The Lemelson Foundation
Invitation OnlyPortland, Oregon · EIN 88-0391959 · Private foundation · Website
Grants paid (2024)$19.7M
Organizations funded71
Typical grant$115,000
Total assets$414.4M
Half of its grants to organizations were between $50,000 and $350,000.
From the return
How to apply
On its return for tax year 2024 the foundation checked the box saying it only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
What it funds
Share of grant lines on the latest return, classified from the purpose each grant states.
Where it gives
88% of grants went outside Oregon.
Grants paid in tax year 2024
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance | Hadley, MA | To support inventive mindsets and skillsets among higher education students and to foster institutional conditions that nurture such… | $2,959,932 |
| National Science Foundation | Alexandria, VA | To enable innovative collaborative research on sustainability by fostering efforts to transform engineering education to prepare graduating… | $1,650,000 |
| Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy Inc | Washington, DC | To support pre-development activities necessary to support tribes seeking to develop renewable energy projects on their lands | $1,250,000 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | To (1) support the lemelson-mits invention education work in developing the next generation of inventors, with a focus on diversity,… | $1,150,000 |
| Rocky Mountain Institute | Boulder, CO | To source, select, support, and scale promising startups through rmis third derivative and climate-aligned industries programs focused on… | $1,000,000 |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc | New York, NY | To be used by rockefeller philanthropy advisors as fiscal sponsor for the urban movement innovation fund | $750,000 |
| William Marsh Rice University | Houston, TX | To increase capacity and partnerships in kenyan higher education institutions to strengthen kenya's innovation system | $600,000 |
| Climate Breakthrough Inc | Berkeley, CA | For general operating support | $500,000 |
| Kenya Impact Innovations Foundation | Nairobi, KE | To support business incubation activities, develop a pipeline of invention-based enterprises, and strengthen an inclusive innovation… | $500,000 |
| Oil Change International | Washington, DC | For general operating support | $500,000 |
| Rockefeller Family Fund Inc | New York, NY | To support industry accountability for cleanup and decommissioning of methane-leaking infrastructure | $500,000 |
| Seeding Justice | Portland, OR | To be used for bridge funding to support the establishment of the oregon community climate investments fund | $500,000 |
| Sustainable Energy for All Verein Fur Nachhaltige Energie | Wien, AU | For general operating support | $500,000 |
| Clearpath Inc | Washington, DC | To continue support of the clean industrial technology campaign to accelerate the decarbonization of domestic industrial sectors | $400,000 |
| Selco Foundation | Bangalore, IN | To support a climate-focused, inclusive technology innovation and incubation program and knowledge center | $395,740 |
| Villgro Innovations Foundation | Chennai, IN | To support the incubation and launch of high-impact, highly scalable, invention-based enterprises in india that improve lives of the poor… | $375,594 |
| Windward Fund | Washington, DC | To scale up cost-effective solutions in methane mitigation | $360,000 |
| Action for the Climate Emergency Inc | Charlestown, MA | For general operating support | $350,000 |
| Portland State University Foundation | Portland, OR | To support the invent oregon program activities and to implement statewide collegiate invention and prototyping competition in oregon | $334,045 |
| Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated | New York, NY | To support methanesat, an orbital eye in the sky that could monitor industrial methane leaks all over the planet | $300,000 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | To support the catalytic capital community to strengthen disadvantaged communities, expand economic opportunity, and support innovation… | $300,000 |
| Clean Air Task Force Inc | Boston, MA | To support civil society organizations in africa working to address methane emissions | $250,000 |
| National Public Radio Inc | Washington, DC | For general operating support | $250,000 |
| Society for Science and the Public | Washington, DC | To support a multi-point engagement strategy with middle school students to inspire and educate them through science fairs held across the… | $225,000 |
| The Edison Institute Inc | Dearborn, MI | To support the integration of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in their invention education work, in addition to sustaining a… | $205,907 |
| Tie Oregon Foundation | Portland, OR | To continue the tie young entrepreneurs program and expand tie oregon's capacity through third-party evaluators | $203,177 |
| American Society for Engineering Education | Washington, DC | To support the integration of engineering for one planet learning outcomes in diverse engineering courses and programs by supporting… | $192,206 |
| The Edison Institute Inc | Dearborn, MI | To increase access to and inclusivity in the invention convention worldwide program, particularly for young women, black americans, latinx,… | $180,463 |
| Portland State University Foundation | Portland, OR | To support the evolution and growth of current programmatic offerings and to develop a new strategic approach to integrate invention… | $162,500 |
| Smithsonian Institute | Washington, DC | To support the lemelson center for the study of invention and innovation with the installation of a new exhibition, change your game, and… | $150,000 |
