What The Pershing Square Foundation does

The Pershing Square Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation founded in 2006 and led by Bill Ackman, operating under the umbrella brand Pershing Square Philanthropies from New York. The foundation functions as a capital allocator rather than a commercial enterprise, deploying grants from its endowment through three flagship competitive prize programs: the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance (PSSCRA) Cancer Prize, the MIND Neuroscience Prize, and the Lotus Ovarian Cancer Award. Cumulatively, the foundation has disbursed more than $930 million in grants and social investments across 133 prize winners at 24 institutions, with the PSSCRA alone having directed $58 million to 90 scientists over a 13-year history.

The foundation's core activity is competitive grant-making targeted at early-career scientific investigators. PSSCRA awards $750,000 per recipient to early-career cancer researchers, the Lotus Award funds ovarian cancer scientists in immunotherapy, genomics, precision medicine, and tumor biology, and the MIND Prize supports neuroscience research. In 2026 the foundation expanded PSSCRA from a regional New York program to a national platform, doubling winners to 13 and awarding $9 million; it also deployed $6 million through the Lotus Award's second cycle and extended internationally for the first time with a $1.8 million grant to vaccine researchers at the Bandim Health Project in Africa.

The organization is founder-controlled and funded by Bill Ackman and Pershing Square Holdings, with no external institutional investors, public shareholders, or outside equity holders. It maintains a small staff (1-10 employees) and reaches stakeholders primarily through earned media coverage of award announcements and dedicated social media accounts on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X (split across PSSCRA, PSP general, and MIND Prize handles). The foundation does not sell products or services; its outputs are grants, research outcomes, and reputational impact across its three program verticals.

Name

The Pershing Square Foundation

Legal name

The Pershing Square Foundation

Website

https://pershingsquarefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Pershing Square Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that funds early-career scientists in cancer, neuroscience, and ovarian cancer research through competitive prize programs, having deployed $930M+ across 133 prize winners at 24 institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation - Scientific Research Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Cancer research funding
• Neuroscience research grants
• Philanthropic foundations
• Ovarian cancer research
• Scientific grant programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Disbursement: The Pershing Square Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization that deploys capital from its endowment to fund scientific research through competitive prize programs and direct grants. Revenue is not generated; the foundation functions as a capital allocator supporting cancer research, neuroscience, and ovarian cancer initiatives.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Pershing Square Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that awards competitive research grants and prizes to early-career scientists conducting innovative research in cancer, neuroscience, and ovarian cancer. Its core offerings are three named grant programs—the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance Cancer Prize ($750,000 per winner), the MIND Neuroscience Prize, and the Lotus Ovarian Cancer Award—distributed directly to researchers at academic and medical institutions. The foundation has deployed over $930 million in grants and social investments across 133 prize winners at 24 institutions.

Product overview

The Pershing Square Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization offering a portfolio of competitive grant programs rather than a unified product platform. Its core offerings include the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance Cancer Prize (awarding $750,000 grants to cancer researchers, with $9 million distributed to 13 winners in 2026), the MIND Neuroscience Prize supporting brain research, and the Lotus Ovarian Cancer Award funding gynecologic cancer research. Over its history, the Foundation has awarded $930M+ in grants and social investments across 133 prize winners at 24 institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance (PSSCRA): Alliance focused on early-career cancer research, awarding the annual Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize.
• MIND Prize
• Lotus Award

Products and services

• Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance (PSSCRA) Cancer Prize A competitive annual grant program awarding early-career cancer researchers $750,000 each for innovative cancer research projects spanning immunotherapy, AI-driven protein design, RNA-targeting therapies, and novel cancer drug development. Expanded from a regional New York initiative to a national platform in 2026.
• MIND Neuroscience Prize

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported 90 scientists at 24 institutions over 13 years
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Bandim Health ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDanish researchers Peter Aaby and Christine Benn affiliated with the Bandim Health Project received $1.8 million from the Pershing Square Foundation to conduct vaccine research in Africa. The foundation's funding supported their controversial but influential work on vaccine effects, which has gained attention in US policy discussions.
• Sohn Cancer Research Alliance PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance, in its 13th year, has awarded $58 million to 90 scientists at 24 institutions, supporting research spanning immunotherapy, AI-driven protein design, RNA-targeting therapies, and novel cancer drug development. The alliance expanded from a regional New York initiative to a national platform in 2026.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The largest private philanthropic foundation in the world, also funded by a single high-profile founder and deploying billions in health and medical research grants. Highly comparable operating model and grant-making scale, though with materially larger endowment and broader mission.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute: A major private biomedical research organization funding scientists at US research institutions, similar in deploying large-scale philanthropic capital to advance biomedical science through long-duration researcher support.
• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: Private foundation founded and funded by a single ultra-high-net-worth individual (Mark Zuckerberg) with a strong focus on biomedical research funding, including early-career science initiatives—structurally analogous to Pershing Square.
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Private foundation funded by a single wealthy individual (Doris Duke), with a Medical Research Program funding early-career clinical scientists—closely matching Pershing Square's PSSCRA-style model.
• Simons Foundation: Private foundation established by a single billionaire (Jim Simons) that funds basic scientific research across mathematics, physics, and life sciences—comparable founder-funded research philanthropy model.
• Kavli Foundation: Private foundation funding basic science research through prize and institute programs at universities, similar to Pershing Square's approach of running flagship prize programs (MIND Prize) to drive discovery in specific fields.
• Paul G. Allen Family Foundation: Private philanthropic foundation of the late Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder), funding science, health, and social causes via a single-funder endowment structure comparable to Pershing Square.
• Arcadia Fund: Charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin that supports science, education, and conservation, including significant biomedical research funding to established research institutions.

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: One of the world's largest charitable foundations funding science and health research globally, comparable as an established grant-making entity focused on biomedical discovery, with broader geographic and thematic reach.

Emerging players

• Open Philanthropy: A large-scale philanthropic funder backed by a single donor (Dustin Moskovitz/Carrie Tuna) that makes risk-tolerant grants in global health and scientific research, partially overlapping with Pershing Square's 'risk capital for philanthropy' approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PershingSqFdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/persqphilanthropies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pershing-square-philanthropies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments12 records

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Frequently asked questions about The Pershing Square Foundation