Andrew W. Mellon Foundation donations made to Smithsonian Institution

This is an online portal with information on donations that were announced publicly (or have been shared with permission) that were of interest to Vipul Naik. The git repository with the code for this portal, as well as all the underlying data, is available on GitHub. All payment amounts are in current United States dollars (USD). The repository of donations is being seeded with an initial collation by Issa Rice as well as continued contributions from him (see his commits and the contract work page listing all financially compensated contributions to the site) but all responsibility for errors and inaccuracies belongs to Vipul Naik. Current data is preliminary and has not been completely vetted and normalized; if sharing a link to this site or any page on this site, please include the caveat that the data is preliminary (if you want to share without including caveats, please check with Vipul Naik). We expect to have completed the first round of development by the end of July 2024. See the about page for more details. Also of interest: pageview data on analytics.vipulnaik.com, tutorial in README, request for feedback to EA Forum.

Basic donor info
Basic donee info
Donor–donee relationship
Donor–donee donation statistics
Donation amounts by cause area and year
Donor–donee document list
Donor–donee donation list

Basic donor information

Item	Value
Country	United States
Wikipedia page	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_W._Mellon_Foundation
Facebook username	MellonFoundation
LinkedIn username	the-andrew-w--mellon-foundation
Website	https://mellon.org/
Donations URL	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/
Twitter username	mellonfdn
Page on philosophy informing donations	https://mellon.org/about/mission/
Grant application process page	https://mellon.org/grants/grantmaking-policies-and-guidelines/
Data entry method on Donations List Website	SQL insertion commands generated by script https://github.com/riceissa/mellon-foundation

Brief history: https://mellon.org/about/history/

Brief notes on broad donor philosophy and major focus areas: https://mellon.org/programs/

Full donor page for donor Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Basic donee information

Item	Value
Country
Facebook page	Smithsonian
Website	http://www.si.edu/
Twitter username	smithsonian
Wikipedia page	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian_Institution
Instagram username	smithsonian
Tumblr subdomain	smithsonian

Full donee page for donee Smithsonian Institution

Donor–donee relationship

Item	Value

Donor–donee donation statistics

Cause area	Count	Median	Mean	Minimum	10th percentile	20th percentile	30th percentile	40th percentile	50th percentile	60th percentile	70th percentile	80th percentile	90th percentile	Maximum
Overall	94	250,000	520,035	2,300	22,200	50,000	110,000	200,000	250,000	380,000	500,000	750,000	1,000,000	10,000,000
Arts and Cultural Heritage	42	260,000	698,787	2,300	15,000	22,200	50,000	172,000	260,000	500,000	600,000	1,000,000	1,500,000	10,000,000
Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities	3	100,000	146,667	15,000	15,000	15,000	15,000	100,000	100,000	100,000	325,000	325,000	325,000	325,000
Past Programs	40	250,000	405,425	25,000	44,000	110,000	170,000	225,000	250,000	380,000	450,000	700,000	900,000	1,500,000
Scholarly Communications	6	82,500	212,867	50,000	50,000	50,000	50,000	82,500	82,500	222,700	375,000	375,000	497,000	497,000
Other	3	750,000	533,333	100,000	100,000	100,000	100,000	750,000	750,000	750,000	750,000	750,000	750,000	750,000

Donation amounts by cause area and year

If you hover over a cell for a given cause area and year, you will get a tooltip with the number of donees and the number of donations.

Note: Cause area classification used here may not match that used by donor for all cases.

