DIANA DAVIS SPENCER FOUNDATION INC

Supporting OrganizationIRS data 2022–2024

BETHESDA, MDEIN 203672969 Website

Annual Giving

$79.9M+13% YoY

Grants

138

Median Grant

$188K

Organizations Funded

169

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Foundation Overview

Mission

The mission is to promote national security, entrepreneurship, self-reliance, free enterprise, and to enhance quality of life by supporting the arts, education, global understanding, health advancements, and preservation of the environment.

Focus Areas

higher educationgraduate education and national security programspublic policy research and educationk-12 education and scholarshipsyouth leadership and social-emotional learningmilitary and veteran family servicesdisabilities services and special educationmedical research (vision and clinical research)

Grant Types

scholarships and scholarship endowmentscapital/campus constructiongeneral operating supportprogrammatic grants (education, leadership, training)research grantsdonor-advised fund contributions

Funded Initiatives

Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), Warrior-Scholar Project, Special Ops Warrior Foundation, Heritage Foundation ($26M in 2013), Federalist Society ($12M since 2016).

How to Apply

Considers grant applications on invitation-only basis. Organizations wishing to be invited should provide contact information and brief project description. General inquiries not accepted.

Based on publicly available information from the foundation's 990 filings and website.

Giving History

2024+13%

$79.9M

Grants

138

Median

$188K

States

2023-14%

$70.8M

Grants

155

Median

$200K

States

2022

$82.5M

Grants

138

Median

$200K

States

Grant Size Distribution

$188K

Typical Grant (Median)

$5K

Smallest

$50K

25th Pctile

$500K

75th Pctile

$5.0M

Largest

Excludes grants ≤ $5K. Half fall between $50K and $500K.

Largest Recent Grants

$5.0M

2024

DONORS TRUST

VA · DONOR ADVISED FUND CONTRIBUTION

$5.0M

2024

HERITAGE FOUNDATION

DC · EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

$5.0M

2024

DONORS TRUST

VA · DONOR ADVISED FUND CONTRIBUTION

$5.0M

2024

DONORS TRUST

VA · DONOR ADVISED FUND CONTRIBUTION

$5.0M

2024

HILLSDALE COLLEGE

MI · CONSTRUCTION OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL EDUCATION AND ENDOWMENT

Geographic Focus

$28.7M26 grants

$16.5M38 grants

$8.0M7 grants

$5.0M1 grants

$4.1M6 grants

Top states by total grant dollars. Based on IRS filing data.

Financial Overview

YearTotal AssetsGrants Paid

2024

$1.3B

$79.9M(5.9%)

2023

$1.3B

$70.8M(5.3%)

2022

$1.4B

$82.5M(6.1%)

Grants paid shown as percentage of total assets

Network Intelligence

Funding follows networks, not keywords

SciRise maps 4.8M+ grants across 16,000+ foundations to identify which ones are most likely to fund organizations like yours — based on who they already fund, not just what they say they fund.

Data sourced from IRS 990 and 990-PF filings and publicly available foundation websites. Grant data, financial figures, and organizational details reflect historical filings and may not represent current operations or funding priorities. Verify directly with the foundation before applying. See an issue? Let us know.