Who are the MacArthur Foundation’s top grantees?

As the development sector still grapples with a post-USAID reality, speculation on the U.S. government’s plan to target the tax-exempt status of philanthropies working in the climate sector began circulating ahead of Earth Day celebration on April 22. John Palfrey, the president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, was among the first to react, saying that the foundation is committed to exhausting all legal measures available should the U.S. government’s plan actually happen. Nor was it the first time Palfrey had spoken out. Early in Donald Trump’s presidency, he promised an increase in giving, and he has since spoken of the need for the sector more widely to step up. The MacArthur Foundation was established in 1970 by magnate John D. MacArthur and his wife, Catherine MacArthur, after years of doing quiet giving primarily in Chicago and Palm Beach. From an initial grant of $50,000 each to Amnesty International and the California League of Cities in 1978, it has grown into one of the largest charities in the world, with its total philanthropic giving to date reaching $8.3 billion. How much does the foundation actually spend on development projects? Who benefits from them, and who among the grantees receives the largest share? We crunched the data from its grant database to get the answers. The top-level figures Based on the data, the MacArthur Foundation awarded 2,380 grants, worth almost $1.4 billion, between 2020 and 2024. This excludes other awarding mechanisms, such as impact investments, fiscal sponsorships, and subgrants. The MacArthur Foundation awarded an average of $583,000 per grant during the five-year period. From $199.1 million in 2020, its grant spending skyrocketed to $455.9 million the following year. This went down sharply to $175 million in 2022, then climbed up to $307.7 million the next year. The latest figures showed that the foundation spent $249.4 million via grants in 2024. Virtually all of its grants in the five-year period were awarded to U.S.-based recipients, whose cumulative awards amounted to $1.24 billion for 2,053 grants. None of the top U.S.-based grantees was a development organization. The top U.S.-based grantees were Community Solutions, an affordable housing organization, which received $100.1 million for two grants, and the Miami Foundation, a local organization for people in Miami, which received $37.4 million for five grants. Outside the U.S., grantees from Nigeria received the largest share, with $87.4 million for 199 grants. Then awardees in India, with $23.1 million for 45 grants; U.K.-based organizations, with $10.7 million for 20 grants; and Ghana-based recipients, with $6.8 million for four grants. Top grantees from low- and middle-income countries 1. Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund Established: 2019 Location: Accra, Ghana Number of grants: Three Total grant amount: $5.8 million ATJLF is a joint fund by the MacArthur Foundation and WellSpring Philanthropic Fund working to promote justice projects in several African countries. It’s MacArthur Foundation’s top grantee among non-U.S. recipients, with three grants, worth $5.8 million, supporting its work on transitional justice. 2. Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education Established: 2006 Location: Kano, Nigeria Number of grants: Seven Total grant amount: $5.2 million CHRICED is a nonprofit primarily focused on supporting democratic participation in Nigeria. Six of its grants were for the benefit of aboriginal people in Abuja. It also received a $50,000 grant for public education and mobilization on COVID-19. 3. Centre for Democracy and Development Established: 1997 Location: Abuja, Nigeria Number of grants: Three Total grant amount: $5.2 million Established in the U.K., CDD was subsequently registered in Nigeria as an independent nonprofit. It received $4.5 million in 2021 to strengthen anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria. The other two grants were for COVID-19 measures. 4. Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Established: 2005 Location: Lagos, Nigeria Number of grants: Five Total grant amount: $5.2 million Named after Africa’s first Nobel Prize in Literature laureate, WSCIJ received four grants from the MacArthur Foundation to support its work on investigative reporting and journalism in Nigeria. Additionally, it received $40,000 in 2020 to fight misinformation around COVID-19. 5. Legal Defence and Assistance Project Established: 1997 Location: Lagos, Nigeria Number of grants: Five Total grant amount: $3.5 million LEDAP helps to promote and protect human rights, the rule of law, and good governance in Nigeria through free legal services. It was awarded five grants for its work on anti-corruption, criminal justice reform, and transparency in elections. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.