Catalyst Grant
Forecasted
Catalyst Grant supports individuals and teams exploring original, early-stage ideas through experimentation and project development, aiming to generate meaningful insight, change, and benefit to humanity.
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Funder: Mensa Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): December 2026 (Concept proposal)
Funding Amounts: $10,000 in annual funding, awarded to one project or shared among several
Summary: Early-stage funding helps individuals and teams explore original ideas with potential for meaningful impact and benefit to humanity.
Key Information: Mensa membership, institutional affiliation, and previous grant experience are not required.
Description
The Mensa Foundation’s Catalyst Grant provides early-stage funding and support for original ideas that deserve a chance to move forward. Inspired by Deborah L. Stone and the Stone Family Memorial Fund, it bridges the gap between promising ideas and the resources needed to explore them. Funding supports exploration, experimentation, and next steps where a relatively small investment can make a meaningful difference.
Ideas may arise from lived experience, independent inquiry, academic research, creative work, or connections between fields. The program values clarity, creativity, feasibility, growth potential, and meaningful benefit, insight, or change. Projects should broadly align with the Foundation’s mission to unleash intelligence for the benefit of humanity. Its longer-term vision includes a community where recipients share discoveries, learn from one another, and develop opportunities for collaboration.
