Funding search · EIN 480918408 · Arlington, VA

Charles Koch Foundation

Name: Charles Koch 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.

400
grants reported: $201.6M
total given: 2022–2024
filing years: $150,000
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

educational

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

George Mason University Foundation and its affiliated academic centers
Classical liberal scholar pipeline: Institute for Humane Studies, Students for Liberty
University-based political economy centers at public flagships and state schools
Workforce training and skills-based hiring: Jobs for the Future, Per Scholas
Alternative postsecondary pathways: Education Design Lab, microschools, non-degree credentials
Research reform and open data: Center for Open Science

Typical grant

Median grant is $150,000 and the middle half runs $26,250 to $481,025, so most checks are modest program or center support. The very large awards go to two Arlington/Fairfax anchors, George Mason University Foundation at $23.7 million and Institute for Humane Studies at $6.1 million, plus a second tier of $1 million to $2.5 million to universities building named centers. With 400 grants to 293 recipients over three years, repeat funding is the norm, and several grantees (Education Design Lab, Harvard, North Dakota State) appear more than once in a single year.

Their words

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

“"General operating support" is the stated purpose on every single grant in the file”
“"Foundation" in the recipient name: they route most campus money through university foundations, not departments”
“"Institute," "Center," and "Lab" dominate the non-university grantee list over "program" or "project"”

Positioning adjacent work

Pitch a named center or standing research group, not a project. They fund institutions, not one-off studies.
First ask should land $150,000 to $500,000; seven-figure sums follow a multi-year relationship.
Connect to political economy, labor market mobility, or credential alternatives to degrees, their three visible research lanes.
Have your university foundation be the payee and request unrestricted operating support explicitly.

Worth knowing: Two Virginia grantees, George Mason University Foundation and the Institute for Humane Studies, take roughly half the 2024 dollars, and Virginia plus DC lead the recipient count, so the core of this portfolio is a small set of long-standing institutional relationships near headquarters. The rest of the money has shifted noticeably toward workforce, skills-based hiring, and non-degree pathways organizations that are not academic at all.

Top recipients

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

George Mason University Foundation1 grant · $23.7M
George Mason University Foundation2 grants · $19.7M
Institute for Humane Studies3 grants · $17.8M
Institute for Humane Studies1 grant · $6.1M
New York University2 grants · $6.0M
Utah State University2 grants · $5.0M
Duke University2 grants · $4.0M
Merit America2 grants · $3.0M
Chapman University2 grants · $2.8M
Education Design Lab3 grants · $2.6M

Giving over time

$62.8M

2022

$74.7M

2023

$64.1M

2024

Grant history

The 100 largest of 400 grants.

