Wayfarer Foundation

About Wayfarer Foundation

Wayfarer Foundation’s most distinctive recent pattern is its concentration of large general operating grants to Baha'i institutions and closely aligned educational organizations. In 2025, it awarded $4.5 million to the Horace Holley Foundation for general operating support, followed by $1.75 million to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States. Those awards fit a broader profile of institutional support rather than project-specific giving, with repeated multi-year backing for Baha'i-centered organizations and related capacity-building work. The foundation’s recent grants also show a preference for organizations that strengthen administration, programming, and long-term sustainability. Its portfolio includes six- and seven-figure support for groups such as Mona Foundation, New Era Creative Space, and Equiticity, all funded through unrestricted or general operating grants. The mix suggests a funder that supports organizational infrastructure as much as direct programming, especially where education, community development, and Baha'i-influenced civic work intersect. Across the recent list, Wayfarer Foundation appears to favor established institutions with national or multi-community reach. Several recipients received funding in more than one year, indicating a recurring relationship with selected grantees rather than one-off awards.

What Wayfarer Foundation Funds

Wayfarer Foundation’s grantmaking is centered on Baha'i national institutions and governance. It gave $1.75 million in 2025 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States for general operating support, after a $550,000 award to the same organization in 2023. That repeated support points to an emphasis on institutional continuity. Educational and training-oriented work also appears in the portfolio. The foundation awarded $650,000 to Mona Foundation in 2025 for general operating support, following a $300,000 grant in 2023. It also provided $200,000 to Learning to Impact in 2025 and $200,000 to Claremont Graduate University in 2023, both as general operating support. A third theme is support for civic, justice, and community organizations. Examples include $340,000 to Tahirih Justice Center in 2025 and $500,000 to National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Inc in both 2023 and 2025, again through general operating support.

How Wayfarer Foundation Gives