(Illustration by Peter Grant)
In March 2025, US President Donald Trump penned a public letter to Michael Kratsios, his incoming director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, outlining a vision to “usher in the Golden Age of American Innovation.” The letter asks, “How can we ensure that scientific progress and technological innovation fuel economic growth and better the lives of all Americans?”
As a former director of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and university president, and current president of the nonprofit philanthropic advisory the Science Philanthropy Alliance, I’ve spent much of my career focused on that very question. The ambition is worthy. Yet it arrives at a moment of deep uncertainty for scientific enterprise in the United States.
For decades, US federal investment in universities and research institutions has fueled scientific discoveries, attracted scientists from around the world, and cemented America’s position at the forefront of fields like technology, engineering, and medicine. Yet the current administration’s vision for continued scientific and technological dominance sits uncomfortably alongside proposals to dramatically reduce funding for the very institutions that sustain it. The country’s national research infrastructure—which includes the great telescopes and observatories, valued longitudinal datasets, and Antarctic science stations—is at risk of severe underfunding.
The US research community is experiencing not just a funding gap but a wholesale reimagining of the federal government’s relationship with scientific research. This shift has thrust science philanthropy into a role that may be both more influential and more complex than ever before.
To be clear, philanthropy cannot replace the scale, scope, or mandate of government science funding. Proposed changes to the 2026 US federal budget would mean $30.5 billion in cuts across four of the nation’s major science agencies alone: the NSF, National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Editor’s note: As this article went to press in July, Congress was still debating these changes.) This is in addition to deep cuts to other federal agencies, universities, and research institutions. By comparison, philanthropy provided an estimated $16.7 billion for science in 2022. (And that number may be squeezed further: Congress initially proposed legislation to impose a tiered tax on large foundation endowments—up to 10 percent for foundations with assets over $5 billion—but that proposal reportedly did not make it into the final bill.)
However, while significantly less of a force in terms of total dollars, philanthropy has unique strengths. It can act nimbly, funding high-risk research that federal agencies can’t. It can collaborate across disciplines and sectors to build infrastructure, fund pilot projects, and scale new models of scientific discovery. And it can embrace a long view—supporting curiosity-driven research with no clear outcome in sight, the kind that laid the foundation for the global positioning system, messenger RNA vaccines, CRISPR gene editing, and artificial intelligence.
With these strengths in mind, science philanthropy can best respond to the changing research environment by focusing on three main areas: investing in young scientists; supporting data continuity, preservation, and integrity; and collaborating across sectors.
1. Invest in the Next Generation of Scientists
First, a vibrant scientific future requires deliberate, sustained investment in the next generation. Federal programs such as NSF Graduate Research Fellowships sustain thousands of young scientists at universities and research institutes and pave the way for scientific breakthroughs. Cuts to these programs will exacerbate the steep hurdles early-career scientists face, including limited grant opportunities, short-term contracts, and pressure to produce immediately applicable results.
Bridge funding for paused research, fellowships for early-career scientists, and support for new institutional partnerships can help ease these barriers. One example is the Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program, a partnership between the Spencer Foundation, The Kapoor Foundation, The William T. Grant Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. It provides targeted support to researchers affected by federal disruptions, prioritizing early-career scholars and covering costs like data analysis and community engagement to help them sustain momentum during uncertain times. The Prebys Foundation also recently announced a new grant package focused on supporting early- and midcareer scientists in the San Diego, California, region.
2. Ensure Data Continuity, Preservation, and Integrity
Scientific progress depends on long-term access to reliable data, including environmental records, census data, and genomic databases. But researchers are finding that in some cases, access to publicly accessible datasets from agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and NIH have been quietly restricted or removed. Many of these datasets are essential to research on cancer, infectious disease, and health disparities, and keeping them online isn’t enough. Ensuring the integrity of scientific data requires proper stewardship, including regular updates, transparent collection and maintenance processes, standardized formats, and strong technological infrastructure.
Philanthropy can help. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, for example, is issuing rapid-response grants to organizations working to safeguard or archive public-health and environmental datasets, and funding the development of state and regional alternatives to federal datasets that have been eliminated. Other funders are investing in open-source repositories that would allow for continued data collection and improved access in the absence of federally managed databases. Preserving data infrastructure isn’t the flashiest cause, but it’s vital; when data are lost or disrupted, the coherence and reliability of the entire research ecosystem begin to erode.
3. Collaborate for Greater Alignment and Impact
Many scientific breakthroughs happen not in isolation but through collaboration—when individuals with diverse expertise, institutional backgrounds, and lived experiences come together. Philanthropy’s role as a convener is now more important than ever. Funders can bring together university, government, and nonprofit partners to understand urgent needs and coordinate responses, such as collaborative funding efforts or communications campaigns, to raise public awareness around the importance of investing in science.
In addition to convening its own partners for in-person and virtual events to share strategies and coordinate response efforts, the Science Philanthropy Alliance participates in a number of cross-sector collaborative initiatives. One of these is the Vision for American Science and Technology, which brings together industry, academic, nonprofit, and government leaders to develop recommendations for federal investment in science and technology in the United States. These aren’t just networking opportunities; they are platforms for sharing insights, identifying priorities, and taking collective action.
A Moment of Possibility
It’s easy to see the current moment as one of scarcity, and in many ways, it is. But it can also be a pivot point. Bringing about a “Golden Age of American Innovation” requires that philanthropy and the scientific field be honest about what innovation requires: long-term investment in the country’s infrastructure and people. Science philanthropy cannot replace government funding, but by backing early-career researchers, investing in data infrastructure, and fostering collaboration, funders can approach this moment not as a temporary emergency but as a generational opportunity to pave the way for the scientific breakthroughs of the future.
This series appeared in SSIR’s Fall 2025 Issue, including a new follow-up essay from MacArthur Foundation President John Palfrey.
Read more stories by France Córdova.