William T. Grant Foundation

The William T. Grant Foundation invests in high-quality research focused on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people in the United States.

We choose our research interests based on what’s going on in the world today.

While our commitment to research is unwavering, we recognize that the most pressing challenges confronting young people change over time. As independent grantmakers, we have the flexibility to adjust our areas of focus. Currently, the Foundation funds research that increases our understanding of: (1) the programs, policies, and practices that reduce inequality in youth outcomes, and (2) how policymakers and practitioners acquire, interpret, and use research evidence.

We begin with a set of questions, not preconceptions.

This means asking big questions and being open to unexpected answers. Our grantees produce high-quality studies, reports on timely issues, and syntheses of research evidence. Policymakers, practitioners, and researchers alike value our approach because we support impartial research that can inform their decisions to improve child and youth outcomes.

We favor an interdisciplinary approach to research.

From sociologists and community psychologists to anthropologists, political scientists, and economists, our grantees bring a range of methods and ideas to address persistent social problems. We seek to accumulate a broad body of knowledge that will contribute to improved outcomes for our nation’s children and youth. Only by working together can we confront the most intractable challenges facing young people in America today and in the future.