Robertson Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Robertson Foundation makes substantial grants for K–12 education, climate and food systems, and medical research. Its current priorities include literacy, the teaching profession, clean-energy transitions, food-system emissions, biomedical discovery and scientific talent.

IP TAKE: The Robertson Foundation has emerged from the strategic review that followed founder Julian Robertson’s 2022 death with a narrower—and more clearly defined—agenda. Its sweet spot is ambitious, evidence-informed work with the potential to transform an entire field or system.

This is an invitation-only funder, and cold outreach is unlikely to get far. The best prospects are established organizations with strong leadership, a credible theory of change and real visibility within Robertson’s networks. A warm introduction from a current grantee, research partner, intermediary or co-funder is the most realistic way in. Education prospects should build relationships across literacy, instructional materials, teacher development and education policy. Environmental groups should be active in clean-energy transition, food-waste, methane-reduction and Latin American climate networks. Medical researchers have the clearest indirect access through Robertson-backed fellowships and programs administered by organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, Damon Runyon and the Jane Coffin Childs Fund.

Any introduction should be sharply focused: What problem are you uniquely equipped to solve? What evidence supports the approach? Why now? And what could change at scale if the work succeeds? This foundation is also affiliated with the separate Tiger Foundation.

PROFILE: The Robertson Foundation was established in 1996 by Tiger Management founder Julian H. Robertson Jr., his wife, Josie, and their family. Julian Robertson died in August 2022, after which the family reviewed the foundation’s strategy. That review is over: Robertson is actively granting and now says it aims to distribute approximately $100 million annually across education, environment and medical research.

The foundation describes human capital as its “greatest lever for change.” It seeks what it calls transformational breakthroughs, focusing on root causes, potential tipping points and organizations positioned to achieve long-term change. Its current language emphasizes deep inquiry, proximity to the issues and sustained support for grantee partners.

Grants for K-12 Education

Robertson’s education portfolio supports two broad goals: “transformational change in reading and writing from pre-K through eighth grade” and “the future of the teaching profession.”

• Robertson does not offer an open education application process.
• The foundation works nationally, although New York City remains an important center of activity.
• Recent giving has supported evidence-based literacy instruction, writing, multilingual learners, instructional materials, teacher development, school leadership, workforce redesign, education policy and selected uses of artificial intelligence.
• In late 2025, Robertson announced $11.4 million for a literacy cohort that included AIM Institute for Learning & Research, CommonLit, the Council of Chief State School Officers, EdTrust–New York, EL Education, English Learners Success Forum, Instruction Partners, Learning Heroes, Magpie Literacy and a multilingual-learner AI challenge led by Social Strategy Associates. The grants aimed to strengthen the national literacy field and improve instruction for multilingual learners and middle-school students.
• Other recent education grantees include Arizona State University’s Next Education Workforce, Center for Public Research and Leadership, Education Evolving, Fishtank Learning, Leading Educators, Literacy Academy Collective, Modern Classrooms Project, NewSchools Venture Fund, NYC Public Schools, PIE Network, Playlab AI, Stanford University’s Brain Development and Education Lab, Success Academy Charter Schools, Teaching Matters, Tennessee SCORE, Teach Plus and Transcend. Robertson also committed $21.75 million over three years to a group of organizations working to redesign and strengthen the teaching profession.
• This newer education work replaces the profile’s former emphasis on “reform from within” and generating “external pressure,” which are no longer presented as current program areas. Robertson’s education strategy is also broader than a simple public-school-versus-charter-school framework. It now encompasses curriculum, teaching practice, professional systems, policy, research and innovation.
• Best fits: The best prospects are organizations capable of influencing instructional practice, educator systems or public policy across multiple schools, districts or states. Small local tutoring, afterschool and direct-service programs appear less competitive unless their work offers compelling evidence, a distinctive model and a credible path to broader adoption.

Grants for the Environment, Energy and Food Systems

The environment portfolio supports organizations seeking transformational change in global energy and food systems. Its current strategy is significantly narrower than the foundation’s former, more general climate and conservation agenda.

