Thiel Foundation
ActivePrivate FoundationPhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
Los Angeles, CAWebsite
About Thiel Foundation
The Thiel Foundation’s giving in this dataset is concentrated into a single, large grant to a grantmaking intermediary rather than to direct-service organizations. This pattern suggests the foundation prefers to route philanthropic capital through donor-advised or grantmaking vehicles that can regrant funds flexibly. There is no direct evidence here of thematic program grants — the foundation appears to prioritize philanthropic infrastructure and flexible, general-purpose support.
Focus Areas
Grantee-advised/donor-advised fund support (grantmaking intermediaries)Philanthropic infrastructure and regranting vehiclesUnrestricted/general foundation support (funding without program designation)
Who They Fund
not specified / undetermined
Giving Approach
Concentrated: a single large, unrestricted grant routed through a grantmaking intermediary (DonorsTrust), indicating use of intermediaries to distribute funds rather than many small direct grants.
Funding Style
general operating / unrestricted supportgeneral foundation grant (non-thematic)
About Thiel Foundation
The Thiel Foundation’s 2025 grant record is defined by a single large general foundation grant to Donorstrust, a grantmaking intermediary in Alexandria, Virginia, alongside a series of Imitatio grants to individuals and organizations. That mix points to a funder that moves money through both philanthropic infrastructure and a named intellectual program rather than through a broad portfolio of direct-service grants. The largest award in the dataset, $426,775 to Donorstrust, is followed by grants to James Alison in Madrid, Benoit Chantre in Amboise, and the Association Recherches Mimétiques in Montreuil, all under the Imitatio label. The pattern continues with recipients in Bologna, Stanford, Chicago, Bourbonnais, Zurich, and Augusta, showing a grantmaking style that reaches across people, research groups, and cultural or scholarly institutions. The foundation also made a smaller general foundation grant to Adeodatus in Pasadena, reinforcing the presence of flexible support alongside program-linked awards. Across the recent grants list, the foundation’s activity reads as concentrated, selective, and organized around regranting capacity and the Imitatio stream.
What Thiel Foundation Funds
One clear thread is support for donor-advised or grantmaking vehicles. In 2025, The Thiel Foundation gave $426,775 to Donorstrust for a general foundation grant, which stands apart from the smaller, more specific awards in the same year. Another theme is the Imitatio program, which links multiple grants to named recipients in philosophy, research, and cultural work: James Alison received $95,000 in Madrid, while Benoit Chantre received $80,000 in Amboise. The foundation also backed scholarship and convening in the United States, including $63,000 to Lumen Christi Institute in Chicago for an Imitatio grant. Smaller grants extend the same pattern to creative and intellectual work, such as Glass Darkly Films Inc in Bourbonnais and the Colloquium on Violence and Religion in Augusta. The recurring Imitatio label is the most visible programmatic signal in the dataset.
How Thiel Foundation Gives
The grant-size profile is polarized: the 75th percentile is $80,000, the median is $63,000, and the 25th percentile is $15,000. That spread shows a small set of sizable awards rather than a wide ladder of similar-sized grants. The 2025 record also includes both a large general foundation grant and multiple named Imitatio grants, indicating a mix of flexible support and program-linked giving. Recipients in the provided recent-grants list all appear in 2025, so the dataset shows a single-year snapshot rather than a multi-year recurrence pattern. The foundation is a private foundation, and it also funds individuals.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3M
Total Assets
$45.2M
Total Revenue
$455K
Total Expenses
$3.9M
Geographic Reach
Regional4 states funded
About 29% of grants go to recipients in IL.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Thiel Foundation Funds
Top 10 recipient countries by grant volume for Thiel Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 238 | $25.6M | 73.2% |
| 2 | France | 19 |
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