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Past Work

Information about select programs, initiatives, and areas of work for which the Foundation is no longer awarding grants

Community & Economic Development

Grantmaking sought to improve quality of life in a range of low-income neighborhoods in Chicago while supporting similar efforts in nine other cities around the country.       

Conservation & Sustainable Development

Grantmaking supported preserving ecosystems and species, and promoting development that respects the environment.

Digital Media & Learning

Grantmaking aimed to create more opportunities for more youth to engage in learning that is relevant to their lives and prepares them for success in school, the workplace, and their community.      
        

Discovery Grants

Discovery Grants were awarded for exceptionally creative or innovative projects with high potential impact, but which do not fit into the Foundation's existing programs and strategies.      

Girls' Secondary Education in Developing Countries

Grantmaking supported research, policy, and practical interventions that nurtured learner-centered education models and equipped economically marginalized girls with a core set of 21st century skills. 

Housing

Grantmaking supported more balanced, forward-looking housing policies that acknowledge the importance of affordable rental housing and the role that various attributes of housing may play in promoting strong, resilient families and vibrant communities.

Human Rights

Grantmaking supported strengthening human rights protections, advancing government accountability, and improving the reach and quality of justice.

Juvenile Justice

Grantmaking supported juvenile justice reform in 40 states to accelerate a national movement to improve the lives of young people in contact with the law, while enhancing public safety and holding young offenders accountable for their actions.

MacArthur Award for Creative & Effective Institutions

Grantmaking recognized exceptional grantee organizations that generated provocative ideas, reframed debates, and provided new ways of looking at persistent problems. 

Migration

Grantmaking supported research, policy, and practical interventions to improve the lives of and protections for immigrants and refugees.       

Our Work in Mexico

For more than three decades, grantmaking in Mexico supported civil society organizations focused on human rights, reproductive healthcare, and migration issues.      

Our Work in Russia

From 1991 to 2015, work in Russia supported strengthening civil society, independent media, human rights, higher education, and energy and the environment.

Policy Research

Grantmaking supported the development of more effective domestic policy by working to increase the policy impact of the Foundation’s program strategies. 

Population & Reproductive Health

Grantmaking supported efforts to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights in India, Mexico, and Nigeria and on a transnational level. 

Research Networks

From 1984 to 2021, The Foundation supported interdisciplinary research networks that examined problems and addressed empirical questions that had the potential to change prevailing paradigms.

Strengthening American Democracy

Grantmaking supported efforts to modernize election administration, protect voting rights, curb the role of money in politics, and reduce partisanship in Congress.

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