The Spencer Foundation

EIN 366078558

Chicago, IL 60606 |(312) 337-7000

https://www.spencer.org
Total Given 2021–2025
$186.4M
1,298 grants · $37.3M avg/year
based on 5 yrs of IRS 990-PF records on file
$10M+/yr
major funder
capacity
$50K
typical mid grants · $48K–$105K
grant size
40%
supporter · 217/548 multi-year
repeat
$664.8M
Assets (2025)
548
Distinct Recipients

Focus Areas

Education Health Arts & Culture Environment Human Services

Application Information

Accepts Unsolicited Proposals Unknown
Contact Person Dr Na'ilah Suad Nasir
Phone (312) 337-7000
Deadlines Deadlines posted on Foundation's website www.spencer.org
How to Apply Application and information and materials requirements posted on website
Restrictions Information posted on Foundation's website www.spencer.org

Financial Trends

Giving Over Time

Total Assets Over Time

View financial data as table
YearTotal GivingTotal AssetsRevenueGrants
2021 $45.3M $672.7M $44.7M 242
2023 $37.4M $597.5M $42.0M 390
2024 $47.0M $667.4M $81.5M 338
2025 $56.8M $664.8M $235.6M 328

Grant Size Distribution

Based on 1298 grants on record

Minimum
$150
25th Pctl
$48K
Median
$50K
Average
$144K
75th Pctl
$105K
Maximum
$10.5M

Geographic Distribution

Texas Counties Served

4.0% of US grants · Rank #7 of 47 states $5.1M across 47 grants 10 of 254 counties

Top 10 counties

  1. 1 Travis 28 grants · $4.0M
  2. 2 Bexar 4 grants · $250K
  3. 3 Brazos 4 grants · $224K
  4. 4 Denton 3 grants · $175K
  5. 5 McLennan 2 grants · $150K
  6. 6 Hays 2 grants · $119K
  7. 7 Harris 1 grant · $50K
  8. 8 Waller 1 grant · $50K
  9. 9 Lubbock 1 grant · $45K
  10. 10 Dallas 1 grant · $150

Officers & Directors

Grants Awarded (1,298 total)

Purpose
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $10,525,691 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (Cohorts 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24) 2021
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $6,332,088 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs (Cohorts 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) 2024
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $4,382,606 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Programs (Cohorts 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) 2024
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $4,282,265 NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Program (Cohorts 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21) 2021
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $3,799,253 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF EDUCATION/SPENCER POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS (COHORTS 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) 2025
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $3,748,782 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (Cohorts 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24) 2023
Michigan State University East Lansing, MI $3,500,000 Creating Transformative Possibility in Schools and Communities: Asian American Studies in Divergent Political Contexts 2024
University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA $3,500,000 AN EXAMINATION OF LAND TENURE AND PUBLIC SCHOOLING IN CALIFORNIA 2025
Learning Policy Institute Palo Alto, CA $3,499,949 TEACHING GROUNDED IN THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT 2025
Michigan State University East Lansing, MI $3,016,956 CREATING TRANSFORMATIVE POSSIBILITY IN SCHOOLS 2025
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $2,629,563 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF EDUCATION/SPENCER DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS 2025
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $2,571,900 NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Program (Cohorts 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24) 2023
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $2,532,835 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF EDUCATION/SPENCER POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS (COHORTS 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) 2025
Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY $2,393,752 Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship Program, 2024 - 2028 2024
Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY $1,800,152 SPENCER EDUCATION JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM 2025
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY $1,765,496 Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship Program, 2020-2024 2021
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $1,753,042 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF EDUCATION/SPENCER DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS (COHORTS 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) 2025
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $1,266,418 National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs (Cohorts 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) 2024
The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles, CA $1,092,626 Orange County Educational Advancement Network: Facilitating a Network of RPPs at County Scale to Better Support... 2021
National Academy of Education Washington, DC $876,521 National Academy of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Programs (Cohorts 24-25, 25-26, 26-27) 2024
Curators of the University of Missouri on Behalf of the University of Misso Saint Louis, MO $806,273 Countering the Unintended Consequences of School Reforms: Communally-bonded Schools Reconnecting Black Students,... 2021
American Indian College Fund Denver, CO $798,364 American Indian and Alaska Native College Students: Building Collaborative Data Capacity and Investigating College... 2021
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Chicago, IL $769,204 Mapping Engineered Conflict: School Closings, Public Housing, Law Enforcement and the Future of Black Life 2021
The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles, CA $725,324 COVID-19 in California Community Colleges: College Responses, College Resources, and Student Outcomes 2021
Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN $718,570 Implications of Black Lives Matter Social Movement on Prosocial Development and Academic Outcomes of Rural African... 2021