| The Aspen Institute Inc | Washington, DC | To support the aspen network for development entrepreneurs (ande) to build climate change capacity and expertise so ande can advocate for… | $150,000 |
| Realize Impact | Bainbridge Island, WA | To support the development and launch of a program designed to support african and female climate tech innovators | $125,000 |
| STEM Next Opportunity Fund | San Diego, CA | To support the placement of senior policy fellows in federal government agencies to advance STEM, invention, and equity at the federal level | $125,000 |
| Villanova University | Villanova, PA | To (1) increase adoption of the engineering for one planet framework in diverse institutions, (2) develop models for faculty training, and… | $125,000 |
| Editorial Projects in Education Inc | Bethesda, MD | To support the development and dissemination of new education research focused on identifying the needs of diverse students in STEM and… | $120,000 |
| Impact Innovators and Entrepreneurs Foundation | Wilmington, DE | To support a global network of entrepreneur support organizations with increased capacity and resources to foster invention-based… | $115,000 |
| African Venture Philanthropy Alliance | Nairobi, KE | To support the mobilization of investment within sub-saharan african countries into enterprises offering climate adaptation solutions for… | $113,068 |
| Oregon State University Foundation | Corvallis, OR | To provide invention education to diverse and rural youth in grades K-12 throughout oregon and research and test teaching approaches | $101,500 |
| Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc | Arlington, VA | To expand invention education programming adopted during the school day by building sustainable pathways for teachers serving… | $100,044 |
| Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc | Arlington, VA | To support the integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the associations invention education work | $100,000 |
| Library Foundation of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | To support the "no prior art" exhibition | $100,000 |
| Kenya Impact Innovations Foundation | Nairobi, KE | To pilot the concept of lean start-up venture studio in kenya that aims to help entrepreneurs to ideate and invent health solutions… | $99,520 |
| Kenya National Innovation Agency | KE | To (1) bring together nonprofit institutions, educational institutions, and research institutions in kenya that do not have tech transfer… | $98,850 |
| Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc | New York, NY | To support the pre-pilot phase of an entrepreneur mentorship pilot initiative in india | $98,613 |
| The Asme Foundation Inc | New York, NY | To (1) support the asme innovation showcase (ishow) in india, kenya, and the united states, and (2) pilot models for strengthening… | $96,000 |
| Kennesaw State Unversity Research and Service Foundation Inc | Kennesaw, GA | To integrate engineering for one planet learning outcomes in diverse engineering courses across multiple departments | $94,845 |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | Dearborn, MI | To integrate engineering for one planet learning outcomes in diverse engineering courses and programs | $81,286 |
| Community Initiatives | Oakland, CA | To continue to develop a formally structured network of philanthropic funders to inspire entrepreneurship, strengthen entrepreneurs, and… | $75,000 |
| Tides Center | San Francisco, CA | To prepare and retain excellent K-12 STEM teachers so that black, latinx, and native students can thrive in STEM | $75,000 |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX | To support ut arlington's integration of engineering for one planet learning outcomes in diverse engineering courses and programs | $66,978 |
| STEM Next Opportunity Fund | San Diego, CA | To support the placement of diverse senior policy fellows in federal government agencies to advance STEM, invention, and equity at the… | $62,500 |
| Art Center College of Design | Pasadena, CA | To foster the integration of engineering for one planet learning outcomes through the modification of courses at artcenter and the… | $59,850 |
| Trustees of Indiana University | Bloomington, IN | To conduct research to identify the capacities youth need to be inventive problem-solvers | $55,000 |
| American Society for Engineering Education | Washington, DC | To foster the integration of engineering for one planet learning outcomes in diverse engineering courses and programs by supporting faculty… | $50,000 |
| Black Inventors Hall of Fame | Wharton, NJ | To convene visionary individuals of color to help define the educational foundation of STEM and invention education programs across the… | $50,000 |
| Nature Conservancy | Seattle, WA | To support the connecting canopies project, which aims to create a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable urban forestry model in the… | $50,000 |
| University of Maryland Eastern Shore | Princess Anne, MD | To train engineering faculty to integrate learning outcomes from the engineering for one planet framework into multiple engineering… | $49,918 |
| Drones Doing Good Alliance | Linz Am Rhein, GM | To (1) provide support to pilot a program in which the grantee will test how its drone hardware can be leveraged by local businesses in… | $49,594 |
| African Centre for Technology Studies | Nairobi, KE | To support acts's role as a collaborator in the national entrepreneurial institutions framework, to strengthen commercialization systems in… | $39,324 |
| Collaborative for Frontier Finance | Washington, DC | To assess the feasibility of and design for a new investment facility intended to mobilize more investment within african countries into… | $35,261 |
Showing the 60 largest of 71 grants to organizations.
