Mapping Philanthropic Support of Science

TL;DR

This paper maps and analyzes philanthropic funding patterns for science using IRS data, revealing growth, local focus, persistence, and network predictability in funding relationships, with implications for policy and funding strategies.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale quantitative mapping of philanthropic science funding, highlighting patterns, persistence, and network-based predictability of funding relationships.

Findings

Philanthropic funding has grown to rival federal research funding.

Funders tend to focus locally, beyond research excellence.

Funding relationships show persistence over time.

Abstract

While philanthropic support for science has increased in the past decade, there is limited quantitative knowledge about the patterns that characterize it and the mechanisms that drive its distribution. Here, we map philanthropic funding to universities and research institutions based on IRS tax forms from 685,397 non-profit organizations. We identify nearly one million grants supporting institutions involved in science and higher education, finding that in volume and scope, philanthropic funding has grown to become comparable to federal research funding. Yet, distinct from government support, philanthropic funders tend to focus locally, indicating that criteria beyond research excellence play an important role in funding decisions. We also show evidence of persistence, i.e., once a grant-giving relationship begins, it tends to continue in time. Finally, we leverage the bipartite network of supporters and recipients to help us demonstrate the predictive power of the underlying network in foreseeing future funder-recipient relationships. The developed toolset could offer funding recommendations to organizations and help funders diversify their portfolio. We discuss the policy implications of our findings for philanthropic funders, individual researchers, and quantitative understanding of philanthropy.