$23.7M
George Mason University Foundation · Fairfax, VA · 2024
General operating support
$17.4M
George Mason University Foundation · Fairfax, VA · 2023
General operating support
$11.9M
Institute for Humane Studies · Arlington, VA · 2023
General operating support
$6.1M
Institute for Humane Studies · Arlington, VA · 2024
General operating support
$5.5M
Institute for Humane Studies · Arlington, VA · 2022
General operating support
$3.0M
New York University · New York, NY · 2022
General operating support
$3.0M
New York University · New York, NY · 2023
General operating support
$2.5M
Utah State University · Logan, UT · 2024
General operating support
$2.5M
Utah State University · Logan, UT · 2023
General operating support
$2.5M
Utah State University · Logan, UT · 2022
General operating support
$2.3M
George Mason University Foundation · Fairfax, VA · 2022
General operating support
$2.3M
Duke University · Durham, NC · 2022
General operating support
$2.0M
North Dakota State University Foundation and Alumni Association · Fargo, ND · 2024
General operating support
$2.0M
Merit America · Washington, DC · 2022
General operating support
$1.9M
Chapman University · Orange, CA · 2022
General operating support
$1.9M
US Chamber of Commerce Foundation · Washington, DC · 2022
General operating support
$1.9M
Shrm Foundation · Alexandria, VA · 2024
General operating support
$1.8M
University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA · 2022
General operating support
$1.8M
Duke University · Durham, NC · 2023
General operating support
$1.7M
United Negro College Fund · Washington, DC · 2022
General operating support
$1.6M
Catholic University of America · Washington, DC · 2022
General operating support
$1.6M
University of Notre Dame · Notre Dame, IN · 2022
General operating support
$1.6M
Arizona State University Foundation · Tempe, AZ · 2023
General operating support
$1.4M
Arizona State University · Tempe, AZ · 2022
General operating support
$1.3M
Wichita State University Foundation · Wichita, KS · 2022
General operating support
$1.3M
Education Design Lab · Washington, DC · 2023
General operating support
$1.2M
Jobs for the Future · Boston, MA · 2024
General operating support
$1.2M
Center for Growth and Opportunity · Logan, UT · 2023
General operating support
$1.2M
Ohio State University Foundation · Columbus, OH · 2024
General operating support
$1.2M
Clemson University Foundation · Clemson, SC · 2023
General operating support
$1.1M
New York University · New York, NY · 2024
General operating support
$1.1M
Stanford University · Stanford, CA · 2022
General operating support
$1.1M
Dartmouth College · Hanover, NH · 2024
General operating support
$1.1M
Dartmouth College · Hanover, NH · 2023
General operating support
$1.1M
University of Florida Foundation · Gainesville, FL · 2022
General operating support
$1.1M
Johns Hopkins University · Baltimore, MD · 2023
General operating support
$1.1M
West Virginia University Foundation · Morgantown, WV · 2022
General operating support
$1.1M
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2022
General operating support
$1.1M
Southern Methodist University · Dallas, TX · 2022
General operating support
$1.0M
Indiana University Foundation · Indianapolis, IN · 2022
General operating support
$1.0M
Education Design Lab · Washington, DC · 2024
General operating support
$1.0M
North Dakota State University · Fargo, ND · 2024
General operating support
$1.0M
University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX · 2024
General operating support
$1.0M
Competency-Based Education Network · Franklin, TN · 2023
General operating support
$1.0M
Merit America · Washington, DC · 2023
General operating support
$1.0M
Opportunitywork · Washington, DC · 2023
General operating support
$1.0M
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · New York City, NY · 2023
General operating support
$988,334
University of Pittsburgh · Pittsburgh, PA · 2024
General operating support
$988,333
University of Pittsburgh · Pittsburgh, PA · 2022
General operating support
$983,116
Texas a&M Foundation · College Station, TX · 2022
General operating support
$978,980
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2023
General operating support
$963,000
West Virginia University Foundation · Morgantown, WV · 2023
General operating support
$914,000
Chapman University · Orange, CA · 2023
General operating support
$903,000
Per Scholas · Bronx, NY · 2024
General operating support
$902,342
Cornell University · Ithaca, NY · 2023
General operating support
$894,558
Stanford University · Stanford, CA · 2023
General operating support
$892,144
University of Kentucky · Lexington, KY · 2022
General operating support
$884,159
Duke University · Durham, NC · 2024
General operating support
$859,000
West Virginia University Foundation · Arlington, VA · 2024
General operating support
$855,000
University of Texas at Austin · Austin, TX · 2023
General operating support
$841,833
Dartmouth College · Hanover, NH · 2022
General operating support
$827,090
Indiana University Foundation · Indianapolis, IN · 2023
General operating support
$817,012
Johns Hopkins University · Baltimore, MD · 2022
General operating support
$788,000
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · Chapel Hill, NC · 2023
General operating support
$779,000
University of Florida Foundation · Gainesville, FL · 2023
General operating support
$762,500
Education Design Lab · Washington, DC · 2024
General operating support
$750,000
Western Governors University · Salt Lake City, UT · 2023
General operating support
$734,535
University of Notre Dame · Notre Dame, IN · 2023
General operating support
$727,500
Louisiana State University Foundation · Baton Rouge, LA · 2022
General operating support
$667,420
Claremont Graduate University · Claremont, CA · 2022
General operating support
$659,518
Claremont Graduate University · Claremont, CA · 2023
General operating support
$650,000
Per Scholas · Bronx, NY · 2022
General operating support
$625,000
Center for Growth and Opportunity · Logan, UT · 2022
General operating support
$614,000
Cornell University · Ithaca, NY · 2024
General operating support
$600,000
Jobs for the Future · Boston, MA · 2023
General operating support
$600,000
Jobs for the Future · Boston, MA · 2022
General operating support
$579,000
Rice University · Houston, TX · 2022
General operating support
$576,040
Harvard University · Cambridge, MA · 2024
General operating support
$569,000
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · Chapel Hill, NC · 2022
General operating support
$565,000
Kansas State University Foundation · Manhattan, KS · 2023
General operating support
$550,000
Kansas State University Foundation · Manhattan, KS · 2024
General operating support
$550,000
Kansas State University Foundation · Manhattan, KS · 2022
General operating support
$547,000
Chapman University · Orange, CA · 2024
General operating support
$544,000
US Chamber of Commerce Foundation · Washington, DC · 2023
General operating support
$543,000
Arizona State University Foundation · Tempe, AZ · 2024
General operating support
$536,000
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · Chapel Hill, NC · 2024
General operating support
$516,611
Middle Tennessee State University Foundation · Murfreesboro, TN · 2022
General operating support
$505,000
Tufts University · Medford, MA · 2022
General operating support
$500,000
Center for Growth and Opportunity · Arlington, VA · 2024
General operating support
$500,000
College101 Dba Postsecondary Commission · Boston, MA · 2024
General operating support
$500,000
Public Health Data Laboratory Institute · Delray Beach, FL · 2024
General operating support
$500,000
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors · New York, NY · 2024
General operating support
$500,000
Southern Methodist University · Dallas, TX · 2024
General operating support
$500,000
Public Health Data Laboratory Institute · Delray Beach, FL · 2023
General operating support
$500,000
Skills for Chicagoland'S Future · Chicago, IL · 2023
General operating support
$500,000
Southern Methodist University · Dallas, TX · 2023
General operating support
$500,000
Unc School of Government Foundation · Chapel Hill, NC · 2023
General operating support
$500,000
University of Utah · Salt Lake City, UT · 2023
General operating support
$484,665
University of California - San Diego · La Jolla, CA · 2022
General operating support
$483,140
University of Central Arkansas Foundation · Conway, AR · 2022
General operating support

View all 400 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.