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  • Michelson 20MM awards Spark Grants to expand access to Open Educational Resources

    College students spend billions of dollars every year on textbooks. Increasing open resources removes the burden of textbook costs from students.



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  • The Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology is Accepting Applications

    Through a partnership with AAAS/Science, Michelson Philanthropies supports young investigators who perform research that has a lasting impact on vaccine and immunotherapy. Applications are accepted until October 1, 2022.



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  • Working to Bridge the Digital Divide in Tribal Communities

    The Michelson 20MM Foundation is proud to launch the Digital Equity in Tribal Communities Project, a new multi-year effort to address digital inequity in indigenous communities.



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  • The FirstGen Spark Grant is Awarding Up to $25,000 to Organizations that Support and Uplift Immigrant Women

    Accepting applications until July 1



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Michelson Philanthropies

Making Life Less Unfair

As a network of private operating foundations, Michelson Philanthropies creates transformative opportunities, makes positive impact investments, and fosters strategic partnerships supporting vulnerable or underserved communities. Reflecting the passions and interests of Dr. Gary K. Michelson and his wife, Alya Michelson, Michelson Philanthropies focuses on medical research, animal welfare, education, and the principles of intellectual property.


What We Do

  • Fund forward-thinking medical research 

  • Support animal welfare 

  • Promote equity and access to education for all

  • Advance intellectual property education


How We Do It

  • Make impact investments that spur innovation 

  • Operate programs that fix broken systems  

  • Make catalytic grants to high-reward opportunities

  • Drive progress through education and advocacy

Recent News

News



Michelson 20MM Open Educational Resources initiative awards Spark Grants to the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Creative Commons and SPARC


Michelson 20MM Open Educational Resources initiative awards Spark Grants to the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Creative Commons and SPARC


College students spend billions of dollars every year on textbooks. Increasing open resources removes the burden of textbook costs from students.



New Grant to Help Develop ‘Forever Implants’


New Grant to Help Develop ‘Forever Implants’


Researchers are using an ultra-rare low-field MRI machine housed at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience that is one of only three of its kind in the world for improved fetal imaging, lung imaging, and cardiac perfusion imaging.



Progress in Vaccine Development for Infectious Diseases


Progress in Vaccine Development for Infectious Diseases


Michelson Philanthropies celebrated this year’s winners of its Michelson Prizes: Next Generation Grants and Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology during a Keystone Symposia conference: Progress in Vaccine Development for Infectious Diseases. Watch the full event.



Working to Bridge the Digital Divide in Tribal Communities


Working to Bridge the Digital Divide in Tribal Communities


The Michelson 20MM Foundation is proud to launch the Digital Equity in Tribal Communities Project, a new multi-year effort to address digital inequity in indigenous communities.


 

 
 

Our Network of Foundations


Michelson Medical Research Foundation enables researchers to translate ideas into therapies that make an impact as quickly as possible. The Michelson Prizes focus on rebalancing research funding to support more early-career investigators with brilliant high-risk, high-reward idea potential.


Michelson 20 Million Minds Foundation (20MM) advances programs promoting universal adoption of free and open educational resources for college courses, student basic needs, smart justice, and digital equity. Its work focuses on fostering a more equitable world and increasing educational access and opportunity for students, including those in underserved communities, community colleges, and those who have been justice-impacted.


Michelson Found Animals Foundation seeks to end shelter euthanasia and enhance the lives of pets and people, regardless of the pet owner’s socioeconomic status. The foundation operates a range of projects including research and policy initiatives, community partnerships, and impact investments.


As a part of 20MM, the Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property (Michelson IP) promotes national adoption of curriculum to educate students on principles of intellectual property and how to protect it. Michelson IP designs, tests, and shares a comprehensive collection of IP education offerings for the next generation of inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs – all at no cost.

Advancing Public Policy

 
 

The Michelson Center for Public Policy is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that propels legislative change through meaningful collaboration with elected officials, government agencies, and civic leaders to achieve positive outcomes in education, equity, medical research, and animal welfare. The Michelson Center for Public Policy is an affiliated but separate organization from the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations (Michelson 20MM Foundation, Michelson Found Animals Foundation, and Michelson Medical Research Foundation) and complements the Michelson Philanthropies’ thought leadership and expertise with bold and effective advocacy.