The Lemelson Foundation funds programs and projects to cultivate the next generation of inventors and to ensure that inventors everywhere have access to the tools and resources they need to realize their ideas. We do this through a combination of grants, loans and equity investments. We strive to meet the needs of great organizations and entice more traditional funders to partner with us by being flexible and innovative in the way we provide capital.

Please note:The Foundation has a small staff, and as such does not accept unsolicited proposals. For more information about the kinds of projects and programs the Foundation supports, download our Grantmaking Guidelines PDF.

What We Fund: 

From the Classroom to the Real World. We support programs and projects that deliver hands-on learning opportunities in engineering, science and invention to students from grade school through college. In particular, we support:

• K-12 invention models with the potential to scale and be replicated.
• Invention education programs that encourage girls and low-income youth to purse careers in science, engineering and technology.
• Prizes and museum exhibitions that celebrate inventors, inspire young people, and raise public awareness of invention’s vital role in social and economic development.

From the Garage to the Marketplace. We cultivate long-term partnerships with organizations that support and mentor gifted inventors. Specifically, we:

• Work with partners to provide finance, mentoring and technical assistance to early-stage inventors who are designing solutions for poor people.
• Identify and engage partners from government, universities and corporations to create a supportive environment for invention.

From the Marketplace to Individual Lives. We support the growth, scaling and replication of enterprises that design technologies and deliver them to those who need them most. Our method includes:

• Taking risks on early-stage innovations and enterprises that promise to dramatically improve lives.
• Helping scale enterprises with proven track records by filling gaps in funding for R & D, new product testing or regional expansion.
• Investing in organizations that finance and mentor groups of technology-related social entrepreneurs in particular regions or sectors.

How We Fund:

The Lemelson Foundation is playing a leadership role in four funding areas:

• Support for Earlier-Stage, Higher-Risk Opportunities. The Foundation has provided seed funding for unproven technology innovations, taken high-risk positions in earlier-stage enterprises, and funded expansion of life-improving technologies into new markets. Our willingness to experiment and support less certain, early-stage projects distinguishes us from many foundations.
• Use of Flexible Social Capital. We seek to match the appropriate capital instrument to an organization’s stage of development and funding requirements, responding flexibly to non-profits’ and for-profits’ needs for grants, loans, loan guarantees, or equity. For example, we may provide a loan to a non-profit rather than a grant if it will help the organization build its credit. And we’ll provide grants to for-profit companies for socially beneficial projects they would not otherwise undertake because the potential return on investment is too low or will take too many years. We also continually innovate, experimenting with tools that could improve the likelihood of success for our high-risk partners and bring others to the table. For example, we recently incentivized a more risk-averse financial partner to provide much needed credit to finance inventory for a new start-up in India by taking a first-loss position on the loan.
• Focus on Co-Funding and Follow-on Funding. We use tools like matching grants and loan guarantees to take on some of the perceived funding risk and encourage other funders to support good projects. We also aim to systematically connect grantees with other funders to ensure that their programs and projects receive the next level of funding necessary to scale their work.
• Investments in Capacity Building. Traditionally, foundations have preferred to make grants for specific projects, but this can make it difficult for nonprofits to manage their work effectively and sustain core operations. The Foundation’s decision to make capacity building funds more readily available to its grantees increases the likelihood of their success in achieving project outcomes.

How We Learn and Improve:

The Lemelson Foundation is committed to evaluation for the purpose of learning. We work at three levels.

• First, we seek to achieve the greatest possible impact in the world. We do this by analyzing shared experience with our grantees, supporting them in refining their programs and adjusting the Foundation grantmaking accordingly. We create opportunities for grantees to come together and learn from each other, allowing them to adopt relevant ideas and models from one another and avoid common pitfalls. And rather than employ one single method or standard metric for success, we tailor evaluations based on the objectives of a project or program in partnership with the funded organization doing the work. We share our experiences with other funders in an effort to contribute to the knowledge base in the field of technology-led development.
• Second, we seek to serve our grantees and other partners through true collaboration, open communication and responsiveness. To discover opportunities for improvement, we conduct a confidential, third-party survey of grantees, declined grantees and partner organizations every few years. We share the results on our website.
• Third, we seek excellence internally. We strive to be a learning organization with innovative grantmaking strategies, efficient operations, and a culture that fosters collaboration and leadership and professional development of all team members. We conduct and discuss a survey of our internal operations every six months to assess how we’re doing.

Read more: Vision, Mission, Guiding Principles and Values
Read more: Mission-Related Investing Statement

Grantmaking_Guidlines.pdf Vision_Mission_Guiding_Principles_and_Values.pdf Mission_Related_Investing_Statement.pdf