Grants for STEM Education 2026: 785 Foundations

STEM source review, Grantsights, November 4, 2026: Grantsights checked the text of 20 U.S.C. 7117 (opens in a new tab) and 20 U.S.C. 7116 (opens in a new tab), the National Science Foundation (NSF) pages for Discovery Research PreK-12 (opens in a new tab) and ITEST, NSF's technology experiences program for students and teachers, and NASA's learning resources page (opens in a new tab) against foundation filings that name STEM programs. Where official sources stop: no federal page tells a school what a STEAM room, a class set of drones or a week of summer camp costs, so a request has to bring its own quotes.

4 Kinds of STEM Programs and What Funders Back

Grantsights sorted the 39 confirmed recipients into 4 rough groups, from school foundations receiving seven-figure corporate gifts to elementary schools buying $5,000 of kits. Each one pitches differently. This table is illustrative, not data: budgets and programs vary a lot.

A district shouldn't copy a nonprofit's pitch. A nonprofit sells reach across many schools. A district sells what changes inside its own classrooms: a new engineering unit for every 7th grader, a STEAM room that every class visits once a week, or a course students couldn't take before.

Grants for STEM Education Programs: What 990-PF Filings Show

Grantsights analysis of 990-PF education grants pulled November 4, 2026 found 785 foundations that made 2,254 grants to STEM and STEAM programs, totaling $125,198,477. According to IRS guidance on Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab), private foundations use that return to report their charitable distributions, so every gift in this guide ties back to a filing. Foundations are a main outside source for school STEM programs and STEM nonprofits, but they aren't the biggest source for a district: state aid, local levies and federal formula money pay for most teachers and labs.

The average works out to about $55,500 per grant, and that's misleading. According to the Grantsights STEM data pulled November 4, 2026, the median gift was $10,000, the middle half ran from $4,500 to $30,000, and 773 of the 2,254 grants (34%) were $5,000 or less. Plan a first request to an unfamiliar local funder at $5,000 to $15,000.

The big gifts that skew the total

Just 25 gifts of $1 million or more add up to $41.9 million, about a third of the national total, according to the November 4, 2026 pull. Toyota USA Foundation alone gave 25 grants worth $17,433,902, about 14% of the total, and 20 of them carried the purpose "close the STEM gap." The largest gifts below are useful for seeing what big funders pay for, not as a target for a first ask.

Building gifts drive much of the top. Head-Royce's $5 million across 2023 and 2024 is about 23% of California's STEM total by itself, according to the November 4, 2026 pull, and the Wesleyan School and Neighborhood Academy gifts were capital campaigns. If you aren't building, ignore those rows when you size your request.

Mid-size gifts to districts

One district in Texas, Tomball Independent School District (ISD), received $400,000 from the Chuck Lorre Family Foundation in 2023 for a STEM program, and the same foundation gave Burbank Unified School District in California $345,000 and $175,000 that year for its "Young Sheldon STEM Initiative." The Dorothy Lemelson Foundation gave Washoe County School District in Nevada $186,616 in 2024, including $146,906 for a STEM coordinator at the Dorothy Lemelson STEM Academy. The Zimmer Biomet Foundation gave Warsaw Community School Corporation in Indiana $150,000 in 2023 to advance STEM education, and the Steinman Foundation gave Pennsylvania's Cocalico School District $75,000 in 2024.

STEM Education Grants by State

California's 131 funders lead the pull, followed by Texas with 66. In all, 48 states had 3 or more foundations giving to STEM programs. This table uses the November 4, 2026 pull, counted by the state where the recipient sits.

Indiana stands out: only 40 funders, but $14.2 million, more than any state except California. Three sources make up about 72% of it in the November 4, 2026 pull: Toyota's Indiana gifts ($5.3 million), gifts to Project Lead The Way at its Indianapolis address ($3.4 million), and Eli Lilly and Company Foundation's gifts to the Indianapolis Public Schools Education Foundation ($1.6 million). A small Indiana school shouldn't read that total as easy money.

Ohio is the opposite: 126 grants, many of them modest. Ohio's free preview sample, the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, gave Columbus City Schools $15,000 in 2023 for "Growing Greatness with STEM," Osnaburg Local Schools $15,000 in both 2023 and 2024, and Canal Winchester Local Schools $14,500 in 2024 for STEAM camps. Its filings also list grants under $3,000, such as one for a "STEM exploration on wheels" project. Pennsylvania's sample, the Steinman Foundation, gave Manheim Central School District $50,000 in 2023 and the Lancaster Public Library $30,000 in 2024, all marked STEM. In Massachusetts, the Boston Scientific Foundation gave Alexander Twilight Academy $30,000 in 2025 for a middle school STEM program.

California's STEM education funders

California's 131 foundations made 326 STEM grants worth $22,088,556, according to the November 4, 2026 pull. The free preview on the Grantsights education funder list for California leads with the Antone and Marie Raymus Foundation, whose filing says it takes requests and lists what to send, deadlines, limits and a contact. It made 17 grants worth $213,909 to 12 recipients, nearly all Central Valley schools. Hanshaw Middle School in Merced got $25,350 in 2023 for STEM projects and field trips, Ceres High School got $25,000 for a laser engraver and a "STEM robotic dog," and Park View Elementary in Ripon got $23,336 for STEAM room equipment. That's what a school-sized gift looks like: one named purchase, one school, one year.

