About American Association of Colleges and Universities
AAC&U advances the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education.
Focus Areas
liberal educationhigher education reformequity and inclusionopen educational resources (OER)digital equityAI pedagogy and curriculumglobal learning / virtual exchange (VE/COIL)STEM education and leadershipcivic learning and democracy
Who They Fund
colleges and universities (public and private)community collegesundergraduate students
About American Association of Colleges and Universities
American Association of Colleges and Universities often funds campus work that sits at the intersection of equity, curriculum change, and institutional practice. One of its clearest grantmaking patterns is support for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation activity across colleges and universities, including subawards tied to campus centers, mentoring, and toolkit-based participation. Recent grants also show AAC&U backing open educational resources, digital equity planning, and curriculum-to-career work that connects learning with professional preparation. The foundation’s recent grants suggest a model built around targeted institutional support rather than large, open-ended awards. In the 2025 and 2024 records, it provided $50,000 to Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network for the Convergence program and $20,000 to St Edward’s University for beta-testing the TRHT campus climate assessment toolkit and curriculum-to-careers initiative. Those examples sit alongside smaller campus awards aimed at implementation, pilot testing, and convening. AAC&U’s grantees include public and private universities, community colleges, and campus networks. The funding pattern points to a higher-education intermediary that uses grants to support reform work inside institutions, while also sponsoring awards and institutes that recognize leadership and build cross-campus collaboration.
What American Association of Colleges and Universities Funds
Truth, racial healing, and transformation is a major throughline in the grant list. AAC&U gave $38,500 to Marymount University for a Lumina TRHT subaward, $25,000 to Austin Community College for mentorship, and $20,000 to Cuyahoga Community College District for beta-testing the TRHT campus climate assessment toolkit. Open educational resources are another clear focus. Quinnipiac University received $18,750 for The Value of Aligning Assignments for Learning Project; Open Educational Resources, tying AAC&U’s OER work to assignment design and student affordability. The foundation also funds curriculum innovation that links college learning to work. St Edward’s University received $15,000 in 2024 for The Value of Aligning Assignments for Learning Project, and a separate $20,000 award in 2025 for beta-testing the TRHT campus climate assessment toolkit and curriculum to careers initiative. A final visible area is institutional collaboration in engineering and convergence work, including a $50,000 grant to Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network for AAC&U’s Convergence program.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$639K
Total Assets
$23M
Total Revenue
$15.8M
Total Expenses
$16M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $25K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$25K
Geographic Reach
National22 states funded
About 4% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
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