Grants approved for future payment
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance | Hadley, MA | To support inventive mindsets and skillsets among higher education students and to foster institutional conditions that nurture such… | $7,519,635 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | To (1) support the lemelson-mits invention education work in developing the next generation of inventors, with a focus on diversity,… | $2,300,000 |
| Instituto Clima E Sociedade | Rio de Janeiro, | To (A) support industrial decarbonization in northeast brazil and (B) build a diverse climate constituency leading up to and following cop30 | $2,000,000 |
| William Marsh Rice University | Houston, TX | To increase capacity and partnerships in kenyan higher education institutions to strengthen kenya's innovation system | $1,899,999 |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc | New York, NY | To be used by rockefeller philanthropy advisors as fiscal sponsor of the urban movement innovation fund | $1,500,000 |
| Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy Inc | Washington, DC | To support pre-development activities necessary to support tribes seeking to develop renewable energy projects on their lands | $1,250,000 |
| American Society for Engineering Education | Washington, DC | To support the integration of engineering for one planet learning outcomes in diverse engineering courses and programs by supporting… | $1,093,263 |
| National Science Foundation | Alexandria, VA | Nsf-Lemelson collaboration on environmental and social sustainability in engineering education initiative to support and expand the… | $1,000,000 |
| Oil Change International | Washington, DC | For general operating support | $1,000,000 |
| Rockefeller Family Fund Inc | New York, NY | To support industry accountability for cleanup and decommissioning of methane-leaking infrastructure | $1,000,000 |
| Portland State University Foundation | Portland, OR | To support the evolution and growth of current programmatic offerings and to develop a new strategic approach to integrate invention… | $737,500 |
| Windward Fund | Washington, DC | Windward fund as fiscal sponsor for global methane hub, to scale up cost effective solutions in methane mitigation | $640,000 |
| The Edison Institute Inc | Dearborn, MI | To increase access to and inclusivity in the invention convention worldwide program, particularly for young women, black americans, latinx,… | $546,107 |
| Realize Impact | Bainbridge Island, WA | To support the development and launch of a program designed to support african and female climate tech innovators | $521,070 |
| Climate Breakthrough Inc | Berkeley, CA | For general operating support | $500,000 |
| Portland State University Foundation | Portland, OR | To support the invent oregon program activities and to implement statewide collegiate invention and prototyping competition in oregon | $499,000 |
| Action for the Climate Emergency Inc | Charlestown, MA | For general operating support | $350,000 |
| The Aspen Institute Inc | Washington, DC | To support the aspen network for development entrepreneurs (ande) to build climate change capacity and expertise so ande can advocate for… | $300,000 |
| Villgro Innovations Foundation | Chennai, | To support the incubation and launch of high-impact, highly scalable, invention-based enterprises in india that improve lives of the poor… | $289,472 |
| Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association Inc | Arlington, VA | To support the integration of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the associations invention education work | $259,780 |
| Clean Air Task Force Inc | Boston, MA | To support civil society organizations in africa working to address methane emissions | $250,000 |
| Kenya Impact Innovations Foundation | Nairobi, | To support business incubation activities, develop a pipeline of invention-based enterprises, and strengthen an inclusive innovation… | $250,000 |
| Society for Science and the Public | Washington, DC | To support of a multi-point engagement strategy with middle school students to inspire and educate them through science fairs held across… | $225,000 |
| Oregon State University Foundation | Corvallis, OR | To provide invention education to diverse and rural youth in grades K-12 throughout oregon and research and test teaching approaches | $203,000 |
| New Venture Fund | Washington, DC | To support the catalytic capital community to strengthen disadvantaged communities, expand economic opportunity, and support innovation… | $200,000 |
| The Asme Foundation Inc | New York, NY | To (1) support the asme innovation showcase (ishow) in india, kenya, and the united states, and (2) pilot models for strengthening… | $164,000 |
| Library Foundation of Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | To support the "no prior art" exhibition | $100,000 |
| Tie Oregon Foundation | Portland, OR | To continue tie young entrepreneurs (tye) program and expand tie oregon's evaluation efforts | $82,996 |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX | To support ut arlington's integration of engineering for one planet learning outcomes in diverse engineering courses and programs | $67,916 |
| STEM Next Opportunity Fund | San Diego, CA | To support the placement of diverse senior policy fellows in federal government agencies to advance STEM, invention, and equity at the… | $62,500 |
| Art Center College of Design | Pasadena, CA | To foster the integration of engineering for one planet learning outcomes through the modification of courses at artcenter and the… | $62,150 |
| Editorial Projects in Education Inc | Bethesda, MD | To support the development and dissemination of new education research focused on identifying the needs of diverse students in STEM and… | $60,000 |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | Dearborn, MI | To integrate sustainability in multiple engineering courses and programs through project-based learning. | $36,205 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester, NY | To enhance environmental and social sustainability in the skillset of students at rochester institute of technology and california state… | $31,991 |
| Oregon Tech Foundation Inc | Klamath Falls, OR | To further develop the ready, set, innovate! program to incorporate in-school, pre- and post-experience learning activities | $25,000 |
| Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc | Baltimore, MD | To recognize innovative approaches to integrating sustainability in abet-accredited programs and gain visibility for engineering for one… | $15,000 |
| African Centre for Technology Studies | Nairobi, | To support acts's role as a collaborator in the national entrepreneurial institutions framework, to strengthen commercialization systems in… | $9,831 |
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants paid | Grant lines |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $19,714,696 | 108 |
| 2023 | $16,075,686 | 98 |
Sources
- IRS Form 990-PF, tax year 2024, filed Nov 14, 2025 - IRS e-file batch, object ID 202543189349103069
- IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search for EIN 88-0391959
- Profile updated Nov 4, 2026
Facts on this page come from the foundation's own IRS Form 990-PF filings as published by the IRS. Grantvello does not know whether a foundation is accepting proposals right now: a past grant is not an open opportunity. Always confirm current guidelines with the funder before applying.