Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

What Michael & Susan Dell Foundation does

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is a private, non-profit charitable foundation established in 1999 by Michael and Susan Dell and headquartered in Austin, Texas. It pursues a mission of transforming the lives of children living in urban poverty through better health and education, operating three integrated mechanisms: grantmaking to nonprofits (655 active grants), mission-related investments in impact companies (76 active investments across Africa, India, Israel, and the United States), and three global scholarship programs — Dell Scholars (US, 9,000 active scholars, 6,129+ graduates), Dell Young Leaders (South Africa, 85% graduation rate), and Dell Aspire Scholars (India). The foundation runs programs across seven focus areas — Quality Schools, Classroom Supports, University Success, Jobs & Livelihoods, Financial Services, Health Innovation, and Strong Communities — collectively serving 7 million+ students, 500,000+ classrooms, 350,000+ degree-earners, 1 million+ young adults in employment, 3 million+ families with financial services, 1 million+ families with healthcare, and 500,000+ community members annually.

The foundation's technology stack centers on the Ed-Fi Data Standard, a universal interoperability layer launched in 2012 that now covers 8+ million students across 4,000 U.S. school districts, and the Data Driven Districts platform deployed in partnership with the South Africa Department of Basic Education since 2012, providing near real-time dashboards on attendance, exams, and progression to 11.7 million learners across 90% of South African schools. Both platforms are operated under the Ed-Fi Alliance, a foundation-managed initiative. The foundation is distinct from Dell Technologies and does not sell products or services; all activities are funded through philanthropic contributions from the Dell family, whose lifetime giving exceeds $8 billion.

Name

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

Legal name

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

Website

https://dell.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is a private non-profit foundation established in 1999 that operates grantmaking, mission investments, and global scholarship programs to improve education, health, and economic stability for underserved children and families across the United States, Africa, India, and Israel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB)

Keywords

• Philanthropic foundation services
• Education grantmaking
• Social impact investing
• Scholarship programs
• Nonprofit charitable giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Giving and Grants: The foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations and social enterprises to advance its mission of accelerating opportunities for families and building pathways to prosperity globally.
2. Mission Investments: The foundation makes equity, loan, and loan guarantee investments in mission-driven companies in Africa, India, Israel, and the United States to develop innovative products and tools that drive measurable social progress.
3. Scholarship Programs: The foundation operates scholarship programs including Dell Scholars (US), Dell Young Leaders (South Africa), and Dell Aspire Scholars (India) providing financial support and personalized assistance to help students graduate and launch meaningful careers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is a private charitable foundation that provides grants, mission investments, and scholarship programs to improve outcomes in education, health, and economic stability for underserved children, families, and communities. It also develops and supports technology platforms such as the Ed-Fi Alliance data standard and Data Driven Districts to improve education data interoperability and data-driven decision-making across school systems. The foundation operates globally across the United States, India, Israel, and South Africa.

Product overview

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is a charitable, non-profit private foundation (not a technology product company) that offers a portfolio of philanthropic programs including three global scholarship programs (Dell Scholars, Dell Young Leaders, Dell Aspire Scholars), grantmaking to nonprofits, mission-related investments in impact companies, and seven focus area programs covering education, jobs, financial services, health, and community development. The foundation also supports the Ed-Fi Alliance data standard and Data Driven Districts initiative in South Africa. Since 1999, Michael and Susan Dell have committed $8+ billion to advance opportunities for families and build pathways to change lives globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dell Scholars Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 7 million+ students access quality education annually
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• University of Texas at AustinflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Historic $750 million donation to establish UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research and UT Dell Medical Center (opening 2030), supporting advanced computing, scholarships, student housing, and integrated cancer care. This represents the largest single philanthropy commitment in the foundation's history.
• ShikshaNext InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 February 2026₹170 crore multi-donor initiative to improve learning outcomes for 13 million children from underserved communities in India through EdTech and AI, anchored by Reliance Foundation and Gates Foundation as Founding Strategic Partners.
• Israel Relief PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 October 2023Emergency relief partnership with 10 organizations across Israel following October 7 attacks, providing essential resources to 50,000+ Israeli families including medical care and mental health support.
• Community First! VillagecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2021$36.6 million committed in November 2021 to fund 1,400 additional homes at Community First! Village, a model for ending chronic homelessness in Austin that will house nearly half of Austin's chronically homeless population.
• UT for Me ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020$200 million joint investment (each committing $100 million over 10 years) with UT Austin to provide personalized support to Pell-eligible students, helping them graduate and achieve career goals.
• Dell Medical SchoolflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012$50 million commitment to establish Dell Medical School at UT Austin in 2012, the first new medical school at a top-tier research university in nearly 50 years. The school has graduated its inaugural class of 50 doctors and trained hundreds of residents.
• Ed-Fi AlliancecoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2012Foundation launched Ed-Fi Alliance in 2012 to create a unified data standard enabling K-12 systems to share student information seamlessly, supporting 8+ million students across 4,000 districts.
• South Africa Department of Basic EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012$35 million invested since 2012 to launch Data Driven Districts program, providing real-time student data to educators across South Africa, impacting 11.7 million learners annually.
• Charter School Growth FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007$185 million committed since 2007 to identify and scale high-performing charter schools, helping 725,000 children across 30 states access quality education.
• Dell Children's Medical CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004$61 million+ invested since 2004 to establish Austin's first dedicated pediatric hospital and Level 1 pediatric trauma center, now serving families across 46 Central Texas counties.
• Mercy ShipscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1991$28 million committed to support Mercy Ships hospital vessels providing free, lifesaving surgeries in West Africa, helping build the world's first civilian hospital ship and completing 3,513 surgeries in 2023 alone.
• Janet MountaincoreOthersJanet Mountain serves as Head of Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, leading the global team dedicated to building pathways that change lives through education, health, and economic stability initiatives.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Largest private foundation globally, with multi-focus grantmaking across global health, US education, and poverty. Comparable to MSDF in scale, multi-region operating model, and emphasis on measurement and data-driven philanthropy.
• Ford Foundation: Major US private foundation with a global footprint focused on inequality, education, and economic opportunity. Comparable in mission scope (education, economic inclusion) and international grantmaking model.
• Walton Family Foundation: Family-led foundation with deep K-12 education and charter school investment focus, directly comparable to MSDF's Quality Schools and Charter School Growth Fund programs.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Single-donor-driven philanthropic vehicle covering education, public health, and economic development globally. Comparable in multi-focus, founder-led, data-driven approach to grantmaking.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Large US health-focused private foundation with significant investments in healthcare systems, similar to MSDF's Health Innovation focus and Dell Medical Center/Children's Medical Center strategy.
• Carnegie Corporation of New York: Legacy US foundation with a strong international education and democratic engagement focus. Comparable in K-12 and higher education grantmaking globally.
• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: Tech-billionaire-led philanthropic vehicle combining grantmaking, mission investments, and direct technology development (e.g., education data). Highly comparable to MSDF's Ed-Fi/data-driven philanthropy approach.
• Rockefeller Foundation: Legacy private foundation with global health, food systems, and economic mobility focus. Comparable in international grantmaking scale and emphasis on system-level change in health and economic opportunity.
• MacArthur Foundation: Large US private foundation with significant K-12 education and India-focused grantmaking. Directly comparable to MSDF's dual US/India education footprint.
• Open Society Foundations: Large global foundation focused on education, health, and economic justice across multiple regions. Comparable in global reach, multi-issue grantmaking, and large-scale programmatic ambition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/msdf_foundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@DellFdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/dellfamilyfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dellfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/dellfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments81 records

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Frequently asked questions about Michael & Susan Dell Foundation