atlanta, GA · 2020
77534 Providing emergency assistance during the CO
$3.0M
Minnesota U of · Minneapolis, MN · 2023
81124 continuing support for and evaluating the rwjf interdisciplinary research leaders program, 2023-2024
$2.9M
Third Sector New England · Boston, MA · 2022
78395 ensuring that effective laws and policies are in place to address future public health emergencies and create more-equitable health outcomes
$2.9M
Third Sector New England · Boston, MA · 2020
76499 Increasing the Network for Public Health Law
$2.9M
University of California San Francisco · San Francisco, CA · 2024
81637 continuing evolving rwjf's evidence for action research program to be relevant and to advance racial equity, year 10
$2.9M
Center On Budget & Pol Priorities · Washington, DC · 2020
77552 Expanding the Safety Net Initiative to provi
$2.8M
Rutgers St U of Nj Ctr for St Hlt Pol · New Brunswick, NJ · 2020
77873 Implementing a population-based cohort study
$2.8M
Lincoln Inst of Land Pol · Cambridge, MA · 2022
77272 transforming the community investment system to improve population health, 2020-2023
$2.8M
Robert Wood Johnson U Hosp Fdn · New Brunswick, NJ · 2022
79910 installing a digital operating system for 26 operating rooms at rwj university hospital to streamline surgical flow and ensure patient safety
$2.7M
Policylink · Oakland, CA · 2024
81014 general operating support for policylink, 2023-2025
$2.7M
Policylink · Oakland, CA · 2024
82190 supporting liberation in a generation in advancing an economy in which all children and families of color have basic needs met, are valued, and belong
$2.7M
Community Catalyst · Boston, MA · 2020
77520 Organizing outreach and public education in
$2.6M
New Venture Fund · Washington, DC · 2022
79428 supporting the culture of health leadership institute for racial healing and its first cohort to advance racial and health equity in the leaders' work
$2.6M
Camden Coal of Hltcare Providers · Camden, NJ · 2020
77319 Advancing the complex-care field and maturin
$2.6M
Well Being and Equity in the World Institute · Nashua, NH · 2024
81470 conducting planning for implementing justice squared, a program to prepare healthcare and public health leaders to address structural racism
$2.5M
Array Allian · Los Angeles, CA · 2023
80614 supporting the production of the origin film and narrative change social impact campaign
$2.5M
Center for Popular Democracy · Brooklyn, NY · 2023
81163 building grassroots power to advance housing justice for tenants facing housing insecurity and to achieve transformational change
$2.5M
Peoples Action Inst · Chicago, IL · 2023
81191 building community power to support tenants facing housing insecurity and to advance base-building innovations to improve people's lives
$2.5M
Right To the City Allian · Brooklyn, NY · 2023
81144 general operating support for the right to the city alliance
$2.5M
America'S Promise Allian for Youth · Washington, DC · 2020
77401 General operating support for America's Prom
$2.5M
Center for the Collab Classroom · Alameda, CA · 2020
77514 General operating support for Center for the
$2.5M
One Fair Wage · Cambridge, MA · 2020
77642 Providing emergency assistance during the CO
$2.5M
Princeton Area Comm Fdn · Lawrenceville, NJ · 2020
78043 RWJF President's Grants Fund at the Princeto
$2.5M
American Nonsmokers Rights Fdn · Berkeley, CA · 2020
77723 General operating support for American Nonsm
$2.4M
Prevention Institute · Oakland, CA · 2024
81728 expanding the people, parks, and power's broad-based movement for park and green-space equity in the u.s., led by the most-impacted communities
$2.4M
Community Foundation of New Jersey · Morristown, NJ · 2024
81537 supporting equip-nj in strengthening the ecosystem of organizations working to advance health equity and rwjf's policy priorities in new jersey
$2.4M
Lincoln Inst of Land Pol · Cambridge, MA · 2020
77272 Transforming the community investment system
$2.4M
American Heart Assn · Dallas, TX · 2022
79656 strengthening voices for healthy kids financially as it evolves from rwjf funding to a multifunder movement
$2.3M
Cultural Wellness Ctr · Minneapolis, MN · 2023
81221 providing technical assistance and direction for rwjf's community solutions for health equity program
$2.3M
Praxis Proj · Oakland, CA · 2020
76474 General operating support for the Praxis Pro
$2.3M
Center for Popular Democracy · Brooklyn, NY · 2023
78050 building community power through housing justice and local base-building

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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.