Sunday, February 7, 2010

Goldman Sachs Foundation


The Goldman Sachs Foundation was funded in 1999 with a $200 million donation from The Goldman Sachs Group. The Foundation’s mission is to promote excellence and innovation in education worldwide. The Foundation is an important extension of the tradition of philanthropy and public leadership at Goldman Sachs.

The company is considering new charity rules to soften criticism over the size of its bonuses, which are expected to be among the largest on Wall Street, bringing average pay to about $595,000 for each employee — with far higher amounts for top performers.

Grants have been awarded in excess of $114 million since its inception, providing opportunities for young people in more than 20 countries.

Their Program Interests - Funding priorities are determined by a periodic assessment of needs and opportunities in the field of education. Current priorities are:
  • To develop the abilities of promising high potential youth worldwide
  • To support high quality education for young people in leadership, entrepreneurship and business education
  • To enhance academic performance and prospects for life achievement of students at the secondary school level
Candidates for Funding - The Foundation makes only a small number of large grants to effective, high quality organizations that:
  • Implement achievement oriented education programs
  • Produce substantial, measurable results
  • Possess a well delineated plan for broad dissemination and outreach
  • Demonstrate exceptional promise
  • Employ strong leadership
  • Command distinguished records of accomplishment
  • Evidence a clear capacity to expend sizable grants wisely
The Foundation is able to respond favorably to an extremely small fraction of the requests that it receives. Rarely will a grant be made in response to an unsolicited proposal.

Letter of Inquiry - Prospective applicants are invited to explain their ideas informally by submitting to the Foundation a short letter (of about two pages) describing the program or organization for which a grant is sought, its mission, accomplishments, budget size and current funding needs. Documentation of results achieved to date is highly desirable. Submission of published program descriptions or brochures also is encouraged. On the basis of this information, staff will determine whether additional materials are required and contact prospective grantees accordingly.

Deadlines - With few exceptions, there are no fixed deadlines. The Foundation makes grants throughout the year.

Grant Inquiries Should be Directed to:


The Goldman Sachs Foundation
85 Broad Street, 22nd floor
New York, NY 10004

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