Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation
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About Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation concentrates its giving on building large-scale scientific and research infrastructure (especially in genomics, imaging, and AI for biology) while also funding local Bay Area education and community organizations and a smaller set of climate and public-health efforts. Grants are frequently multi-million-dollar, core-support awards to universities, CZ-created research entities, and collaborative data initiatives, with targeted investments in early childhood/primary education in East Palo Alto and community-focused work in Hawaii.
Focus Areas
University-based genomics and biological imaging institutes (e.g., Kempner Institute, CZ Imaging, CZ Biohub)Human Cell Atlas and data infrastructure for interoperable biomedical researchPrecision health capacity-building at HBCUs and minority-serving institutionsLocal early childhood and K–8 education in East Palo Alto (The Primary School / The Primary School–East Palo Alto)Ocean and carbon drawdown initiatives (Carbon-to-Sea, ocean conservation in Hawaii)
Who They Fund
academic and research institutions/scientists
About Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation’s largest recent awards show a clear pattern: it uses very large grants to build research infrastructure, especially around biology, imaging, and data-sharing systems. In 2023, it gave $100 million to President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, alongside $85 million to Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Inc for medical research. Those grants sit next to a broader set of commitments to CZ-created research entities, university partners, and collaborative scientific platforms. The foundation also backs public-facing work outside the lab, including early education in East Palo Alto, hospital capital support in San Francisco, and ocean and climate work in Hawaii. A recurring theme is core support rather than narrow project funding, with awards often structured to sustain institutions and networks over time. Its grantmaking connects biomedical science, open data, and selected local community initiatives, with some of the biggest checks going to research hubs and partner institutions that can absorb long-term infrastructure funding.
What Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation Funds
In biology and biomedical research, the foundation gave $12,236,199 to Chan Zuckerberg Institute for Advanced Biological Imaging LLC for CZ Imaging Institute core support and $5,000,000 to University of Washington for science: cell science. It also backed open scientific infrastructure with $2,900,000 to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to improve the sustainability and capacity of bioRxiv/medRxiv. In climate-related research, it awarded $8,000,000 to Regents of the University of California at Berkeley for innovative genomics institute research to enhance the natural ability of plants and soil microbes to capture and store carbon, and $7,000,000 to Regents of the University of California Los Angeles for the Institute for Carbon Management for SeaChange. For education, the foundation supported The Primary School and New Schools Fund, reflecting a mix of direct school support and education infrastructure. It also funded Resolve to Save Lives Inc for general operating support.
How Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation Gives
Typical awards are large: the 25th percentile is $575,000, the median is $1,000,000, and the 75th percentile is $1,585,208. The distribution shows a foundation that often gives at institutional scale, with several grants in the multi-million-dollar range. The recent record also shows repeat support to the same organizations across years, including Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Inc, Resolve to Save Lives Inc, University of Hawaii Foundation, and The Primary School. It is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it makes program-related investments. Several active programs accept unsolicited applications, including Learning Commons, Rare As One Project, Expanding Global Access to Bioimaging, Essential Open Source Software for Science, Learning by Scientific Design Network, and Human Cell Atlas — Pilot Project Grants.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$166.1M
Total Assets
$7.5B
Total Revenue
$1.5B
Total Expenses
$323M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $575K and $1.6M, with a median of $1M.
25th Percentile
$575K
Median
$1M
75th Percentile
$1.6M
Geographic Reach
National24 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation Funds
Top 5 recipient countries by grant volume for Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 246 | $794.8M | 95.3% |
| 2 | United Kingdom |
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