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A grant from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Open Application Grant

MacArthur Foundation accepts unsolicited proposals, and the evidence packet lists justice, climate, media, and community as funding categories, with awards reported from $250,000 to $12.5 million. The packet does not provide a deadline, expected award count, total funding pool, cost-share requirement, formal review criteria, detailed application requirements, or confirmed geographic restrictions. Applicants should verify current guidelines, eligibility, geography, process, and whether the reported funding range remains current before deciding whether to apply. This is an open pathway, but the supplied evidence does not establish a rolling timeline or broad eligibility.

Start here · Eligibility

Check whether your organization qualifies

Answer 5 focused questions in about 60 seconds before investing time in the application.

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1 source-confirmed criterion · No signupReview criteria

Potential award

$250,000–$12,500,000

Time remaining

Rolling or unknown

Application load

Effort unclear

Best next move

Take the eligibility quiz

Apply

Verified against the source on 8/13/2026

Start here

Confirm eligibility

Check your fit in about 60 seconds.

Eligibility requirementsQuestion 1 of 5

About 60 seconds totalConfirmed criterion

Does your organization have the required nonprofit status?

What does this mean?

Foundation accepts unsolicited proposals per source profile; confirm current program rules.

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Select an answer to continue

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This is an explainable self-assessment, not a win probability or legal determination. Hard eligibility conflicts are never averaged against softer program-fit signals. Always verify the official notice.

Optional Review source criteria and citations

Nonprofit status

Foundation accepts unsolicited proposals per source profile; confirm current program rules.

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confirmed

Geography

Primary foundation location: IL; verify geographic restrictions.

Review source ↗

inferred

Organization size

No organization-size limit was captured.

Review source ↗

unclear

Program area

justice, climate, media, community

Review source ↗

inferred

Population served

No specific population was captured.

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unclear

Matching funds

Cost-share requirement is unclear.

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unclear

Registrations

Confirm required registrations with the funder.

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inferred

Exclusions

Review the full notice for exclusions and prohibited uses.

Review source ↗

unclear

Grant-writer assessment

Understand the opportunity

Start with the practical interpretation. Open the complete source narrative when you need the underlying detail.

Plain-English explanation

Editorial analysis

What the funder is trying to accomplish

The packet confirms an unsolicited-proposal pathway and lists justice, climate, media, and community as funding categories. It does not state the Foundation’s desired outcomes, theories of change, or program-specific priorities for this pathway.

Editorial analysis

Strong-fit project signals

The proposal directly aligns with one or more listed funding categories: justice, climate, media, or community. The applicant has confirmed that current guidelines permit its proposed submission through the unsolicited-proposal pathway. The proposed request falls within the reported $250,000–$12.5 million range and the applicant can explain how the amount relates to the proposed scope. The explanatory linkage is an inferred positioning consideration, not a stated requirement. The applicant has verified applicable geographic and program rules rather than relying on the Foundation’s primary location in Illinois.

Editorial analysis

What reviewers may prioritize

No formal review criteria or reviewer priorities are supplied. As an inferred positioning approach, an applicant should make the category connection, request amount, and confirmed eligibility easy to assess; these are not documented Foundation criteria.

Source dossier Read the full official program description

Source-backed synopsis

What this grant funds

MacArthur Foundation grantseeker information and open program guidance.

Read the complete official description ↗

Decision economics

Size the opportunity

Use the source facts below to judge whether the likely return justifies the application effort.

Award range: $250,000–$12,500,000
Total program funding: Not specified
Expected awards: Not specified
Geography: State: IL
Cost share: Not specified
Assistance listing: Not specified

Mission alignment

Compare your program with justice, climate, media.

Geographic fit

State: IL

Working plan

Build the application

The generated milestones are planning aids. Only the official notice establishes required dates.

Requirements captured

Detailed requirements have not yet been extracted.

Review the official notice for forms, attachments, narrative limits, budget instructions, submission system, and contacts.

Official deadline

Not specified

Effort unclear based on requirements currently captured.

A preparation schedule will appear when a confirmed future deadline is available.

05Past behaviorCompare historical awardsHistorical patterns provide context, but do not predict or guarantee future funding decisions.

No licensed historical awards are currently linked to this opportunity.

06Audit trailVerify the evidenceSee where the facts came from, when they were checked, and what has materially changed.

Source record

Source verified means the official record was successfully checked. It does not mean every eligibility or application field has been extracted.

Verification: verified
Source: foundation open
Last checked: 8/13/2026, 6:31:01 PM
Content updated: 8/13/2026, 6:13:17 PM
Review: Automated normalization; not yet expert-reviewed

Open official source ↗

Material changes

8/13/2026
Updated url.
8/13/2026
Updated url.

Verify before applying. Official funder documents control. Derived analysis and preparation dates should not replace the notice.

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Quick answersFrequently asked questionsGet concise answers about John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Open Application Grant.

Is John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Open Application Grant currently open?

Yes, based on the latest source record. The deadline is Not specified. Because funders can amend or extend notices, confirm the date and submission instructions on the official application page. The source was last checked 8/13/2026.

How much funding does John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Open Application Grant provide?

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Open Application Grant lists $250,000–$12,500,000 per award. The expected number of awards has not been captured, so the award range alone should not be treated as an estimate of competitiveness.

Who can apply to John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Open Application Grant?

Accepts unsolicited proposals; confirm current guidelines before applying. Applicants should still complete the eligibility quiz and verify every condition in the official notice; a general fit does not override exclusions or registration requirements.

Does John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Open Application Grant require matching funds?

The captured source facts do not clearly establish a matching-funds requirement. Do not assume that means no match is required: review the budget and cost-sharing sections of the official notice before approving the project budget.

What should I prepare before applying to John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Open Application Grant?

Effort unclear is currently estimated, but detailed forms and attachments have not yet been extracted. Before drafting, open the official notice and identify registrations, required forms, narrative sections, page limits, budget instructions, and submission-system requirements.