• Foundation staff have identified two primary areas of work: “a just transition to clean energy, with a significant focus on Latin America” and “food-system transformation, including reducing food loss and waste, cutting methane emissions and decreasing dependence on livestock-intensive food production.”
• Recent energy-transition grantees include the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense, C40 Cities, Earthjustice, Instituto Clima e Sociedade, the International Council on Clean Transportation, Natural Resource Governance Institute, Transforma and the World Resources Institute.
• Recent food-systems partners include the American Heart Association, Food for Climate League, Global Methane Hub, Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic, Plant Based Foods Institute, ReFED and Tilt Collective.
• In 2025, Robertson highlighted $10.5 million in grants supporting policies to reduce food waste, efforts to curb landfill methane and communications promoting the health and environmental benefits of plant-forward diets.
• The foundation backs a mix of advocacy, policy, litigation, research, communications, field building and market transformation. Staff have also emphasized movement infrastructure and long-term readiness in places where immediate policy opportunities have narrowed.
• Best fits: Strong prospects will generally be able to alter laws, markets, infrastructure or industry practices at the national, regional or global level. Conventional conservation, wildlife, environmental education and local sustainability projects are less likely to fit unless they connect directly to the foundation’s energy or food-systems strategies.
• Robertson does not publish environmental guidelines or accept unsolicited proposals. Some grantees and intermediary organizations run their own competitions, but these should not be confused with open Robertson Foundation grant cycles.

Grants for Medical Research

Robertson’s medical research program supports organizations and scientists that investigate the “causes of health and disease, translate discoveries into diagnostics and treatments, and improve access to equitable care.” Its public materials also reference innovation in care delivery, particularly in the United States.

• Recent giving spans: Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias; Cancer and cancer immunology; Neuroscience; Stem-cell research; Disease biology and biomarkers;Translational research; Early-career investigators and postdoctoral scientists; Scientific data and collaborative research infrastructure; and Care-delivery innovation.
• Recent grantees include the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Cancer Research Institute, Jackson Laboratory, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute, Rockefeller University, the University of Oxford and Washington University in St. Louis.
• In June 2026, Robertson announced a $20 million investment supporting 76 postdoctoral researchers through three- to four-year fellowships. The initiative is being administered in partnership with the Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, Helen Hay Whitney Foundation and Life Sciences Research Foundation. Researchers interested in these awards should follow the application procedures of the individual fellowship organizations rather than contacting Robertson directly.
• Robertson also supports large collaborative initiatives. The Dementia Frontiers Fund, led by Alzheimer’s Research UK with several philanthropic and research partners, funds multidisciplinary teams working on complex questions in dementia. Its initial expression-of-interest period has closed, and the current funding round is proceeding through later stages of review.

At the time of this update, the clearest open Robertson-backed opportunity is the Bridge Funding for Disrupted Neurodegenerative Research Grant Program, administered by the Alzheimer’s Association and the Michael J. Fox Foundation with philanthropic partners.

• The program provides short-term support to early-career investigators whose research has been disrupted by changes in U.S. federal funding. Applicants must generally be within seven years of receiving NIH Early Stage Investigator designation and must document the federal funding disruption.
• Awards may support three to 12 months of work, with proposed budgets generally capped at $250,000.
• Letters of intent are due July 30 and October 30, 2026, and January 29 and April 30, 2027. This is a partner-administered research competition, not an open application to the Robertson Foundation itself.

Other Opportunities:

The Robertson family’s philanthropy includes several separate organizations that should not be confused with the Robertson Foundation:

• The Tiger Foundation supports organizations working to break the cycle of poverty in New York City. The Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation is based in Salisbury, North Carolina, and supports work in that region. The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program provides scholarships and leadership development connected to Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. These are legally and programmatically distinct entities.
• The Robertson Foundation also helps administer the Aotearoa Foundation, which has historically funded education, environmental and medical work in Hawke’s Bay and Northland, New Zealand. Aotearoa paused new grantmaking in 2023 while reviewing its strategy. That pause applies to Aotearoa—not to the main Robertson Foundation.
• Robertson also inherited more than two dozen artworks from Julian Robertson’s estate. The foundation is conserving and lending the collection for free public exhibition through 2028 and may give selected pieces to eligible museums, schools and other charitable institutions. This is a direct charitable activity, not a publicly advertised arts grant program.

Important Grant Details:

The Robertson Foundation aims to award approximately $100 million annually. Its Form 990-PF for the fiscal year ending November 2024 reported about $113.6 million in charitable disbursements. A second, short-period return ending in December 2024 reported another $21.3 million; the two returns should not be treated as comparable full operating years.

• Geography varies by portfolio:
  • Education giving is national, with a significant New York City presence.
  • Environmental giving is global, including a strong focus on Latin America.
  • Medical research supports institutions and collaborations in the United States and abroad.
  • The main foundation does not appear to impose a general New York-only restriction.
• The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals and states on its latest tax filing that it funds only preselected charitable organizations. There is no public letter-of-inquiry process, application portal or general deadline.
• Contact: Robertson Foundation, 45 West 45th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10036

PEOPLE:

Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).

LINKS:

• Robertson Foundation LinkedIn

Last updated on July 24, 2026