About Northwestern University
Northwestern is committed to excellent teaching, innovative research and the personal and intellectual growth of its students in a diverse academic community.
Focus Areas
BiosciencesDecarbonization / Renewable energy / SustainabilityData analytics and artificial intelligenceSocial sciences and global studiesCreative and performing artsEducationCommunity engagementInnovation & entrepreneurshipResearch commercialization
Who They Fund
research institutions (universities, labs)community organizationsnonprofit researchers and research teams
About Northwestern University
Northwestern University’s recent grantmaking is dominated by support of research activities, with large awards flowing to major universities and medical research institutions. The largest recent grant in the data is $13,803,028 to the University of Chicago for research activities, followed by $10,235,582 to the same institution in 2023. Another major recipient is the University of Illinois at Chicago, which received $6,085,469 in 2024 and $5,726,532 in 2023 for research activities. That pattern fits a foundation with substantial scale: annual grants total $331,897,390, and the asset base is $19,217,819,256. The giving profile also shows repeated support for research-intensive institutions across years, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Minnesota. Northwestern University’s own program pages reinforce that research support is central, with internal funding, seed awards, and commercialization-oriented initiatives alongside community-facing programs. The result is a funder that backs both institutional research infrastructure and selected campus- and neighborhood-based initiatives, with a clear emphasis on academic and applied research across disciplines.
What Northwestern University Funds
A central theme in Northwestern University’s grantmaking is biomedical and clinical research. In 2025, it gave $5,714,053 to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago for support of research activities, and the hospital appears repeatedly in the recent grants list. The foundation also supports university-based research at scale. It awarded $4,738,598 to Stanford University in 2025 and $2,634,124 to the University of California San Francisco in 2024, both for research activities. In the Midwest, Washington University in St. Louis received $3,037,995 in 2024 for the same purpose. Community-linked research support also appears in the data. Erie Family Health Center received $3,418,163 in 2025 for support of research activities, showing that Northwestern University funds research settings beyond traditional campus laboratories. Across these grants, the through-line is project-specific research support rather than unrestricted philanthropy.
How Northwestern University Gives
Typical grants are mid-sized but vary widely: the 25th percentile is $23,725, the median is $69,704, and the 75th percentile is $299,387. The recent grants list shows a strong pattern of repeat funding to the same institutions across multiple years, which points to ongoing relationships rather than one-off awards. Northwestern University is a regular funder, makes program-related investments, and funds organizations rather than individuals. The active programs also show mixed modes of support, including internal research funding, fellowship support, community grants, and commercialization resources; some programs accept unsolicited requests while others do not.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$122.4M
Total Assets
$19.2B
Total Revenue
$4.2B
Total Expenses
$3.9B
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $24K and $299K, with a median of $70K.
25th Percentile
$24K
Median
$70K
75th Percentile
$299K
Geographic Reach
National45 states funded
About 30% of grants go to recipients in IL.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
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