Philanthropy is unlikely to fill the gap left by decreased government funding

As federal funding for science research decreases, it may be tempting to think that philanthropy might be able to fill the gap. However, a recent study from the Science Philanthropy Alliance illustrates that it cannot replace the robust funds that government allocation once contributed.  

The alliance’s Science Philanthropy Indicators Report provides data on sources for science research over the past 70 years, from 1953 to 2023. This report details the spending from various sources for R&D and for graduate students and postdocs, both overall and by field. The report shows that, in 2023, the federal government was the largest funder of research at universities and nonprofit institutions, supporting them with $58.6 billion that year. In contrast, the total philanthropic contribution for basic and applied research at universities and nonprofit research organizations the same year was $24.2 billion. This amount includes $16.8 billion in current philanthropy from nonprofit sources and $7.4 billion in legacy philanthropy, which they define as “the annual payout from endowments built up from past giving and investment gains.” [Note, the legacy philanthropy model is generally not required to distribute more than 5 % of its endowment in any given year, independent of any investment earnings or growth in the fund balance.] Given this gap in funding from these sources, the authors conclude that “…science philanthropy cannot replace federal funding at universities and nonprofit research institutions. Rather, federal support for the scientific infrastructure, human capital, and capabilities that have been built over decades must remain in place for philanthropy to have its greatest impact as a nimble, catalytic, and risk-taking complement to government funding.”