KNIGHT FOUNDATION
Annual Giving
$226.5M+18% YoY
Grants
9
Median Grant
$7.5M
Organizations Funded
11
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Foundation Overview
Mission
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged.
Focus Areas
Grant Types
Funded Initiatives
$300M new commitment to journalism and local news, Press Forward coalition, Knight Cities Challenge $5M, Knight Enterprise Fund mission-related investments, $40M+ invested in St. Paul since 2000, $3.5M internet governance and policy research (2019), $1.3M technology for community engagement
How to Apply
Online Letter of Inquiry (LOI) via Fluxx portal as first step. Optional eligibility quiz available. If LOI leads to invitation for full proposal, takes 3-6 months to develop and approve grant. Open challenges and calls issued throughout year.
Does Not Fund
No fundraising events, no operating deficits, no service club charities, no government responsibility activities (selective exceptions), no medical research/disease-specific organizations, no hospitals (except community capital campaigns), no religious faith propagation, no political candidates, no memorials, no international programs (except US-based free press), no capital campaign second requests, no conferences/travel/honoraria (except foundation initiatives), no individual scholarships, currently invite-only through spring 2025
Based on publicly available information from the foundation's 990 filings and website.
Giving History
$226.5M
Grants
9
Median
$7.5M
States
3
$191.4M
Grants
12
Median
$5.0M
States
5
$212.5M
Grants
12
Median
$5.0M
States
4
Grant Size Distribution
$7.5M
Typical Grant (Median)
$335K
Smallest
$2.0M
25th Pctile
$10.0M
75th Pctile
$182.0M
Largest
Excludes grants ≤ $5K. Half fall between $2.0M and $10.0M.
Largest Recent Grants
$182.0M
2024
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOUNDATION
OR · THIS GIFT HAS BEEN DESIGNATED FOR THE CAMPUS FOR ACCELERATING SCIENTIFIC IMPACT (THE "CASI PROGRAM") AS WELL AS GENERAL OPERATING AND PROGRAM SUPPORT.
$10.0M
2024
ALBINA HEAD START
OR · THIS GIFT HAS BEEN DESIGNATED FOR GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT.
$10.0M
2024
SEI INC
OR · THIS GIFT HAS BEEN DESIGNATED FOR GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT.
$8.5M
2024
1803 FUND
OR · THIS GIFT HAS BEEN DESIGNATED FOR GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT.
$7.5M
2024
PROVIDENCE ST VINCENT MEDICAL FOUNDATION
OR · THIS GIFT HAS BEEN DESIGNATED TO THE CARDIOLOGY PROGRAM.
Geographic Focus
Top states by total grant dollars. Based on IRS filing data.
Financial Overview
Grants paid shown as percentage of total assets
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.