John Templeton Foundation invites funding inquiries

The John Templeton Foundation serves as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries related to the deepest and most perplexing questions facing humankind and supports research, and catalyzes conversations that inspire people with awe and wonder.

The foundation welcomes grant applications to support field-leading research and high-impact public engagement programs in these areas:

Culture and Global Perspectives: Through this funding area, the foundation aims to support work that better understands the role of culture in our lives, how our cultures change, and how religions, values, customs, and institutions might help address global challenges.

Philosophy and Theology: This area supports research and catalyzes conversations that promise to build on the wisdom contained within the world’s philosophical and theological traditions to enhance our understanding of the world and how to live well within it.

Individual Freedom and Free Markets: This funding area supports education, research, and outreach projects to promote freedom, free markets, free competition, and entrepreneurship. Grounded in the ideas of classical liberal political economy and committed to the moral equality of all human beings, the foundation seeks and develops projects that aim to advance freedom, widespread prosperity, and human flourishing for all.

Character Virtue Development: This funding area funds research to advance the science and practice of character, focusing on moral, performance, civic, and intellectual virtues such as humility, gratitude, curiosity, diligence, and honesty. For the 2023 funding cycle, the foundation is particularly interested in OFIs related to cultivating character in the digital age. It seeks to make progress in two broad areas: (a) providing youth and individuals who work with youth with the resources and tools needed to cultivate character in a digital age and (b) supporting character-related research that moves beyond a narrow focus on “screen time” to a more nuanced exploration of the relevant factors and underlying mechanisms that explain the relationship between aspects of digital technology and growth in character.

Mathematical and Physical Sciences: In this funding area, the foundation will support research to shed light on the fundamental concepts of physical reality and explore the interplay between these sciences and the broader human experience.

Human Sciences: The foundation aims to fund research in response to big questions about human nature, religion and spirituality, flourishing, and other fundamental aspects of human experience. For the 2023 funding cycle, the Human Sciences department only considers Online Funding Inquiries that fit the “Religion and spirituality in health care” track of the Health, Religion, & Spirituality strategic priority.

Public Engagement: This area funds various grantees to create content, cultivate thought leadership, and develop campus programming. From 2019 to 2023, the Public Engagement Department will support content projects that include video, audio, public events, and print media.

Life Sciences: This area supports research and engagement projects on questions such as: What is life and its limits? How did it originate, and what fundamental mechanisms allow for the startling novelty of form and function? What processes led to the evolution of humanity, and can we predict future evolutionary outcomes? The foundation is particularly interested in applications that seek novel and fundamental insights into the meaning and significance of life processes by which we can better understand humanity’s place within nature.

Eligible applicants include charitable entities operating inside and outside the United States.

Online funding inquiries are due August 18, 2023, and selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal, due January 19, 2024 (or earlier for select proposals).

For complete program guidelines, application instructions, and an FAQ, see the John Templeton Foundation website.