Funding

ACLS was founded in 1919 thanks to the foresight of a small group of learned societies and generous philanthropists who believed in their vision for the humanities and social sciences. Among the most instrumental funders in the first fifty years of our existence were the Bollingen Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Other funders who lent their support in those years included Corning Glass Works Foundation, the Markle Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and The New York Times. The Mellon Foundation became one of our most important partners after they were established in 1969, and in later years, they were joined by the Arcadia Charitable Trust, Aspen Institute, Atlantic Philanthropic Companies, Bruner Foundation, The Center for Contemplative Minds, Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Fetzer Institute, Freeman Foundation, Fulbright Association, Getty Trust, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Robert H.N. Ho Foundation, Institute of International Education, International Research & Exchanges Board, Japan Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Kellog Foundation, Korea Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, National Science Foundation, Open Society Institute, Pew Charitable Trusts, Christopher Reynolds Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, Stifterverband, The Starr Foundation, The Teagle Foundation, Tides Foundation, the US Department of State and US Information Agency, and the Wallace Foundation. In 1926, fellowships and grants totaled $4,500 for a handful of scholars. Nearly 100 years later, our fellowships exceed $25 million in support of over 300 scholars.

Today, ACLS continues to be funded by public and private grants, endowment income, annual dues from member institutions dues and gifts from individual donors. Our $125 million centennial campaign was launched in 2019 at our centennial dinner which honored the tenure of Pauline Yu, ACLS’ president for 16 years until her retirement that year.

We are pleased to recognize all of our current funders in our annual report. We would especially like to thank our major funders for their cumulative generosity, listed below:

$5 million + 
Carnegie Corporation of New York 
The Robert H.N. Ho Foundation
Estate of Morton Norton Cohen
Ford Foundation
The Henry Luce Foundation 
The Mellon Foundation
National Endowment for the Humanities

$1 million – $4,999,999
Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin
Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange 
H. & T. King
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Susan McClary & Robert Walser
National Science Foundation

$500,000 – $999,999 
The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Lilian Handlin
Charlotte V. Kuh & Roy Radner †
Carl & Betty Pforzheimer
Pauline Yu

$250,000 – $499,999 
Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
Lund Trust (CAF), a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin
Lea Wakeman
Scott L. Waugh

$100,000 – $249,999 
Jim & Janet Averill
Roger & Whitney Bagnall 
The Barrington Foundation/Robert B. Strassler
Joy Connolly
The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Frances D. Fergusson
Yvette & William Kirby
Ute & Marwan Kraidy
James J. O’Donnell
Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Foundation 
Wen-hsin Yeh & James C. Sha

$25,000 – $99,999 
John P. Birkelund †
Caroline Walker Bynum
Edward E. and Betsy Z. Cohen
Stephen F. Cohen † & Katrina vanden Heuvel
Nicola M. Courtright & David A. Levine
Jonathan D. Culler & Cynthia Chase 
D. Ronald Daniel † & Lise Scott
Ann Fabian & Christopher Smeall
Frances Ferguson 
Renée B. Fisher Foundation/Shelley Fisher Fishkin
Claire Gaudiani † & David Burnett
Leon Levy †
Earl Lewis
The Li Foundation
Donald J. Munro
Francis Oakley
Joan R. Piggot
Salvatore A. Ranieri
Robert S. Rifkind
Daniel Rose
Walter Scheidel
Judith L. Sensibar
Stuart Sherman
Preston M. Torbert 
Nancy J. Vickers 
Steven C. Wheatley
Anonymous

