The Center for Global Development works to reduce global poverty and improve lives through innovative economic research that drives better policy and practice by the world’s top decision makers.
Center for Global Development’s recent funding shows a strong pattern of project-based support for research organizations working on global development questions. The two largest grants on file went to Research Triangle Institute for research projects in 2024 and 2023, totaling more than $1.6 million across those two awards. Another pair of large research-project grants supported Refugees International in 2023 and 2024, showing that the foundation’s funding can recur across years rather than appearing as a one-off award. The organization’s stated work centers on reducing global poverty and improving lives through economic research that is intended to influence policy and practice. Its active programs reinforce that model: CGD Fellowships support researchers, practitioners, and policy experts with salary support, office resources, and mentoring, while the Summer Delegates Program places delegates at CGD for research, policy projects, and organizational work. The foundation also runs a time-limited Project Resource Optimization program for projects delivering cost-effective, life-saving health or humanitarian interventions that lost USAID support. Across these examples, the core pattern is research, policy analysis, and implementation-oriented support tied to global development.
In research and policy analysis, the foundation backed Research Triangle Institute with $980,799 in 2024 and $636,008 in 2023 for research projects. Those awards fit CGD’s emphasis on knowledge generation and dissemination, with funding directed toward institutions that can carry out structured work rather than individuals. In migration-related work, it supported Refugees International with $489,879 in 2023 and $387,496 in 2024, again through research-project grants. Its active fellowship and delegate programs also point to a second theme: building research capacity. CGD Fellowships offer salary support, office resources, and mentoring, while the Summer Delegates Program places participants inside the organization for research, policy projects, and organizational work. The topic areas listed for the foundation also include global health, climate and energy, education, gender equality and inclusion, migration and displacement, sustainable development finance, development effectiveness, and market shaping.
$282K
$65.8M
$23.6M
$18.1M
Most grants fall between $464K and $722K, with a median of $563K.
25th Percentile
$464K
Median
$563K
75th Percentile
$722K
RACHEL GLENNERSTER
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Typical grant sizes are relatively high: the 25th percentile is $464,283, the median is $562,944, and the 75th percentile is $722,206. The recent record shows recurring support to the same recipients across multiple years, including both Research Triangle Institute and Refugees International. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals directly. Its grantmaking is project-based and restricted, with support aimed at research projects and related institutional work. The available program descriptions also point to structured opportunities such as fellowships and delegate placements rather than open, unsolicited grantmaking.
Grant recipients are concentrated in the United States, which accounts for all four recent grants shown. Washington, DC and Rockville, MD appear in the recent-grants list, and the top state by grant count is DC, with 50% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state. The geographic scope of giving is regional rather than global at the recipient level, even though the foundation’s subject matter is global development. The recent grant record therefore shows a U.S.-centered funding footprint with a strong presence in DC.
The recent grants point to research and policy organizations. Recent recipients include Research Triangle Institute and Refugees International, both funded for research projects. The foundation’s stated beneficiary types also include individual researchers, research teams, and academic or research institutions, with support described as project-based and research-specific.
No. The foundation is marked as not funding individuals directly. Its listed programs instead support researchers, practitioners, policy experts, and delegates through fellowships or placements that provide salary support, office resources, mentoring, or a stipend.
The distribution is substantial: the 25th percentile is $464,283, the median is $562,944, and the 75th percentile is $722,206. The recent grants also show awards in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, including two large research-project grants to Research Triangle Institute and two to Refugees International.
There is evidence of recurring support. Research Triangle Institute received grants in both 2023 and 2024, and Refugees International also received grants in both years. That suggests some recipients are funded across multiple cycles rather than through a single isolated award.
Named active programs include the Summer Delegates Program, CGD Fellowships, an institutional support agreement tied to Canada’s International Development Assistance Program for 2021–2024, and Project Resource Optimization. The program descriptions emphasize research, policy projects, organizational work, and cost-effective health or humanitarian interventions.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Center for Global Development that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
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Deadline: See application/how-to-apply guidance on the linked event page.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL | WASHINGTON, DC | $282,383 | 2025 | RESEARCH PROJECT |
| RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE | ROCKVILLE, MD | $980,799 | 2024 | RESEARCH PROJECT |
| REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL | WASHINGTON, DC | $387,496 | 2024 | RESEARCH PROJECT |
| RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE | ROCKVILLE, MD | $636,008 | 2023 | RESEARCH PROJECT |
| REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL | WASHINGTON, DC | $489,879 | 2023 | RESEARCH PROJECT |