The Sunlin and Priscilla Chou Foundation focuses heavily on higher education, making large, targeted gifts to support scholarships, graduate fellowships, and faculty/lectureship positions at leading research universities. Their giving is national in scope but concentrated on a small set of elite institutions, often through repeat multi-grant support for specific scholarship or fellowship funds. The foundation appears to prioritize talent development (student fellowships/scholarships) and academic excellence (faculty and lectureship support).
The Sunlin and Priscilla Chou Foundation’s recent giving is defined by large, targeted commitments to higher education, especially endowed professorships, scholarships, fellowships, and faculty support at a small set of research universities. A 2024 grant of $620,000 to Massachusetts Institute of Technology for an endowed professorship sits alongside a 2025 Transformative Research Fund grant of $572,334 to the same institution, showing how the foundation pairs permanent academic support with research-oriented funding. Dartmouth College also appears as a repeated recipient, including a $500,000 scholarship fund grant in 2023 and another $250,000 scholarship fund grant in 2024, before a further $250,000 award in 2025. Stanford University received both an endowed professorship grant and a faculty scholar fund grant, reinforcing the foundation’s pattern of backing academic talent and institutional capacity. The foundation’s gifts are national in reach but concentrated among elite universities, with support often structured around named funds rather than broad unrestricted awards.
Higher education is the core of the foundation’s grantmaking. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, they made a $130,000 grant in 2023 for a Graduate Fellowship Fund, alongside larger professorship and research grants in later years. Dartmouth College received a $500,000 Scholarship Fund grant in 2023, followed by $250,000 scholarship fund grants in both 2024 and 2025, indicating sustained support for student aid. Stanford University received $267,440 in 2023 for a Faculty Scholar Fund and $285,000 in 2025 for an Endowed Professorship, pointing to faculty development as another priority. The University of Washington Foundation appears in the recent record with $80,000 for a Lectureship fund and four $50,000 grants for a Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund, showing support for public scholarly programming and inclusion-oriented work.
Typical grant size is substantial: the 25th percentile is $72,500, the median is $250,000, and the 75th percentile is $425,000. The recent record also shows repeated support for the same universities across multiple years, especially MIT, Dartmouth, Stanford, and the University of Washington Foundation. The foundation is classified as a Regular Funder and funds individuals, which aligns with its scholarship and fellowship-oriented approach. The grants shown are all programmatic higher-education awards rather than one-off small gifts.
$4.1M
$17M
$126K
$940K
Most grants fall between $73K and $425K, with a median of $250K.
25th Percentile
$73K
Median
$250K
75th Percentile
$425K
About 33% of grants go to recipients in WA.
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Concentrated, high-dollar giving to a small number of institutions with repeat grants for named scholarship/fellowship and faculty funds rather than broad, small-scale community grants.
Notable grantees: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College, Stanford University, University of Washington Foundation
The foundation gives most often in Washington, which accounts for 33% of grants to recipients in the HQ state. Recent awards also land in Massachusetts through Cambridge-based MIT, in New Hampshire through Hanover-based Dartmouth College, and in California through Stanford University in Stanford. Seattle appears in the record through the University of Washington Foundation. All recent grants in the dataset were made to US recipients.
Its recent grants include endowed professorships, scholarship funds, graduate fellowships, faculty scholar support, lectureship funding, and a Transformative Research Fund grant. The pattern centers on institutional support for students, faculty, and academic programming at research universities.
Yes. MIT appears multiple times from 2023 through 2025, Dartmouth College received scholarship fund grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025, Stanford appears in 2023 and 2025, and the University of Washington Foundation received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The middle of the distribution is large: the 25th percentile is $72,500, the median is $250,000, and the 75th percentile is $425,000. Recent examples include six-figure and larger awards to MIT, Dartmouth College, and Stanford University.
Washington is the top state by grant count, with 33% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state. Other recent recipients are in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and California, and all recent grants in the dataset went to US organizations.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $572,334 | 2025 | Transformative Research Fund |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $527,700 | 2025 | Endowed Professorship |
| Stanford University | Stanford, CA | $285,000 | 2025 | Endowed Professorship |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | $250,000 | 2025 | Scholarship Fund |
| University of Washington Foundation | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 2025 | Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund |
| University of Washington Foundation | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 2025 | Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $620,000 | 2024 | Endowed Professorship |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | $250,000 | 2024 | Scholarship Fund |
| University of Washington Foundation | Seattle, WA | $80,000 | 2024 | Lectureship fund |
| University of Washington Foundation | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 2024 | Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | $500,000 | 2023 | Scholarship Fund |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $400,000 | 2023 | Endowed Professorship |
| Stanford University | Stanford, CA | $267,440 | 2023 | Faculty Scholar Fund |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge, MA | $130,000 | 2023 | Graduate Fellowsip Fund |
| University of Washington Foundation | Seattle, WA | $50,000 | 2023 | Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
$572,334Transformative Research Fund
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
$527,700Endowed Professorship
Stanford University
$285,000Endowed Professorship
Dartmouth College
$250,000Scholarship Fund
University of Washington Foundation
$50,000Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund
University of Washington Foundation
$50,000Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
$620,000Endowed Professorship
Dartmouth College
$250,000Scholarship Fund
University of Washington Foundation
$80,000Lectureship fund
University of Washington Foundation
$50,000Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund
Dartmouth College
$500,000Scholarship Fund
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
$400,000Endowed Professorship
Stanford University
$267,440Faculty Scholar Fund
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
$130,000Graduate Fellowsip Fund
University of Washington Foundation
$50,000Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion Fund