Dear Faculty,
This is a final reminder that the initial Online Funding Inquiry (OFI) deadline for the John Templeton Foundation (JTF) 2026 cycle is July 15, 2026.
If you plan to submit an inquiry, please view the attached PDF for more detailed information and contact Colleen Cross Quinn (ccross@nd.edu) or Suzanne DeGuilio (sdeguili@nd.edu) as soon as possible so they can support you with your submission.
JTF Project Parameters
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Duration: Projects can be up to three (3) years in duration.
2026 Funding Portfolios
JTF evaluates proposals across six core program areas:
- Religion, Science & Society: Addressing questions about human existence, flourishing, meaning, and future societal visions.
- Public Engagement: Supporting thought leadership, content creation, and campus programming.
- Character Virtue Development: Elevating moral, performance, civic, and intellectual virtues (e.g., humility, curiosity, gratitude).
- Individual Freedom & Free Markets: Research and outreach promoting individual freedom, free competition, and classical liberal political economy.
- Life Sciences: Applied, theoretical, and experimental work on biological mechanisms.
- Mathematics & Physical Sciences: Investigating foundational concepts in the quantum world, cosmology, and complexity.
New for 2026: Venture Intelligence Track
In addition to the standard tracks, JTF has launched its first "Venture"—a $60M+ meta-portfolio spanning all six core funding areas. This initiative specifically targets foundational questions about the nature, purpose, and future of intelligence itself (human, artificial, collective, or systemic). Accepted grantees will gain access to a dedicated network of peer scholars and scientists across fields to collaborate and generate new insights.
If you are moving forward with a submission for the July 15 deadline, please let us know so we can assist with finalizing the process.