What We Fund
In the charter establishing his Foundation, the late Sir John Templeton set out his philanthropic intentions under several broad headings. These Core Funding Areas continue to guide our grant making as we work to find world-class researchers and project leaders to share in our pursuit of Sir John’s dynamic, contrarian, forward-thinking vision. For 2010, the Foundation has also established several special Funding Priorities.
Core Funding Areas
Online Funding Inquiries accepted
February 1 - April 15, 2010
August 1 - October 15, 2010
Our Core Funding Areas cover the full range of the Foundation's activities and grantmaking. Science & the Big Questions is the largest of these Core Funding Areas and is further divided into several subfields. The descriptions and illustrative grants attached to the Core Funding Areas are not meant to be exhaustive, but they should give potential applicants a general understanding of the sorts of activities that the Foundation does and does not fund.
A number of topics--including creativity, freedom, gratitude, love, and purpose--can be found under more than one Core Funding Area. The Foundation welcomes proposals that bring together these overlapping elements, especially by combining the tools and approaches of different disciplines.
Click here for a full overview of our Core Funding Areas.
2010 Funding Priorities
Online Funding Inquiries accepted
February 1 - April 15, 2010
August 1 - October 15, 2010
For the current grant-making year, the Foundation has designed several funding opportunities that ask researchers and other project leaders to focus their attention on a select group of particularly compelling topics. These 2010 Funding Priorities challenge grant-seekers to develop proposals that specifically address one or more of the Big Questions that we pose under the headings below.
Active Funding Priorities- Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality
- Foundational Questions in the Mathematical Sciences
- Culture, Biology, and Human Uniqueness
- How Does Spirituality Promote Health?
- Finding Free Will
- Moral Formation
- Private Gain and the Public Good
Forthcoming Funding Priorities
