John S and James L Knight Foundation Inc.
Type: Private foundation · EIN: 65-0464177 · Headquarters: Miami, FL 33133-5346 · Website
NTEE code: B82 · Applications: Accepts applications
Total grants paid: $1,153,438,747.00 (2016–2024, all fiscal years on file). This total comes from the GetFunded foundation-years file (grants_paid), never from adding up the grants below.
Only 2460 of this foundation's grants on file were matched to a named recipient ($739,935,947.00); $413,502,800.00 across 1817 grants was not linked to a named recipient and is counted in the total above, not listed below. The 20 largest matched grants shown here total $65,197,880.00 — a subset of the total, not the total itself.
Foundation data: grants paid, latest complete year 2023 (2024 partial — included, each grant labelled by fiscal year). Each grant below shows its fiscal year plainly. 990-PF grant rows carry no recipient EIN — the recipient name shown is the organisation GetFunded matched the row to; matches can be wrong, so check the filing object ID against the source filing.
| Recipient | City / State | Amount | Fiscal year | Filing object ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Akron Foundation | Akron, OH | $12,000,000.00 | FY2023 | 202433419349100508 |
| Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY | $10,000,000.00 | FY2019 | 202033219349104418 |
| Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY | $5,000,000.00 | FY2020 | 202143159349102889 |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | $4,000,000.00 | FY2024 | 202523109349100927 |
| Florida International University Foundation Inc. | Miami, FL | $3,500,000.00 | FY2022 | 202323139349102802 |
| Groundtruth Project Inc. | Boston, MA | $3,000,000.00 | FY2024 | 202523109349100927 |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | $2,500,000.00 | FY2023 | 202433419349100508 |
| Pew Charitable Trusts | Washington, DC | $2,500,000.00 | FY2024 | 202523109349100927 |
| Committee To Protect Journalists Inc. | New York, NY | $2,250,000.00 | FY2020 | 202143159349102889 |
| Lyrasis | Alpharetta, GA | $2,000,000.00 | FY2020 | 202143159349102889 |
| Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation | Charlotte, NC | $2,000,000.00 | FY2019 | 202033219349104418 |
| Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation | Charlotte, NC | $2,000,000.00 | FY2020 | 202143159349102889 |
| Pew Charitable Trusts | Washington, DC | $2,000,000.00 | FY2023 | 202433419349100508 |
| Well Community Development Corporation | Akron, OH | $2,000,000.00 | FY2023 | 202433419349100508 |
| Civic News Company | New York, NY | $2,000,000.00 | FY2024 | 202523109349100927 |
| National Trust for Local News | Brighton, CO | $1,794,500.00 | FY2024 | 202523109349100927 |
| National Trust for Local News | Brighton, CO | $1,767,000.00 | FY2023 | 202433419349100508 |
| New World Symphony Inc. | Miami Beach, FL | $1,666,667.00 | FY2024 | 202523109349100927 |
| Institute for Nonprofit News | Beverly Hills, CA | $1,636,380.00 | FY2024 | 202523109349100927 |
| Institute for Nonprofit News | Beverly Hills, CA | $1,583,333.00 | FY2022 | 202323139349102802 |
| Total of grants shown on this page (matched grants only) | $65,197,880.00 | |||
Grants paid by fiscal year
From the foundation-years file. "Not linked" grants are counted here and in the total above, but have no named recipient to list. "Basis" is which 990-PF line the grants-paid figure was read from — qualifying distributions or disbursements for charitable purposes; the two lines are not the same measure. Years after FY2024, where present, are totals only — the matched-grant files end at FY2024, so no named grants are shown for those years.
| Fiscal year | Grants paid | Basis | Grants on file | Linked | Not linked | Amount not linked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | $179,620,479.00 | qualifying_distributions | 513 | 344 | 169 | $56,661,163.00 |
| FY2023 | $153,837,774.00 | qualifying_distributions | 416 | 270 | 146 | $42,834,336.00 |
| FY2022 | $129,925,405.00 | qualifying_distributions | 411 | 264 | 147 | $41,575,771.00 |
| FY2020 | $138,873,289.00 | qualifying_distributions | 496 | 278 | 218 | $46,699,189.00 |
| FY2019 | $153,274,304.00 | qualifying_distributions | 531 | 304 | 227 | $54,924,270.00 |
| FY2018 | $121,447,494.00 | qualifying_distributions | 581 | 294 | 287 | $53,656,390.00 |
| FY2017 | $133,188,064.00 | qualifying_distributions | 644 | 330 | 314 | $54,870,196.00 |
| FY2016 | $143,271,938.00 | qualifying_distributions | 685 | 376 | 309 | $62,281,485.00 |
| All years on file | $1,153,438,747.00 | 4277 | 2460 | 1817 | $413,502,800.00 |
Sources
Foundation profile on GetFunded: https://getfunded.ai/funder/186efe53-6ff4-4df6-9bde-17fefa51bc93
Foundation data: GetFunded Open Foundation List (release data-2026-10-08), CC BY 4.0 — Open Funder Database contributors (GetFunded), from IRS e-file data. Built from IRS Form 990-PF e-file data. Also listed on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: EIN 65-0464177.
Each grant above names its filing object ID so it can be checked against the source filing. No purpose text is published with these grants (the source withholds it pending a privacy review).