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Who we fund

Lumina Foundation makes grants to organizations that are classified as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and as public charities under section 509(a)(1), (2) or (3) of the Code, or to public organizations that are designated under section 170(c) of the Code. Please note that Lumina Foundation for Education does not make grants to (a.) supporting organizations controlled by disqualified persons to Lumina, or (b.) Type III supporting organizations that are not functionally integrated Type III supporting organizations (as such terms are defined in the Internal Revenue Code).

Convinced that society has an important stake in the success of all students, we also encourage eligible grant recipients to propose projects and activities that involve communities, families and students in promoting educational access and success.

Geographic scope
Lumina Foundation makes grants within the United States and its territories. In addition, as an Indiana-based foundation, we set aside 10 percent of grant funds each year for projects that are specific to our hometown and home state. For Indiana-specific requests, the average grant is $75,000. In general, these requests should follow the same guidelines as requests from out of state.

What we encourage
Lumina Foundation seeks to foster significant and lasting improvement in college access and success, particularly among traditionally underserved student groups. To that end, we encourage:

• Collaboration among multiple organizations and institutions to ensure comprehensive and enduring attention to students' postsecondary preparation, enrollment and attainment.
• Projects that demonstrate capacity for long-term growth and sustainability. We urge potential grantees to consider carefully the ways in which they will build broad-based institutional, organizational, policy and funding support for the work they propose.
• Work that is guided by careful research and assessment and that will contribute new knowledge and evidence to strengthen students' opportunities for postsecondary access and success.

What we don't fund
In compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, Lumina Foundation grants do not support partisan political or lobbying efforts. In addition, we generally do not award grants for the following:

• Corporate sponsorships and fund-raising events outside Indianapolis.
• Religious activities. (We may consider grant requests from religious organizations if the proposed activities promote educational access and success and if they serve diverse recipients, without regard to their religious backgrounds.)
• Individual scholarships or institutional scholarship programs.
• K-12 education reform.
• Capital campaigns and endowments.
• Meetings and conferences, unless they relate to a strategic initiative of the Foundation.
• Requests from individual institutions, unless they meet one of the following criteria:
  • They are part of a special program initiated by Lumina Foundation.
  • The beneficiaries of the project reach well beyond the requesting institution, as evidenced by a strong strategy of collaboration and communication.
  • The project represents a significant contribution to building knowledge, policy or practice, as evidenced by a commitment to baseline research and rigorous evaluation so as to prove results.