Introducing SciRise: Foundation Intelligence for Research Institutions
After a period of quiet building and testing, I'm excited to officially launch SciRise, an independent venture I've been developing outside of my role at Duke.
A New Category: Foundation Intelligence
As federal research funding becomes less predictable, private foundation support is increasingly critical. Yet the way institutions pursue it remains fragmented, manual, and largely reactive.
SciRise applies large-scale foundation giving data combined with AI-driven analysis to help research development and foundation relations teams:
- See the full landscape of foundation funding
- Identify truly aligned funders based on giving behavior
- Focus outreach where there is real potential for long-term partnership
What Makes SciRise Different
This is not another grant database or opportunity alert system.
SciRise is a behavior-based, institution-level intelligence platform designed to support coordinated, strategic foundation engagement across research institutions. It is built on multi-year IRS 990 and 990-PF filings, using transparent, explainable methods designed for research leadership.
The goal is to help institutions win more of the $90B in annual funding from foundations that already support higher education, of which universities currently receive only about 10%.
Built in Collaboration
The platform was shaped through collaboration with research development and foundation relations leaders across higher education, with a particular focus on academic medicine and the health sciences.
I'm deeply grateful to the advisors and collaborators who supported the development of SciRise: Michael Cohen-Wolkowiez, Todd Nicolet, Frederick Vallaeys, Enno Siemsen, and Avalon McMullen.
If you work in research development, foundation relations, or research leadership and are interested in learning more, feel free to .