Deadline: 24-Oct-2025
The Nasdaq Foundation is inviting proposals for its Quarterly Grant Program to empower entrepreneurs and investors from under-resourced communities by promoting financial knowledge, confidence, and access to opportunities.
Focus Areas: Driven by Nasdaq’s Purpose to advance economic progress for all, the Nasdaq Foundation works with organizations that promote and support under-resourced communities by reimagining investor engagement and equipping communities with the financial knowledge needed to share in the wealth that markets create.
The Quarterly Grant Program allows the Foundation to move nimbly to fund and help scale programs that align with its mission.
The program criteria include empowering organizations that equip under-resourced communities with the financial knowledge and confidence they need to share in the wealth that markets can create. Grants will be given to organizations and programs which deliver impact in one or more of the following ways: enhancing financial literacy among under-resourced communities, with an element of teaching participants how to invest in the capital markets; improving access to knowledge and tools for investing and wealth creation among under-resourced communities. The Nasdaq Foundation generally does not fund financial literacy projects focused exclusively on K-12 education.
Additionally, the program supports entrepreneurs from under-resourced communities with the resources to strengthen and scale those businesses and contribute to the prosperity of society. Grants will be given to organizations and programs which deliver impact in one or more of the following ways: equipping under-resourced founders with mentoring and resources; improving access to capital for under-resourced founders.
Grant proposals could be evaluated based on organization capacity and expertise to leverage Nasdaq Foundation funding, complementing rather than duplicating efforts of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, organizational governance and financial model, leadership team expertise, intended impact with the funds, and the potential for the project to influence or be scaled in the community.
Eligibility includes organizations designated as tax-exempt under §501(c)(3) of the IRS code, or for-profit businesses acting on behalf of such entities or through a fiscal sponsor. Entities ineligible include those not tax-exempt under §501(c)(3), disqualified persons under IRS code §4946, former grant recipients who did not fulfill previous grant terms, or organizations with conflicts of interest with Nasdaq entities.
There is no fixed minimum or maximum grant amount, with the average size about $75,000. Grants are generally for one-year terms, though multiple-year commitments may be considered when justified. Reasonable overhead costs may be included in the grant request. There is no limit on the number of proposals a single entity may submit at one time.
For more information, visit Nasdaq Foundation.