About Henry Luce Foundation
The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to deepen knowledge and understanding in pursuit of a more democratic and just world by boosting access to knowledge and forward-thinking ideas.
Focus Areas
American ArtAsiaIndigenous KnowledgeReligion & TheologyWomen in STEMDemocracy, Ethics, & Public TrustLeadership developmentKnowledge institutions
Who They Fund
PhD candidates and early-career scholarsNative American community intellectuals and publicswomen STEM students and graduate fellowsAsian and Asian American scholars (including Chinese and Southeast Asian-focused researchers)
About Henry Luce Foundation
The Henry Luce Foundation Inc has a clear pattern of funding scholarship, fellowships, and institutional programs that build public knowledge in religion, Asia studies, Native American communities, American art, and women in STEM. Among its recent grants, one of the largest is $1,250,000 to the American Council of Learned Societies for academic fellowships, alongside repeated support for the Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies. That combination points to a funder that often backs research pipelines rather than one-time projects. The foundation also makes large commitments to community-centered intellectual work: First Nations Development Institute received multiple six-figure awards for fellowships and for cohorts supporting public/community intellectuals in Native American communities. In higher education, the foundation supports designated STEM programming at a wide set of colleges and universities through the Clare Boothe Luce program family. Its grant record also includes support for public scholarship on race, justice, and religion, showing that it funds both academic inquiry and work that reaches broader publics. The foundation’s grants are generally national in scope, but the recent record shows recurring investments in named programs and institutional partners over multiple years.
What Henry Luce Foundation Funds
In Asia-related scholarship, the foundation backed the American Council of Learned Societies with $750,000 in 2023 and another $750,000 in 2024 for the Luce/ACLS Program in China Studies. It also gave $600,000 to the University of California Berkeley for the Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative, linking Asia studies with religion and public scholarship. In Native American knowledge work, First Nations Development Institute received $500,000 awards in both 2023 and 2024 for Cohort 4 and Cohort 5 supporting public/community intellectuals in Native American communities, plus another $450,000 for Cohort 3. Religion and theology are also visible through $450,000 to Northeastern University for Sacred Writes: Public Scholarship on Race, Justice, and Religion. On the STEM side, $458,200 grants to multiple colleges and universities support the Clare Boothe Luce STEM program.
How Henry Luce Foundation Gives
Typical grant size is $3,000 at the 25th percentile, $50,000 at the median, and $125,000 at the 75th percentile, but the recent record includes much larger program grants and fellowships. The same organizations appear across multiple years, including the American Council of Learned Societies and First Nations Development Institute, which suggests recurring institutional partnerships rather than isolated awards. The foundation is a regular funder and funds individuals, with several active programs structured as fellowships, professorships, and designated institutional grants. The record also shows program-restricted and escrow-style funding in the Clare Boothe Luce STEM program family.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$142.5M
Total Assets
$1.1B
Total Revenue
$81M
Total Expenses
$75.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $3K and $125K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$3K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$125K
Geographic Reach
National49 states funded
About 31% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Henry Luce Foundation Funds
Top 10 recipient countries by grant volume for Henry Luce Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 1,753 | $137.8M | 97.2% |
| 2 | Canada | 8 | $760K |
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