What We Fund
In the charter establishing his Foundation, the late Sir John Templeton set out his philanthropic intentions under several broad headings. These Core Funding Areas continue to guide our grantmaking as we work to find world-class researchers and project leaders to share in our pursuit of Sir John's dynamic, contrarian, forward-looking vision. For 2010, the Foundation has also established several special Funding Priorities.
Core Funding Areas
Online Funding Inquiry submission window
February 1 - April 15, 2010
August 1 - October 15, 2010
2010 Funding Priorities
Online Funding Inquiry submission window
February 1 - April 15, 2010
August 1- October 15, 2010
Featured Grant: The Next Revolution in Biology
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"In every field of science, when it's successful, you think you understand all of it," says Martin Nowak, professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University. "In classical mechanics," he explains, "there was a time when physicists thought, ‘Well, that's all there is. If I know the place of the particles in the universe, I can predict the future.' But then came quantum mechanics and relativity theory. There was a total revolution." Nowak is hard at work trying to launch another revolution, this time in evolutionary biology. "Our understanding of evolution," he says, "is very incomplete."
Thanks to a five-year, multipart grant of more than $10 million from the John Templeton Foundation, researchers will be able explore some of the Foundational Questions in Evolutionary Biology (FQEB) that have yet to be answered.
For more information, see the January 6, 2009 issue of the Templeton Report.
Featured Documentary: TEN9EIGHT: Shoot for the Moon
A child drops out of high school in the U.S. every nine seconds, but it doesn’t have to be that way, according to the documentary TEN9EIGHT: Shoot for the Moon. The film tells the inspirational stories of several inner-city teens as they compete in an annual business-plan competition run by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Both the film and the NFTE have received major grant support from the John Templeton Foundation.
Produced by the award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio, TEN9EIGHT shows that when young people are given the opportunity to start their own businesses and take control of their futures, they can improve their academic performance and lift themselves out of even the most difficult circumstances. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman writes, "Obama should arrange for this movie to be shown in every classroom in America. It is the most inspirational, heartwarming film you will ever see."
To learn more, see the trailer for TEN9EIGHT or join the TEN9EIGHT group on Facebook.