$5,000 – $24,999 
Hans Aarsleff
Jean M. Allman
Clifford C. Ando
Kwame Anthony Appiah
Bernard Bailyn †
Peter A. Benoliel & Willo Carey
Sheila Biddle 
Elizabeth Birkelund
BMM Art & Computer, Inc. 
Frederick M. Bohen †
Charles L. Booth †
Joseph Bosco
Wendy Bracewell & Robert Shoemaker
A.R. Braunmuller
Donald Brenneis
Brock Capital Group
Peter P. Brooks
Richard V. Buel †
Richard M. Burian
Frederick H. Burkhardt †
Susan H. Bush
Rebecca Bushnell
William M. Calder
Mark C. Carnes
Mary J. Carruthers
Charles D. Cashdollar
Scott E. Casper
Estate of Annette Charniak
Indrani Chatterjee
Stanley Chodorow
Eva Shan Chou
John R. Clarke
John Clendenning
James H. Cole
W. Robert Connor
Nancy F. Cott
Kathryn J. Crecelius
John H. D’Arms †
Liza Danzig
Mabel C. Donnelly †
James H. Duffy †
Carol G. Duncan
Connie C. Eble
Margaret J. Ehrhart
Mark Elliott & Anna Zielinska-Elliott
Benjamin A. Elman
Joseph W. Esherick & Ye Wa
Edward L. Farmer
James Douglas & Sue Wakeman Farquhar
Margaret W. Ferguson
Deborah K. Fitzgerald
Jack Fitzmier
Grace S. Fong
Stephen W. Foster
Dolores Warwick Frese †
Julia Haig Gaisser
Kenneth Garcia
Patrick F. Geary
Paul F. Gehl
Valerie Wilson Travel and Matthew Gill 
Henry Glassie & Pravina Shukla
Madeline Einhorn Glick 
William T. Golden †
Thomas A. Green
Carol J. Greenhouse
James F. Harris †
Westley M. Hays
Andrew Heiskell †
Elizabeth K. Helsinger
Martha Howell
Lynn Hunt
Institutional Contributers, JHD
Daniel Javitch
David Johnson
Herbert A. Johnson
Larry Eugene Jones
William Chester Jordan
Thomas Forrest Kelly
David M. Kennedy
Linda K. Kerber
David R. Knechtges
Dorothy Yin-yee Ko
Paul J. Korshin †
Amy Bridges Kronick
Naomi R. Lamoreaux
Margot E. Landman
Nicholas R. Lardy 
Eleanor Winsor Leach †
Hugh M. Lee
Richard Leppert
Edward B. Liebow
David W. Lightfoot
Carla Lord
Janet Lumiansky †
Susan L. Mann
Donald J. Mastronarde
Thomas J. Mathiesen
Melani McAlister
Mary Patterson McPherson
Michael S. McPherson
Ronald J. & Anne K. Mellor
Randall M. Miller
Judith & Henry A. Millon †
Louise Mirrer
Michele Moody-Adams
Charles and Anne Mott
Monticello Associates
Susan Naquin
David S. Nivison †
Arthur S. Nusbaum
Jessie Ann Owens
Donald E. Pease
Richard J. Powell
Robert O. Preyer
Michael C. J. Putnam
Arnold Rampersad
Evelyn Skakida Rawski
Martha T. Roth
Michael S. Roth
Anya Peterson Royce
Catherine E. Rudder & Helen C. Gibson
Teofilo F. Ruiz
Abby Smith Rumsey
Thomas P. Saine †
Richard G. Salomon & Robin Dushman
Jeffrey L. Sammons †
Stephanie Sandler
Matthew S. Santirocco
Jochen Schulte-Sasse †
Barbara A. Shailor & Harry W. Blair II
Judith R. Shapiro
John Robert Silber †
Elaine Sisman & Martin Fridson
Carla Skodinski
Ruth A. Solie
Otto Sonntag
Patricia Meyer Spacks
Paul Sperry & Beatrice Mitchell
Randolph Starn
Lavori Sterling Foundation, Inc.
Helmut F. Stern †
Catharine R. Stimpson
Gary Stonum & Marilyn Shea-Stonum
Estate of Richard N. Swift
Frank Taplin †
Arnold Thackray
Elizabeth C. Traugott
James C. Turner
United Airlines
Julie C. Van Camp
Andrew G. Vaughn
Helen H. Vendler †
Robert Weisbuch
Stephen H. West
Peter White
Herbert S. Winokur
Christoph Wolff
Kathleen Woodward
Daniel J. Wright
Ellen S. Wright
Anand A. Yang
Chun-fang Yu
Ying-shih Yu
Anonymous

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For further information on becoming a major donor, please contact Mary Richter at [email protected] or 646-485-5951.