Foundation Funding

The goal of the Exploratory Grantmaking in Technology program is to continually monitor the landscape of emerging technology with the aim of identifying emerging new sectors, tools, and methods of working that we believe have potential, but which may not yet receive funding from mainstream/other sources.

Exploratory grantmaking is intended to bring community needs and priorities into sharper focus and allow the Foundation to determine whether there is a clear strategy and potential impact in a specific area. Supported activities may include workshops and other expert convenings, early technology development and prototyping, landscape analyses, development of protocols and standards, initial research on and engagement with potential user communities, and demonstration or other proof-of-concept projects. Ideal focus areas lie at the intersection of research and technology, are sufficiently limited that the Foundation could make an impact with its available resources, and involve issues for which public or private funding is scarce or unavailable.  

Current areas the Foundation is exploring include:

• AI in Science
  • Current areas of interest include: reproducibility and transparency of machine learning-enabled science; ways that the philosophy of science and related fields might help to inform the optimal uses of machine learning to produce new knowledge; and the relative value of foundation models vs. good old fashioned machine learning for scientific discovery.
• Automation in Science
  • Advances in robotics can enable the automation of many aspects of scientific lab and field work, especially when coupled with AI to dramatically accelerate iterative cycles of discovery. Though not substantially funding the implementation of these systems at scale, we are currently exploring their optimal uses by researchers as well as the institutional structures to support them.

View RFP 

Letters of Intent are accepted on a rolling basis. Please reach out to Meredith Raasio at msraasio@mtu.edu to submit your LOI. 

The Charles Koch Foundation supports proposals from individuals seeking innovative solutions. The best way to find out if your project request is a good match with the goals and vision of the Foundation is to submit an online grant proposal.

Current areas the Foundation is exploring include:

• Future of Work
  • Creating new educational and training pathways that enable individuals to find meaning and purpose in work
  • Networks focused on creating career-connected learning programs that can scale
  • Development of tools to help implement talent strategies based on aptitudes, mindset, and skills
  • Employers establishing cultures where employees find meaning in their work and benefit from the value they create
• Liberalism Research and Education
  • Support for faculty who provide transformational mentorship opportunities for undergraduate students to engage with classical liberal principles and ideas on campus.
  • Support for faculty mentoring graduate students so that classical liberal ideas evolve to effectively address society’s greatest challenges through future research and teaching.
  • Support for scholars to connect with each other, working to break down barriers that keep scholars from advancing classically liberal principles to solve present and future problems.

View RFP 

Letters of Intent are accepted on a rolling basis. Please reach out to Meredith Raasio at msraasio@mtu.edu to submit your LOI. 

The Democracy, Ethics, and Public Trust (DEPT) Initiative helps grantees ‌reimagine and reinvigorate democratic culture and practices by expanding networks and encouraging new research and approaches. DEPT turns its goals into reality by funding institutions and projects designed to create equitable and accessible media and information ecosystems, and by fostering enthusiastic community participation in policy development.

Current areas the Foundation is exploring include: 

• Information Ecosystem Grants
  • Interested in funding innovative news gathering and publishing initiatives that will enable journalists and audiences to produce and interpret news more effectively. We’re also seeking projects that further the development of equitable and inclusive digital spaces.
• Communities and Government Grants
  • We encourage applications that focus on improving the responsiveness of public officials and the effectiveness of public policies and services, especially at the regional level. Grants in this category also support efforts by citizens and communities to participate more actively in priority-setting, policy development, and resource allocation.
• Confidence in Democracy Grants
  • At Luce, we recognize that democratic governments cannot survive if the people they govern do not thrive. Members of a democracy expect their governments to provide education, healthcare, safe environments, and economic opportunity. Grants in this area focus on projects that boost confidence in democracy.

View RFP 

Letters of Intent are accepted on a rolling basis. Please reach out to Meredith Raasio at msraasio@mtu.edu to submit your LOI.