The Spencer Foundation
Historical FunderChicago, Illinois · EIN 36-6078558 · Private foundation · Website
Grants paid (2024)$24.3M
Organizations funded214
Typical grant$74,955
Total assets$664.8M
Half of its grants to organizations were between $49,978 and $117,810.
From the return
How to apply
The foundation filed the following application information (Form 990-PF Part XV, tax year 2024):
| Contact | DR NA'LLAH SUAD NASIR |
|---|---|
| Address | 625 MICHIGAN AVE SUITE 1600, CHICAGO IL 60611 |
| Phone | 3123377000 |
| Form and materials | APPLICATION, INFORMATION, AND MATERIALS REQUIREMENTS POSTED ON WEBSITE. |
| Deadlines | DEADLINES POSTED ON FOUNDATION'S WEBSITE, WWW.SPENCER.ORG |
| Restrictions | INFORMATION POSTED ON FOUNDATION'S WEBSITE, WWW.SPENCER.ORG |
Copied as filed. Deadlines on a tax return describe the foundation's usual process; they are not confirmation of a current open cycle.
What it funds
Share of grant lines on the latest return, classified from the purpose each grant states.
Where it gives
91% of grants went outside Illinois.
Grants paid in tax year 2024
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Academy of Education | Washington, DC | National academy of education/spencer postdoctoral fellowship programs (cohorts 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) | $2,532,835 |
| National Academy of Education | Washington, DC | National academy of education/spencer dissertation fellowship programs (cohorts 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) | $1,753,042 |
| William T Grant Foundation | New York, NY | Support for the 2024 institutional challenge grant program at the william T. grant foundation | $650,000 |
| William T Grant Foundation | New York, NY | Support for the 2025 institutional challenge grant program at the william T. grant foundation | $650,000 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY | Spencer education journalism fellowship program, 2024 - 2028 | $593,600 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | Creating transformative possibility in schools and communities | $483,044 |
| University of California Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | Linguistic variation and disciplinary action on african american children in schools | $392,629 |
| University of Kansas Center for Research Inc | Lawrence, KS | The tribal education department capacity building project | $382,906 |
| Flacso Argentina | Buenos Aires, AR | History teaching through dialogical controversies | $274,540 |
| Boston University | Boston, MA | Re-Imagining alternative education | $250,850 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | Admission, tuition, and housing | $243,904 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison, WI | Supplement for center for philosophical reflection on educational policy and practice | $229,772 |
| Indiana University Bloomington | Bloomington, IN | Thriving in college | $221,301 |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | Examining rural dual language programs | $212,830 |
| New York University | New York, NY | Organizing family and community | $209,723 |
| University of Colorado Denver | Denver, CO | Developing research capacity to support the assessment of student learning and program outcomes | $202,377 |
| Russell Sage Foundation | New York, NY | Advancing research on the promotion of educational attainment and economic mobility | $200,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | Building a living archive | $199,915 |
| American Indian College Fund | Denver, CO | Building collaborative data capacity and investigating college access, persistence, and graduation success | $199,515 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | Postsecondary education | $193,377 |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | School-Supporting non-profits, school resources, and rising inequality | $190,777 |
| Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | The black teacher archive | $189,896 |
| The University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | Evaluating global and local relative effectiveness of educational organizations | $188,273 |
| University of California Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | The role of social safety net programs in community college student success | $180,760 |
| Stanford University | Redwood City, CA | Educating for food sovereignty | $179,586 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, IL | Investigating experiences of educators in chicago | $175,831 |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Milwaukee, WI | Cultivating black autistic youth agency | $170,001 |
| Drexel University | Philadelphia, PA | Steaming through dance | $168,856 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Leveraging out-of-school cultural learning opportunities | $166,220 |
| Philadelphia Student Union | Philadelphia, PA | The philadelphia student debt coalition | $165,324 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Young african american children animating societal change | $162,882 |
| American Indian Science and Engineering Society | Albuquerque, NM | Leveraging the aises archival database | $158,134 |
| Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University | Tempe, AZ | Support early literacy for preschoolers | $156,431 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Education for children with autism spectrum disorder | $156,253 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, IL | The transformative work of lgbtq+ intergenerational dialogues | $156,098 |
| The Pennsylvania State University | University Park, PA | Approaches to deaf-nondeaf inclusive bilingual education in france | $155,690 |
| University of Missouri-St Louis | Saint Louis, MO | Countering the unintended consequences of school reforms | $153,569 |
| Amalgamated Foundation | Washington, DC | Higher ed forward | $150,000 |
| Amalgamated Foundation | Washington, DC | Gty policy working group | $150,000 |
| New York University | New York, NY | Inequalities in academic advising | $148,609 |
| Tulane University | New Orleans, LA | Engagement of youth voice in the evaluation of trauma-informed schools | $148,321 |
| University of California Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA | Writing with chatgpt | $137,805 |
| Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI | Infant-Toddler childcare and resource hub | $137,581 |
| Stanford University | Redwood City, CA | Educational equity in new york state | $137,565 |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | Collaborative research | $134,529 |
| University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | The role of liberal arts education | $130,906 |
| Wake Forest University | Winstonsalem, NC | Reading self-efficacy, leadership development, and community engagement | $129,243 |
| University Corporation at Monterey Bay | Seaside, CA | Localization of history and civics in salinas | $126,806 |
| University of Montana | Missoula, MT | Supporting indigenous children in rural montana | $125,855 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Black student experiences | $122,930 |
| Temple University | Philadelphia, PA | Emerging critical infrastructures during covid-19 | $122,695 |
| The Education Trust | Washington, DC | Edtrust research scholar | $122,073 |
| University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc | Athens, GA | Optimal design of experimental studies | $120,726 |
| University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE | Community curation and storytelling in local museums | $117,810 |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | The complex logics of childrearing | $113,729 |
| Amplify Girls | Chattanooga, TN | Can mentoring improve adolescent girls' educational outcomes? | $109,878 |
| University of California Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | Education policies in a divided, multiracial democracy | $109,175 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Waived english learners | $107,835 |
| The Brookings Institution | Washington, DC | U.s. school boards | $107,607 |
| University of Saskatchewan | Saskatoon, CA | Transdisciplinary sustainability education | $98,230 |
Showing the 60 largest of 214 grants to organizations.
