John William Pope Foundation

About John William Pope Foundation

The John William Pope Foundation’s recent grantmaking shows a clear split between large restricted awards and steady operating support for North Carolina institutions. In 2023 through 2025, it backed UNC Health Foundation with multiple grants tied to Lineberger cancer research, including awards labeled “Restricted - UNC Lineberger” and “Restricted - Lineberger Tomorrow's Best Hope.” It also made repeated support to UNC Chapel Hill for Philosophy, Politics, & Economics, and to Asheville School for humanities and economics or Western Civilization programming. That pattern fits the foundation’s broader mission of advancing limited government, individual freedom, personal responsibility, and strong communities. Its annual funding covers public policy, education, human services, and the arts, and the foundation uses both unrestricted and restricted grants. The recent list also shows sizable support for policy research groups in Virginia, while most of its giving lands in North Carolina. Alongside university and school grants, the foundation funds human services, arts projects, scholarships, and fellowship activity connected to its mission. The mix suggests a funder that supports both institutional capacity and targeted programs in education, civic ideas, and community well-being.

What John William Pope Foundation Funds

In public policy, the foundation supports research and advocacy aligned with free-market principles and limited government. Recent grants include $500,000 to Economic Policy Innovation Center for an unrestricted grant and a series of $330,500 and $329,000 unrestricted awards to John Locke Foundation. Education is another major lane. The foundation gave $500,000 to UNC Chapel Hill for Philosophy, Politics, & Economics, and $500,000 to Asheville School for a Humanities and Economics Program. It also backed Asheville School for a Western Civilization Program in a separate year. In health-related philanthropy, the largest recent awards went through UNC Health Foundation for Lineberger cancer research. The wording on those grants points to restricted support for UNC Lineberger and Lineberger Tomorrow's Best Hope. The arts and human services side appears in the foundation’s named memorial grant programs, which are set up for project grants in North Carolina.

How John William Pope Foundation Gives