Cause area	Number of donations	Total	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999	1998	1997	1996	1995	1994	1993	1992	1991	1990	1989	1988	1987	1986	1984	1983	1981	1978	1977	1976	1974	1973	1971	1970
Arts and Cultural Heritage (filter this donor)	42	29,349,073.00	600,000.00	1,200,000.00	1,675,000.00	10,532,000.00	940,000.00	1,000,000.00	2,370,550.00	340,000.00	0.00	260,000.00	0.00	3,277,885.00	1,100,000.00	91,000.00	2,927,000.00	17,300.00	24,000.00	0.00	0.00	982,000.00	600,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	50,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	15,000.00	0.00	500,000.00	175,000.00	25,000.00	0.00	100,000.00	32,338.00	0.00	0.00	15,000.00	0.00	500,000.00	0.00
Past Programs (filter this donor)	40	16,217,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1,576,000.00	709,000.00	416,000.00	420,000.00	843,000.00	909,000.00	510,000.00	1,494,000.00	0.00	0.00	850,000.00	25,000.00	370,000.00	1,175,000.00	0.00	225,000.00	900,000.00	1,500,000.00	775,000.00	900,000.00	700,000.00	450,000.00	420,000.00	100,000.00	700,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	100,000.00	0.00	150,000.00
Other (filter this donor)	3	1,600,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1,500,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	100,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Scholarly Communications (filter this donor)	6	1,277,200.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	375,000.00	50,000.00	497,000.00	50,000.00	222,700.00	82,500.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities (filter this donor)	3	440,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	15,000.00	0.00	0.00	325,000.00	100,000.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Total	94	48,883,273.00	600,000.00	1,200,000.00	1,675,000.00	10,907,000.00	990,000.00	3,073,000.00	3,129,550.00	978,700.00	502,500.00	1,103,000.00	909,000.00	3,787,885.00	2,594,000.00	91,000.00	2,927,000.00	2,367,300.00	49,000.00	370,000.00	1,175,000.00	982,000.00	825,000.00	900,000.00	1,500,000.00	775,000.00	1,050,000.00	700,000.00	450,000.00	420,000.00	115,000.00	700,000.00	500,000.00	175,000.00	25,000.00	15,000.00	100,000.00	32,338.00	325,000.00	100,000.00	15,000.00	100,000.00	500,000.00	150,000.00

Graph of spending by cause area and year (incremental, not cumulative)

Graph of spending should have loaded here

Graph of spending by cause area and year (cumulative)

Full list of documents in reverse chronological order (0 documents)

There are no documents associated with this combination of donor and donee.

Full list of donations in reverse chronological order (94 donations)

Graph of all donations (with known year of donation), showing the timeframe of donations

