The Stephen A. Schwarzman Education Foundation is narrowly focused on funding elite graduate-level scholarship and leadership-development programming, primarily supporting the Schwarzman Scholars initiative. Nearly all of its giving goes to partners that administer or host that flagship scholarship (notably Tsinghua University and IIE), reflecting a strategy to build international academic exchange and leadership training for future global leaders.
Highly concentrated giving: very few, large grants directed to a flagship program and its administering partners; repeat/major support is focused on program infrastructure rather than broad, diversified grantee lists.
Stephen a Schwarzman Education Foundation’s giving is built around one flagship pipeline: Schwarzman Scholars, a one-year, fully funded master’s program in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The foundation’s largest recent grant, $5,930,000 to Tsinghua University Education Foundation in 2024, shows how heavily it supports the program’s core host and administration. Other major awards have gone to the Institute of International Education and the Royal Institute for International Affairs, both tied to scholarship and fellowship support, which points to a grantmaking model centered on program delivery rather than a broad portfolio of unrelated causes. The foundation also backs leadership-development infrastructure around the scholarship. Grants to Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace fall under academic support initiatives and fellowship-related support, extending the scholarship’s ecosystem beyond the classroom in Beijing. Because the foundation funds individuals and uses restricted, program-specific support, its grantmaking reads as tightly organized around graduate-level academic exchange, leadership training, and the partner institutions that help place and support participants.
The clearest theme is graduate scholarship support. In 2024, Stephen a Schwarzman Education Foundation gave $5,930,000 to Tsinghua University Education Foundation for support for the Schwarzman Scholars program, tying its largest award to the program’s host institution in Beijing. A second strand is fellowship administration and placement. The Institute of International Education received $891,611 in 2023 for support for scholarship program work, and another $280,845 in 2024 for support for the fellowship program, showing recurring support for the organizations that help run or coordinate the experience. Leadership and academic support also appear in partner grants. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars received $100,000 in 2024 for support for the Schwarzman Scholars program, while Carnegie Endowment for International Peace received $74,232 in 2024 for academic support initiatives. These awards suggest an ecosystem built around scholarship, policy exposure, and graduate-level development.
$196K
$13.6M
$21.8M
$24M
Most grants fall between $94K and $281K, with a median of $100K.
25th Percentile
$94K
Median
$100K
75th Percentile
$281K
About 25% of grants go to recipients in DC.
Top 3 recipient countries by grant volume for Stephen A Schwarzman Education Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 8 | $1.6M | 66.7% |
| 2 | United Kingdom |
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Notable grantees: Tsinghua University Education Foundation (Schwarzman Scholars host support), Institute of International Education (scholarship administration), Schwarzman Scholars program (flagship initiative)
Typical grants cluster tightly around the six-figure range: p25 is $94,224, median is $100,000, and p75 is $280,845. The distribution also includes one very large anchor grant, which sits far above the rest of the portfolio. Across the recent grants list, several organizations recur in multiple years, including the Royal Institute for International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Institute of International Education. The foundation funds individuals and makes program-related investments false. The active programs data also shows accepts unsolicited as true for the scholarship and visiting faculty chair programs.
Grant recipients are concentrated in the United States, United Kingdom, and China. Washington, DC appears repeatedly through awards to Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, while New York, NY appears in grants to The Institute of International Education and Institute of International Education. London also appears multiple times through the Royal Institute for International Affairs. Beijing is present through Tsinghua University Education Foundation, aligning with the scholarship’s host university. By recipient country, 66.7% of grants go to US recipients, 25.0% to UK recipients, and 8.3% to a recipient in China.
Its grantmaking is centered on Schwarzman Scholars and the institutions that administer, host, or support that program. Recent grants include support for the program at Tsinghua University Education Foundation, the Institute of International Education, the Royal Institute for International Affairs, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Yes. The foundation is marked as funding individuals, and its active programs include a fully funded one-year master’s scholarship for Schwarzman Scholars as well as a short-term visiting faculty chair.
Recent grants are typically in the six-figure range. The p25 grant size is $94,224, the median is $100,000, and the p75 is $280,845.
Several recipients appear across multiple years. The Royal Institute for International Affairs received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace received grants in 2023 and 2024, with another grant in 2025.
Recipients are mostly in the United States, with additional grants in the United Kingdom and China. Washington, DC, New York, NY, London, and Beijing all appear in the recent grants list.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
| 3 |
| $353K |
25.0% |
| 3 | China | 1 | $5.9M | 8.3% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS | LONDON | $104,670 | 2025 | SUPPORT FOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM |
| WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS | WASHINGTON, DC | $75,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT FOR SCHWARZMAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM |
| CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE | WASHINGTON, DC | $16,000 | 2025 | ACADEMIC SUPPORT INITIATIVES |
| TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY EDUCATION FOUNDATION | BEIJING | $5,930,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT FOR SCHWARZMAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM |
| INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION | NEW YORK, NY | $280,845 | 2024 | SUPPORT FOR THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM |
| WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS | WASHINGTON, DC | $100,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT FOR SCHWARZMAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM |
| ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS | LONDON | $94,224 | 2024 | SUPPORT FOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM |
| CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE | WASHINGTON, DC | $74,232 | 2024 | ACADEMIC SUPPORT INITIATIVES |
| THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION | NEW YORK, NY | $891,611 | 2023 | SUPPORT FOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM |
| ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS | LONDON | $154,555 | 2023 | SUPPORT FOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM |
| WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS | WASHINGTON, DC | $100,000 | 2023 | SUPPORT FOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM |
| CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE | WASHINGTON, DC | $45,437 | 2023 | ACADEMIC SUPPORT INITIATIVES |
ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
$104,670SUPPORT FOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS
$75,000SUPPORT FOR SCHWARZMAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM
CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE
$16,000ACADEMIC SUPPORT INITIATIVES
TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY EDUCATION FOUNDATION
$5,930,000SUPPORT FOR SCHWARZMAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM
INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
$280,845SUPPORT FOR THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS
$100,000SUPPORT FOR SCHWARZMAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM
ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
$94,224SUPPORT FOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE
$74,232ACADEMIC SUPPORT INITIATIVES
THE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
$891,611SUPPORT FOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
ROYAL INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
$154,555SUPPORT FOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS
$100,000SUPPORT FOR FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE
$45,437ACADEMIC SUPPORT INITIATIVES