Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismMakes PRIsFunds Individuals
About Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation makes large, catalytic investments focused on education access and quality, health care innovation, and homelessness solutions — often concentrating support in Austin/Central Texas while also backing national education scale-up. They fund a mix of local institutions (UT Austin, Dell Medical School, Dell Children’s) and national intermediaries (Charter School Growth Fund), favoring repeat, multi-million dollar grants designed to launch or scale flagship initiatives like Dell Scholars, the Dell Medical School, and Community First! Village.
Focus Areas
Quality charter school expansion and K–12 school innovation (national scale via Charter School Growth Fund)College access and scholarship programs for low‑income students (Dell Scholars / UT Austin)Medical school development and health system innovation (Dell Medical School, health workforce/care delivery)Pediatric health services and family health in Central Texas (Dell Children’s Medical Center Foundation)Permanent supportive housing and homelessness solutions in Austin (Community First! Village / Mobile Loaves & Fishes)
Who They Fund
low-income and first-generation college-bound students
About Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is marked by a mix of very large, repeat commitments and a clear preference for scaling programs that can be carried across systems. One of its most visible patterns is the long-running support for University of Texas at Austin, including multiple annual grants for Dell Scholars and UT for Me that fund textbook credits, laptops, emergency funds, advising, and mental health supports for Pell-eligible students. Another defining strand is charter-school growth: in 2025 the foundation gave $50 million to Charter School Growth Fund to launch the Dell Catalyst Fund and drive quality charter school growth. The foundation also backs place-based work in Austin, where it has supported Mobile Loaves & Fishes to scale Community First! Village and strengthen homelessness solutions. Across these examples, the foundation combines education access, housing stability, and health-related initiatives with investments intended to expand proven models rather than one-time pilot projects.
What Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Funds
In higher education, the foundation has repeatedly funded University of Texas at Austin for Dell Scholars and UT for Me, with grants tied to academic-year cohorts and student supports. In K–12 education, it supported Communities Foundation of Texas for “Scaling Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (PTECHs) in Texas,” showing interest in college-and-career pathways. Health-related grantmaking appears through Dell Children’s Medical Center Foundation of Central Texas, which received funding for “Best in Class Health for Central Texas Children and Families.” The foundation also backs homelessness interventions: Mobile Loaves & Fishes received multiple grants for “Scaling Community First! Village to Combat Homelessness,” indicating sustained support for that model in Austin.
How Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Gives
The typical grant size is $5,000 at the 25th percentile, $17,494 at the median, and $95,861 at the 75th percentile, which suggests a wide spread between smaller awards and very large strategic commitments. The recent-grants list shows repeat funding to the same organizations across multiple years, especially University of Texas at Austin, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, and Charter School Growth Fund. The foundation is classified as a regular funder and also makes program-related investments. It funds individuals as well, and its active programs include both U.S. and global grantmaking. Unsolicited applications are accepted for Dell Aspire Scholars (India), while several other listed programs do not accept unsolicited requests.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$415M
Total Assets
$7.8B
Total Revenue
$4.3B
Total Expenses
$390.2M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $5K and $96K, with a median of $17K.
25th Percentile
$5K
Median
$17K
75th Percentile
$96K
Geographic Reach
National49 states funded
About 28% of grants go to recipients in TX.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Funds
Top 10 recipient countries by grant volume for Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 2,395 | $402.2M | 87.4% |
| 2 | South Africa | 173 | $44.6M |
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