The Simons Foundation Inc
Preselected recipients only
The Simons Foundation Inc is a private foundation in New York, New York. In tax year 2024 it gave $107 million in 1,727 grants; the typical grant was $72,000 and the largest $20.0 million. It only gives to organizations it selects itself and does not accept unsolicited applications.
From its IRS Form 990-PF for tax year 2024.
- Grants paid, 2024$107 million
- Number of grants1,727
- Typical grant$72,000
- Largest grant$20.0 million
- Assets$4.5 billion
- New grantees35%
Giving in 2024 was down from $317 million the year before.
35% of its 2024 grantees had not received a grant from it the year before, a mix of repeat and new grantees.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants paid | Number of grants | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $317 million | 1,962 | $4.6 billion |
| 2024 | $107 million | 1,727 | $4.5 billion |
How to apply
The Simons Foundation Inc says in its IRS filing that it only makes contributions to preselected organizations, so unsolicited applications are unlikely to be considered. Organizations it funds are usually invited.
Foundation website IRS filings on ProPublica
What The Simons Foundation Inc funds
Where it gives
Its US grants went to recipients in 50 states, the most to New York. It also paid $37.9 million in 214 grants to recipients outside the US.
| State | Grants | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 236 | $83.1 million |
| California | 222 | $43.7 million |
| Massachusetts | 171 | $35.4 million |
| New Jersey | 68 | $11.3 million |
| Illinois | 56 | $10.3 million |
| Pennsylvania | 56 | $6.4 million |
| Washington | 39 | $5.3 million |
| Maryland | 47 | $4.1 million |
| Texas | 78 | $3.8 million |
| Georgia | 33 | $3.5 million |
Grants paid in 2024
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| New York Genome Center | New york genome center 2018 "new gift" | $20.0 million |
| Stony Brook Foundation | Simons infinity investment matching gift | $6.7 million |
| University of Edinburgh | A major programme of fundamental and clinical autism research | $5.1 million |
| New York University | Simons center for computational physical chemistry | $4.4 million |
| Clinical Research Associates | Autism research | $4.2 million |
| Northwestern University | National institute for theory and mathematics in biology | $4.1 million |
| Uc Berkeley | Simons institute for the theory of computing | $3.8 million |
| Stony Brook Foundation | Simons math/physics operating fund | $3.5 million |
| Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory | Applications of genomics to breast cancer detection, risk assessment and treatment response | $3.4 million |
| Stony Brook Foundation | Presidential innovation and excellence fund matching gift | $3.1 million |
| UCSF | Anatomical, molecular, and systems approaches to elucidate the mechanism of sex bias in the asd | $2.9 million |
| Hautes Etudes Scientifiques | Operating support | $2.2 million |
| Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory | Genetic contribution to autism | $2.0 million |
| Cornell University | Support for arxiv mmodernization | $1.5 million |
| Northwestern University | Nsf-simons center for quantitative biology | $1.5 million |
| Research Foundation of the Cuny | Cuny masters in astrophysics bridge program | $1.5 million |
| Eth Zurich | Prime - principles of microbial ecosystems | $1.3 million |
| Harvard University | Nsf-simons center for mathematical and statistical analysis of biology | $1.3 million |
| Stony Brook Foundation | Scgp current use fund | $1.3 million |
| Columbia University | Simons junior faculty fellows | $1.1 million |
| Harvard University | Ultra-quantum matter | $1.1 million |
| Washington University in St Louis | Analysis of mechanisms underlying sex epistasis in autism - core | $1.1 million |
| University of Washington | Data and tools to define the biogeography of marine phytoplankton | $1.0 million |
| Harvard University | Nsf-simons center for mathematical and statistical analysis of biology | $1.0 million |
| Jet Propulsion Laboratory | Planetary context of habitability and exobiology | $1.0 million |
| Stony Brook Foundation | Nyce matching grant | $1.0 million |
| Uc Berkeley | Collaboration on the theoretical foundations of deep learning | $1.0 million |
| MIT | Arithmetic geometry, number theory, and computation | $948,145 |
| Boston Children's Hospital | Identification and impact of somatic mutations in regulatory regions in autism brain | $914,008 |
| MIT | Computational biogeochemical modeling of marine ecosystems | $890,169 |
| Ucsd | Array project 3 | $880,262 |
| Geisinger Clinic | Simons variation in individuals project (vip) recruitment core and phase 2 coordination site | $856,641 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Collaborative research: transferable, hierarchical, expressive, optimal, robust, interpretable networks (theorinet) | $825,000 |
| Stony Brook Foundation | Stony brook simons STEM scholars program | $794,685 |
| New York University | Simons-nyu science explorations program | $770,284 |
| Columbia University | Sex-specific differences in cognitive and brain aging; spi murphy: conserved regulatory pathways in age-related loss of plasticity and cognitive function | $750,000 |
| Smithsonian Institution | The role of microbiomes in shaping the ecology and evolution of tropical forest ecosystems | $750,000 |
| NYU School of Medicine | Simons junior faculty fellows | $749,759 |
| Columbia University | Triangulation of missense variant impact through multimodal modeling and functional assays | $748,492 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Simons chair in probability and evolutionary theory | $728,748 |
Officers and trustees
- Marilyn Simons
- James Simons
- David Eisenbud
- Emery N Brown
- Peter Littlewood
- Andrew Golden
- Shirley M Tilghman
- William H Press
- Cornelia Bargmann
- Jill Pipher
- Ingrid Daubechies
- Bill Ford
- David Spergel
- Euan Robertson
- Marlow Kee
Questions people ask
Does The Simons Foundation Inc accept grant applications?
No. Its IRS filing says it only makes contributions to preselected organizations.
How much does The Simons Foundation Inc give?
$107 million in tax year 2024, across 1,727 grants, with a typical grant of $72,000.
Who runs The Simons Foundation Inc?
Its 2024 filing lists Marilyn Simons (Co-Chair of the Board), James Simons (Co-Chair (Thru 5/2024)), David Eisenbud (Trustee) and Emery N Brown (Trustee) among 15 officers and trustees.
What does The Simons Foundation Inc fund?
Based on its grants, mainly education, science and research and international.