How philanthropic foundations are reshaping science funding globally

Nature reports on trends in philanthropic funding for scientific research and provides guidance for applicants.

• Main finding: The article outlines that philanthropic foundations (for example, the Simons Foundation, Wellcome, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Sloan Foundation) are increasingly important funders of basic and applied research; key quantitative details include a rise in philanthropic share of US university and nonprofit research funding from 10% to 16% (1980–2023) and a fall in federal share from 66% to 50%. It also cites specific grants and endowments such as US$1 million (Sloan award for data-center study) and more than US$1.4 million (Sloan award on methane flaring research).
• Context and guidance: This is a journalistic analysis and guidance piece (not a single institutional announcement). It summarises foundation priorities (e.g., Novo Nordisk Foundation: health, sustainability, local life-science ecosystem; Wellcome: climate and health, infectious diseases, mental health, discovery research) and offers practical advice for applicants, including geographic preferences (around 35% of grants and 49% of funds go to recipients in the donor’s same state) and changing success rates (Wellcome funded 16.6% of open-scheme applicants in 2024–25, down from 22.3% the previous year).