Other California gifts sit closer to the median. The Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Outreach Foundation gave the San Vicente Panther Parents PTO in Soledad $10,000 in 2023 for STEM materials and programs and $5,000 in 2024 for field trips. Fremont Bank Foundation gave the Silicon Valley Education Foundation $50,000 in both 2024 and 2025 for hands-on STEM equipment.

Why the Education List for STEM Programs

Every gift counted here came from 990-PF grants tagged education, so education is the list that holds them. That list is much wider than STEM, though: it covers scholarships, private schools, colleges and literacy groups too. Read each funder's past gifts for K-12 science, math or engineering before you write.

The typical education gift in these 6 states is $4,000 to $5,000, according to Grantsights analysis of 990-PF education filings pulled October 29, 2026, a bit below the $10,000 STEM median. Between 23% (California) and 37% (Indiana) of education funders say they take requests, so start there. Buying the education funder list gets you funders in every state, and a refund stays open for 30 days.

Title IV-A: STEM Money Already in Your District

Districts get a Title IV-A allocation of at least $10,000 under 20 U.S.C. 7115 (opens in a new tab), unless the state's pot is too small and allocations are cut ratably. Title IV-A is the Student Support and Academic Enrichment program in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and each district's share follows its share of Title I, Part A money from the year before. It's not a competitive grant; the money flows from the state to districts with an approved application.

According to the text of 20 U.S.C. 7117, a district may use these funds for "programming and activities to improve instruction and student engagement" in STEM subjects, including computer science. The statute lists 6 examples:

1. Opening high-quality STEM courses to groups underrepresented in those fields, including girls, English learners, children with disabilities and low-income students.
2. Paying for low-income students to take part in nonprofit STEM competitions, such as robotics, science research, invention, math and computer science contests.
3. Hands-on learning, plus field-based or service learning in STEM.
4. Creating or improving STEM-focused specialty schools.
5. Helping school, after-school and informal program staff work together.
6. Folding other subjects, including the arts, into STEM programs.

Two rules in 20 U.S.C. 7116 matter for a STEM pitch. A district receiving $30,000 or more must spend at least 20% of its Title IV-A money on the well-rounded activities in section 7117, which include STEM, music and the arts, civics, foreign languages and more. A district below $30,000 only has to give 1 of the 3 spending assurances and doesn't have to do the needs assessment. Section 7117 also says the work may be done in partnership with a nonprofit or community-based organization "with a demonstrated record of success," so a STEM nonprofit can propose to run the program for a district. Congress sets the amount each year, so ask your district's federal programs office what this year's allocation is. The Title IV-A grants guide explains the 3 spending areas in more depth.

What NSF and NASA Don't Tell You About STEM Grants for Schools

The 2 best-known federal STEM agencies rarely hand a school money for its own program, and their pages don't spell that out for a principal skimming them. Read them next to the filings and 4 lessons come out.

1. NSF's K-12 programs fund research. According to NSF, Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) supports "research and development" to improve STEM learning and teaching, with research strands for learning and teaching. When Grantsights checked on November 4, 2026, that solicitation page (NSF 23-596) showed a status of archived.
2. ITEST has no open deadline. NSF's ITEST program page describes an "applied research and development program" for preK-12 technology-rich STEM learning. As of November 4, 2026, it showed a status of "Waiting for new publication" and listed no upcoming due dates. Don't build a budget around it.
3. Partnering is the realistic route. NSF projects are usually led by universities and research groups. A district or STEM nonprofit is more likely to be a partner site on someone else's proposal than a lead applicant. If a nearby university asks you to host a study, read the commitments before you say yes.
4. NASA offers materials more than money. NASA's learning resources page points educators to STEM activities, student challenges and internships, and lists Space Grant under its colleges and universities section. That's useful for lesson plans and student contests, but it isn't a classroom grant program.

What most federal pages rarely mention is that a local foundation is usually the fastest route for a single school. Of the 2,254 foundation gifts in this pull, 1,156 were $10,000 or less, and the filings show several funders giving to the same school two or three years running.

What STEM Projects Foundations Pay For

Grantsights checked the purposes on gifts across the November 4, 2026 pull against what schools and nonprofits usually propose, and 8 project types stood out.

