Grant funders

Who funds work in South Africa, ranked by grants made there.

Funders ranked by their grants to organisations in South Africa over the last three years: how many, the typical amount, the latest grant and who received them.

Grants to organisations in Only funders based in that country Also count grants to charities elsewhere for work there

Grants made, by recipient country The last three years Free to search

188 funders gave to organisations in South Africa since Oct 2023

1
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Private foundation, United Kingdom
265 grants to 86 organisations there typical $678k $358.0m in total latest Sep 2026
and 19 grants for work there through charities elsewhere
Recipients include Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd, University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University.
2
European Commission Multilateral, Belgium
233 grants to 113 organisations there typical €330k €142.5m in total latest Aug 2026
419 open calls and 4 grants for work there through charities elsewhere
Recipients include University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, University of Pretoria.
3
Ford Foundation Private foundation, United States
210 grants to 102 organisations there typical $155k $42.9m in total latest Dec 2024
Accepts unsolicited applications and 3 grants for work there through charities elsewhere
Recipients include University of the Witwatersrand, Hlanganisa Community Fund, University of Cape Town.
4
RAITH Foundation Private foundation, South Africa
136 grants to 54 organisations there typical ZAR 1.6m ZAR 223.7m in total latest Oct 2026
1 open call
Recipients include Equal Education, University of the Witwatersrand - Centre for Applied Legal Studies, Afesis.
5
Pietermaritzburg Community Chest Community foundation, South Africa
100 grants to 100 organisations there latest Mar 2024
Recipients include Social Workers' Forum, Shayamoya Mbubu Creche, Midlands Hospice.
6
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Private foundation, United States
91 grants to 38 organisations there typical $143k $22.9m in total latest Dec 2024
Accepts unsolicited applications and 1 grant for work there through a charity elsewhere
Recipients include University of Pretoria, Click Foundation, Stellenbosch University Trust.
7
Claude Leon Foundation Private foundation, South Africa
61 grants to 61 organisations there latest Oct 2026
Recipients include CoolPlay, Asset, Butterfly Arts Project.
8
Wellcome Trust Trust, United Kingdom
52 grants to 15 organisations there typical £732k £105.7m in total latest Jul 2026
and 16 grants for work there through charities elsewhere
Recipients include University of Cape Town, Wits Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd, Stellenbosch University.
9
Foundation to Promote Open Society Private foundation, United States
42 grants to 25 organisations there typical $246k $14.0m in total latest Dec 2024
Invited applications only and 3 grants for work there through charities elsewhere
Recipients include Southern Africa Trust, African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum, African Peer Review Mechanism.
10
Social Change Assistance Trust Trust, South Africa
39 grants to 39 organisations there latest Oct 2026
Recipients include Zanoncedo Empowerment Centre, Ikgomotseng Community Nutrition Development Centre, Alwande Ulwazi Community Advice Centre.
11
AVI Limited Corporate, South Africa
37 grants to 37 organisations there latest Jun 2025
1 open call
Recipients include Love Trust, Siyabonga Africa, Learn to Earn.
12
Wellspring Philantropic Fund Inc Private foundation, United States
35 grants to 18 organisations there typical $200k $9.2m in total latest Nov 2024
Invited applications only
Recipients include Reach Digital Health NPC, Centre for Human Rights Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, Alternative Information and Development Centre.
13
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Private foundation, United States
35 grants to 21 organisations there typical $130k $4.8m in total latest Dec 2024
Invited applications only
Recipients include SGS Consulting, ProBono Org NPC, Association of University Legal Aid Institutions Trust.
14
Hewlett Foundation Private foundation, United States
33 grants to 15 organisations there typical $240k $8.8m in total latest Nov 2025
Accepts unsolicited applications and 1 grant for work there through a charity elsewhere
Recipients include African Climate Foundation Trust, Pan-African Collective for Evidence NPC, University of Cape Town.
15
Harry Crossley Foundation Private foundation, South Africa
32 grants to 32 organisations there latest Oct 2026
May be invitation only
Recipients include The Hands On Foundation, Ladles of Love, Lamta.
16
Kresge Foundation Private foundation, United States
27 grants to 22 organisations there typical $80k $3.5m in total latest Dec 2024
Accepts unsolicited applications and 1 grant for work there through a charity elsewhere
Recipients include University of the Witwatersrand, University of Pretoria, The University of the Free State.
17
Arcus Foundation Private foundation, United Kingdom
27 grants to 14 organisations there typical $50k $2.1m in total latest Dec 2024
Accepts unsolicited applications and 1 grant for work there through a charity elsewhere
Recipients include Triangle project, Inclusive & Affirming Ministries, Uthingo Network.
18
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Government, United Kingdom
23 grants to 21 organisations there typical £170k £8.5m in total latest Nov 2024
8 open calls and 64 grants for work there through charities elsewhere
Recipients include Electoral institute for sustainable democracy in Africa, SouthSouthNorth Africa Projects NPC, Energy council NPC.
19
International Development Research Centre Research council, Canada
21 grants to 15 organisations there typical CAD 536k CAD 12.6m in total latest Nov 2025
and 2 grants for work there through charities elsewhere
Recipients include African Observatory on Responsible AI, University of Cape Town, Research ICT Africa.
20
JRS Biodiversity Foundation Private foundation, United States
17 grants to 10 organisations there typical $42k $889k in total latest Dec 2024
Accepts unsolicited applications
Recipients include Freshwater Research Centre, Sanparks Scientific Services, Wildtracktswalu Foundation.
21
Wallace Global Fund II Private foundation, United States
16 grants to 11 organisations there typical $50k $1.1m in total latest Dec 2024
Invited applications only and 1 grant for work there through a charity elsewhere
Recipients include Earthlife Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, South Durban Commun Environ Alliance.
22
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Research council, United States
15 grants to 2 organisations there typical $1.2m $22.4m in total latest Jul 2025
Recipients include Cape Town HVTN Immunology Laboratory / Hutchinson Centre Research Institute of South Africa, University of Pretoria.
23
The Stevns Trust Private foundation, United States
14 grants to 14 organisations there typical $53k $787k in total latest Dec 2024
Invited applications only
Recipients include Hantam Community Education Trust, GADRA Educational Welfare, Ray Mhlaba Skills Training.
24
Medical Research Council Research council, United Kingdom
12 grants to 7 organisations there typical £575k £7.7m in total latest Aug 2025
Recipients include University of Cape Town, South African Medical Research Council, University of Pretoria.
25
Luminate Foundation Inc Private foundation, United States
12 grants to 9 organisations there typical $200k $2.2m in total latest Dec 2024
Invited applications only
Recipients include amandlamobi, Futurelect, amaBhungane.

163 more funders gave to organisations in South Africa

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Grants we hold records for, by the country of the organisation funded. Totals are in the currency each funder reports in most.

Data: Contains grants data published by UK grantmakers via 360Giving GrantNav. Each award names its publisher and licence. (CC BY 4.0, OGL v3.0 or CC0 1.0, as published by each funder (CC BY-SA data excluded)); Source: CORDIS, © European Union. (CC BY 4.0); Source: Financial Transparency System (FTS), © European Union. (CC BY 4.0); Source: Internal Revenue Service, Form 990-series e-file data. (Public IRS data); Data from OpenAlex (CC0). (CC0 1.0); Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (UKRI Gateway to Research). (Open Government Licence v3.0)

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