Grants approved for future payment
| Recipient | Location | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Academy of Education | Washington, DC | National academy of education/spencer postdoctoral fellowship programs (cohorts 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) | $3,799,253 |
| University of California Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | An examination of land tenure and public schooling in california | $3,500,000 |
| Learning Policy Institute | Palo Alto, CA | Teaching grounded in the science of learning and development | $3,499,949 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | Creating transformative possibility in schools | $3,016,956 |
| National Academy of Education | Washington, DC | National academy of education/spencer dissertation fellowship programs | $2,629,563 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY | Spencer education journalism fellowship program | $1,800,152 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | Madison, WI | Thriving in community colleges | $500,000 |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN | Civic roles, opportunities, scripts, and supports | $452,648 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | The emergence and consequences movements | $374,997 |
| Utah State University | Logan, UT | Creating cultural representations | $374,981 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | Digital school systems | $374,940 |
| Institute of Development Studies (Ids) | Brighton, | Privatisation of technical and vocational education | $374,371 |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem, PA | Individualized language plans for multilingual learners | $373,285 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | Picture books as a tool | $361,916 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Urbana, IL | The experiences of athletes | $333,225 |
| Stanford University | Redwood City, CA | Educating for food sovereignty | $320,414 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Education for children with autism spectrum disorder | $316,992 |
| University of Saskatchewan | Saskatoon, | Sustainability education | $295,694 |
| University of Montana | Missoula, MT | Co-Designing for the future | $274,143 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Waived english learners | $267,164 |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | Sexuality education and youth empowerment | $265,175 |
| Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI | Infant-Toddler childcare and resource hub | $262,225 |
| University Corporation at Monterey Bay | Seaside, CA | History and civics in salinas | $257,419 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | Admission, tuition, and housing | $255,422 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | State policy approaches to transforming K-12 teacher roles | $250,000 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | Montessori-Preschool spaces in rural northern nigeria | $249,533 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Out-Of-School cultural learning opportunities | $233,761 |
| Indiana University Bloomington | Bloomington, IN | Thriving in college | $230,388 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | Postsecondary education | $218,423 |
| University of California Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | Student supports | $213,527 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | Building a living archive | $200,014 |
| The Nea Foundaton for the Improvement of Education | Washington, DC | Community schools teachers' action research | $200,000 |
| The University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | Effectiveness of educational organizations | $186,693 |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | School-Supporting non-profits, school resources, and rising inequality | $183,883 |
| Universidad de Los Andes | Bogota, | The long-term effects of public childcare | $162,000 |
| American Indian Science and Engineering Society | Albuquerque, NM | Leveraging the aises archival database | $161,008 |
| The Pennsylvania State University | University Park, PA | Childrens everyday practices | $158,153 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, IL | Investigating experiences of educators in chicago | $157,363 |
| Wake Forest University | Winstonsalem, NC | Students' reading self-efficacy, leadership development, and community engagement | $156,552 |
| University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE | Community curation and storytelling in local museums | $132,190 |
| The Education Trust | Washington, DC | Edtrust youth participatory action research | $127,927 |
| University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc | Athens, GA | Experimental studies investigating moderation and main effects | $124,363 |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | Milwaukee, WI | Cultivating black autistic youth agency | $121,972 |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | Examining rural dual language programs | $121,893 |
| The Brookings Institution | Washington, DC | U.s. school boards | $119,159 |
| University of California Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA | Writing with chatgpt | $111,884 |
| University of Kansas Center for Research Inc | Lawrence, KS | The tribal education department capacity building project | $111,814 |
| Amplify Girls | Chattanooga, TN | Can mentoring improve adolescent girls' agency and educational outcomes? | $105,478 |
| University of Connecticut | Storrs, CT | Leveraging community dialogue | $104,486 |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Student experiences with university histories | $104,253 |
| The Conversation | Waltham, MA | Artificial intelligence (ai) in education | $100,000 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | Addressing the (in)visibility of asian american teachers | $96,396 |
| University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | Educational placements in california | $75,000 |
| Stanford University | Redwood City, CA | Youth incarceration | $75,000 |
| University of California Riverside | Riverside, CA | Advancing a healthy racial climate in teacher education | $75,000 |
| University of California Riverside | Riverside, CA | Social emotional learning among korean newcomer immigrant adolescents | $75,000 |
| University of California Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA | New measurements for school safety | $75,000 |
| University of Denver | Denver, CO | Promoting equity in school discipline | $75,000 |
| University of Delaware | Newark, DE | Affirming and protecting minoritized students: the impact of state education policy on mental health | $75,000 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing, MI | Facilitating autistic student transitions (fast) | $75,000 |
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants paid | Grant lines |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $24,318,536 | 328 |
| 2023 | $20,033,782 | 338 |
Sources
- IRS Form 990-PF, tax year 2024, filed Nov 24, 2025 - IRS e-file batch, object ID 202523289349100112
- IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search for EIN 36-6078558
- 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.