1. Equipment for a STEAM room. Park View Elementary's $23,336 from the Raymus Foundation went to STEAM room upgrades, and Pulliam Elementary in Stockton got $17,487 for drones and iPads.
2. A family STEM program. The McCarthy Charities gave the Troy Public School 2 PTA in New York $20,000 in 2024 and again in 2025 for a family STEM engagement program.
3. Field trips. Hanshaw Middle School's grant covered STEM field trips, and the Raymus Foundation gave Taylor Leadership Academy in Stockton $10,000 in 2023 for STEM field trips and art supplies.
4. A STEM coordinator. The Dorothy Lemelson Foundation's grant to Washoe County School District paid a coordinator's salary.
5. After-school and summer classes. The Braemar Charitable Trust gave Friends of Saturday Academy in Portland, Oregon $15,000 in 2023 for a term of STEAM after-school classes for grades 2 to 12.
6. Science classroom materials. STEM Library Lab in Louisiana drew 25 grants from 14 funders worth $617,461, more funders than any other recipient in the pull, including $100,000 a year from Baptist Community Ministries in 2023 and 2024 for phenomenon-based K-12 science classrooms.
7. A course pathway. Intel Foundation and Arconic Foundation gave Project Lead The Way (PLTW) gifts for advanced manufacturing courses, and Eli Lilly and Company Foundation gave the Indianapolis Public Schools Education Foundation $170,000 in 2023 to scale PLTW.
8. Teacher mini-grants run by a school foundation. The Steinman Foundation's $50,000 "STEM Alliance Grants" to the Lancaster-Lebanon education foundation in 2025, and the Generac Foundation's $7,500 to the Waukesha Education Foundation in Wisconsin for classroom STEM grants, both pass through to teachers.

The lesson: name the purchase, the students and the school. The filings describe concrete things ("laser engraver," "STEM kits," "summer STEM camps"), and funders appear to fund what they can picture.

Budgeting a STEM Program Request

Most first-time applicants underestimate the costs around the equipment: consumables, storage, teacher training and replacement parts. Put them in the request, even a small one, before you send it. This table is illustrative, not data: costs depend on grade level, class size and what you already own.

Report students served, hours of STEM time added, and which grades used the equipment. Funders that gave year after year, like the Raymus and Steinman foundations, can only renew a gift if they hear what the last one did.

Common Mistakes in STEM Grant Requests

These 6 mistakes come up when a request sells excitement about STEM instead of a plan, and each can cost a $10,000 local gift.

• Asking a mega-funder first. A red flag is a $500,000 ask to a funder whose usual gift is $10,000. Check what it gave and to whom with how to read a 990-PF before you write.
• Applying as a teacher. Most of these foundations give to 501(c)(3) groups and public schools, not individuals. Route the request through your school, district, school foundation or parent group. Grants for teachers and schools covers the ways teachers can still lead the work.
• Skipping the school foundation. Many districts already have a 501(c)(3) foundation that funders know. Grants for school foundations explains how they raise and pass on money, and grants for PTAs and PTOs covers parent groups.
• Calling a robotics team a STEM program. If your request is really a competition team, grants for robotics teams fits better, and a coding club belongs in grants for coding programs for kids.
• Forgetting Title IV-A. A district that hasn't asked its own federal programs office about Title IV-A may be leaving STEM money on the table.
• No plan for year two. A common mistake is buying equipment with no money for consumables and training the next year. Say who pays once the grant ends.

A School Year Funding Calendar for STEM Programs

This 12-month plan suits a school or nonprofit running STEM during the school year with a summer program. It assumes 15 to 25 requests a year. Shift it to your district's calendar.

The Grantsights grant database lists open federal and state education notices, including state STEM programs that accept schools and nonprofits.

Related Guides for STEM, Coding and Science Programs

The 785 foundations behind this pull also give to nearby kinds of programs, and the line between them matters for search and for funders. STEM here means classroom and after-school programs across all 4 subjects. A competition team should read grants for robotics teams, a museum or discovery center should read grants for science centers, and a club teaching kids to program fits grants for coding programs for kids.

Schools building a hands-on lab can compare notes with grants for makerspaces. Programs that run outdoors or around school gardens will find overlapping funders in grants for environmental education programs, and nonprofits running STEM between 3 and 6 p.m. should also read grants for after-school programs. Schools whose STEM plan is mostly devices, interactive panels and 3D printers should also read grants for school technology.

FAQ: Common Questions

How many foundations give grants for STEM education programs? 785 in the Grantsights search of 990-PF education grants pulled November 4, 2026.

How big is a typical STEM education grant from a foundation? The median was $10,000, and 773 of 2,254 gifts were $5,000 or less.

Can a school district use Title IV-A money for STEM? Yes. 20 U.S.C. 7117 lists STEM, including computer science, as an allowed use.

Does the National Science Foundation give STEM grants to schools? Rarely directly. Its K-12 programs fund research, and neither DRK-12 nor ITEST showed an open deadline on November 4, 2026.

Can a PTA or PTO apply for STEM grants? Yes. Parent groups received gifts from a few hundred dollars up to $20,000 in the pull.

Are robotics teams and coding clubs covered in this guide? No. They have their own guides, linked above.

Sources

• 20 U.S.C. 7115, Title IV-A allocations to districts (U.S. Code, 2024 edition) (opens in a new tab)
• 20 U.S.C. 7116, district applications and the 20% rule (U.S. Code, 2024 edition) (opens in a new tab)
• 20 U.S.C. 7117, well-rounded education activities including STEM (U.S. Code, 2024 edition) (opens in a new tab)
• NSF: Discovery Research PreK-12 (NSF 23-596) (opens in a new tab)
• NASA: Learning resources (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)