Amount (current USD)	Amount rank (out of 94)	Donation date	Cause area	URL	Influencer	Notes
600,000.00	23	2018-09-06	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/1802-05592/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
1,200,000.00	7	2017-03-09	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/11700620/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
700,000.00	20	2016-09-15	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31600651/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
500,000.00	28	2016-09-15	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31600652/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
475,000.00	32	2016-06-13	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/21600639/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
375,000.00	39	2015-12-10	Scholarly Communications	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/41500668/	--	Program name: Scholarly Communications.
10,000,000.00	1	2015-12-10	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/41500621/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
532,000.00	27	2015-09-10	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31500631/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
150,000.00	62	2014-12-15	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/11500114/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
540,000.00	26	2014-12-04	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/41400613/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
250,000.00	48	2014-12-04	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/41400607/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
50,000.00	75	2014-07-21	Scholarly Communications	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31400109/	--	Program name: Scholarly Communications.
44,000.00	78	2013-12-05	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/41300643/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
332,000.00	42	2013-10-03	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31300670/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
497,000.00	30	2013-06-06	Scholarly Communications	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/21300663/	--	Program name: Scholarly Communications.
1,000,000.00	10	2013-06-06	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/21300669/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
1,200,000.00	7	2013-03-14	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/11300639/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
2,000,000.00	2	2012-09-13	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31200663/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
360,000.00	40	2012-09-13	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31200655/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
50,000.00	75	2012-07-16	Scholarly Communications	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31200132/	--	Program name: Scholarly Communications.
10,550.00	92	2012-07-16	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31200130/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
222,000.00	56	2012-05-31	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/21200615/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
487,000.00	31	2012-05-31	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/21200619/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
222,700.00	55	2011-12-01	Scholarly Communications	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/41100612/	--	Program name: Scholarly Communications.
416,000.00	37	2011-09-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31100697/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
340,000.00	41	2011-09-15	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/31100670/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
82,500.00	74	2010-12-09	Scholarly Communications	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/41000615/	--	Program name: Scholarly Communications.
420,000.00	36	2010-06-18	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/21000615/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
380,000.00	38	2009-12-10	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/40900647/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
260,000.00	46	2009-09-24	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/30900692/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
463,000.00	33	2009-06-19	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/20900703/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
35,000.00	79	2008-10-27	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/40800610/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
321,000.00	44	2008-09-18	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/30800717/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
91,000.00	72	2008-03-14	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10800671/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
33,000.00	80	2008-03-14	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10800659/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
429,000.00	35	2008-03-14	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10800653/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
1,750,000.00	4	2007-12-11	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/40700657/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
250,000.00	48	2007-10-03	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/30700740/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
5,685.00	93	2007-07-23	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/30700625/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
260,000.00	46	2007-06-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/20700637/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
22,200.00	85	2007-03-16	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10700714/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
1,500,000.00	5	2007-03-16	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10700715/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
1,000,000.00	10	2006-12-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/40600667/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
1,100,000.00	9	2006-12-15	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/40600622/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
150,000.00	62	2006-12-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/40600668/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
110,000.00	66	2006-09-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/30600753/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
234,000.00	52	2006-09-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/30600752/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
91,000.00	72	2004-06-11	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/20400628/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
1,755,000.00	3	2003-12-15	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/40300698/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
1,000,000.00	10	2003-09-19	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/30300637/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
172,000.00	60	2003-03-21	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10300675/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
2,300.00	94	2002-06-21	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/20200736/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
750,000.00	18	2002-03-29	Other	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10200768/	--	Program name: Other.
15,000.00	87	2002-03-15	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10200742/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
850,000.00	17	2002-03-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10200660/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
750,000.00	18	2002-01-25	Other	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10200635/	--	Program name: Other.
25,000.00	82	2001-07-20	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/30100608/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
24,000.00	84	2001-06-15	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/20100683/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
250,000.00	48	2000-03-20	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10000652/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
120,000.00	65	2000-03-20	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/10000656/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
950,000.00	14	1999-06-18	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/29900697/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
225,000.00	53	1999-03-19	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/19900628/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
953,000.00	13	1998-12-14	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/49800706/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
29,000.00	81	1998-09-09	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/39800638/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
600,000.00	23	1997-09-12	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/39700659/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
225,000.00	53	1997-06-09	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/29700631/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
900,000.00	15	1996-09-20	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/39600667/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
1,500,000.00	5	1995-12-18	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/49500628/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
175,000.00	58	1994-12-12	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/49400862/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
600,000.00	23	1994-06-17	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/29400539/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
100,000.00	67	1993-10-08	Other	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/39300252/	--	Program name: Other.
900,000.00	15	1993-10-08	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/39300239/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
50,000.00	75	1993-10-08	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/39300176/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
700,000.00	20	1992-10-09	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/39200218/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
450,000.00	34	1991-06-10	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/29100113/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
170,000.00	61	1990-06-11	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/29000156/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
250,000.00	48	1990-06-11	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/29000155/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
15,000.00	87	1989-06-12	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/28900085/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
100,000.00	67	1989-06-12	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/28900120/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
700,000.00	20	1988-12-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/48800132/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
200,000.00	57	1987-10-07	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/38700006/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
300,000.00	45	1987-10-07	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/38700041/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
175,000.00	58	1986-12-18	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/48600036/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
25,000.00	82	1984-10-02	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/38400045/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
15,000.00	87	1983-03-16	Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/18300047/	--	Program name: Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities.
100,000.00	67	1981-06-17	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/28100052/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
19,400.00	86	1978-03-29	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/17800023/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
12,938.00	91	1978-03-29	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/17800024/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
325,000.00	43	1977-12-14	Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/47700029/	--	Program name: Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities.
100,000.00	67	1976-12-08	Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/47600025/	--	Program name: Higher Education and Scholarship in the Humanities.
15,000.00	87	1974-04-03	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/17400029/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
100,000.00	67	1973-03-13	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/17300027/	--	Program name: Past Programs.
500,000.00	28	1971-12-14	Arts and Cultural Heritage	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/47100022/	--	Program name: Arts and Cultural Heritage.
150,000.00	62	1970-06-15	Past Programs	https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/smithsonian-institution/27000021/	--	Program name: Past Programs.