The American College of Surgeons is dedicated to improving the care of the surgical patient and safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment.
Three large general-support grants to the American College of Surgeons anchor this funder’s recent pattern: $19,420,779 in 2025, $18,656,265 in 2024, and $18,077,363 in 2023. Those awards point to a grantmaker that primarily funds its own surgical programs, rather than a broad external portfolio. The foundation’s stated purpose is to support initiatives that improve surgical care and patient outcomes, and its active programs also include grants for surgical research, scholarships, fellowships, philanthropic programs, and chapter-led initiatives. Recent smaller awards show that the foundation also backs state-level advocacy work within the surgical profession. The Southern California Chapter of American College of Surgeons received a $10,000 state advocacy grant in 2024, and the Wisconsin Surgical Society received $7,000 in 2025 for the same grant type. That mix suggests a structure that combines large internal operating support with targeted support for professional and advocacy activity across the ACS network. The foundation’s focus areas center on surgical care, patient education, scholarships, research, quality improvement, accreditation and verification programs, and capacity building for surgical programs.
Surgical quality and patient outcomes are the clearest throughline in the foundation’s active grant programs. Its ACS Foundation Grants / Support Surgical Excellence program funds ACS initiatives, scholarships, and capacity-building activities that advance surgical excellence. Research is another recurring area. Under ACS Foundation Grants for surgical research, scholarships, fellowships, and philanthropic programs, the foundation supports surgical research alongside training and education for surgeons and trainees. It also funds chapter-level work. The Chapter Initiative Fund supports programs run by ACS chapters and is tied to chapter support, surgical education, professional development, and quality improvement. A separate grantmaking stream supports state advocacy organizations. The foundation’s recent awards to the Southern California Chapter of American College of Surgeons and the Wisconsin Surgical Society were both labeled state advocacy grants, showing that advocacy sits alongside clinical and educational priorities.
The grant-size distribution is highly skewed: p25 is $10,000, median grant size is $18,077,363, and p75 is $18,656,265. That pattern reflects very large internal support payments alongside much smaller grants for advocacy-oriented recipients. The recent grant list shows repeated support across multiple years rather than one-off giving: the American College of Surgeons appears in 2023, 2024, and 2025 with general support awards. The foundation does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. Accepting unsolicited applications is not indicated for the chapter-based and support-surgical-excellence programs listed, which both say they do not accept unsolicited proposals.
$19.4M
$12.9M
$23.5M
$23.5M
Most grants fall between $10K and $18.7M, with a median of $18.1M.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$18.1M
75th Percentile
$18.7M
About 60% of grants go to recipients in CA.
PAIGE A RODGERS
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Giving is regional, but the recent grants cluster strongly in Illinois: 60% of grants go to recipients in the HQ state. The top state by grant count is California, which appears in the recent list through the Southern California Chapter of American College of Surgeons in Redondo Beach. Other named recipient cities include Madison, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. All recent grants in the supplied data went to U.S. recipients.
Its active programs focus on surgical care, patient outcomes, research, scholarships, fellowships, patient education, quality improvement, accreditation and verification programs, and capacity building for surgical programs. Recent grants also show support for state advocacy work within the surgical profession.
For the Chapter Initiative Fund and ACS Foundation Grants / Support Surgical Excellence, the answer is no. Both programs are described as not accepting unsolicited proposals. The supplied data does not indicate an open application process for the other grant programs.
Recipients include the American College of Surgeons itself, the Southern California Chapter of American College of Surgeons, and the Wisconsin Surgical Society. The grantmaking profile points to state-level nonprofit advocacy organizations and advocacy/civic organizations tied to surgical care.
The grant-size distribution is uneven. The p25 grant size is $10,000, the median is $18,077,363, and the p75 is $18,656,265. That reflects a mix of very large general-support awards and smaller advocacy grants.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS | CHICAGO, IL | $19,420,779 | 2025 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| WISCONSIN SURGICAL SOCIETY | MADISON, WI | $7,000 | 2025 | STATE ADVOCACY GRANT |
| AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS | CHICAGO, IL | $18,656,265 | 2024 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
| SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER OF AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS | REDONDO BEACH, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | STATE ADVOCACY GRANT |
| AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS | CHICAGO, IL | $18,077,363 | 2023 | GENERAL SUPPORT |
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS
$19,420,779GENERAL SUPPORT
WISCONSIN SURGICAL SOCIETY
$7,000STATE ADVOCACY GRANT
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS
$18,656,265GENERAL SUPPORT
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER OF AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS
$10,000STATE ADVOCACY GRANT
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS
$18,077,363GENERAL SUPPORT