Funding search
Find who already funds work like yours.
Private foundations don’t post open calls, so nobody can search them. We read IRS filings instead — 9.6 million grants from 174,053 foundations and grantmaking charities, searchable by what the money was actually for.
12 funders with a record of paying for “astronomy”
Where the money went
Largest: $1.8M to REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — in support of the renovation and refurbishment of lick observatory to bolster and expand the capacity to serve the bay area public with astronomy-based programming while maintainin…
Largest: $115,000 to ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH IN ASTRONOMY - NATIONAL SOLAR OBSE — brinson prize fellowship - multi- messenger solar astronomy research
Largest: $116,121 to REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO — for graduate fellowships in astronomy and astrophysics
Cornell UniversityIthaca, NYCharity · may take applications
9 matching grants · $293,918 · through 2023Largest: $92,875 to University of Alaska — research-astronomy & astrophysics
Largest: $208,863 to NATIONAL RADIO ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY — to create a graduate education pathway for urm students from 14 minority-serving institution undergraduate astronomy, computer science, and data science programsto a relevant stem …
The Kavli FoundationLos Angeles, CA
5 matching grants · $2.7M · through 2024Largest: $479,000 to KAVLI INSTITUTE FOR ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS AT PEKING UNIVERSITY — kavli institute for astronomy and astrophysics at peking university 2019-2023
Largest: $25,000 to University of Pittsburgh — contour-a: cross-organizational network for tools to optimize undergraduate research in astronomy
Largest: $6,000 to Tierra Astronomical Institute — to provide the fundamental tools and resources for public education and research in astronomy
Largest: $60,000 to STAMFORD MUSEUM AND NATURE CENTER — astronomy center
Largest: $35,000 to CARNEGIE OBSERVATORIES OF THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE — carnegie observatories: astronomy lecture series
Largest: $299,959 to DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION SOCIETY — restoring and operating a 60-foot dish antenna for radio astronomy and amateur radio experimenting
Cincinnati Observatory FoundationCincinnati, OHCharity · may take applications
3 matching grants · $519,517 · through 2024Largest: $189,605 to CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY CENTER — historic preservation of cincinnati observatory and stem education in the field of astronomy.
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Source: IRS Form 990-PF Part XV and Form 990 Schedule I, tax years 2019–2025. These are grants already paid, a record of what an organization funds rather than an open call. Private foundations rarely accept unsolicited applications and the route in is usually a program officer; grantmaking charities and associations more often run real application cycles, so check their website. How this data is built, and its limits →