The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | |
 | |
| Founded | June 30, 1969 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Paul Mellon Ailsa Mellon Bruce |
| Focus | Higher education Museums andart conservation Performing arts Conservation |
| Location |
|
| Method | Grants |
Key people | Elizabeth Alexander (President) |
| Revenue | $380,179,226[1] (2015) |
| Expenses | $331,375,744[1] (2015) |
| Endowment | $6.1 billion |
| Website | www.mellon.org |
TheAndrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as theMellon Foundation, is aNew York City-basedprivate foundation with wealth accumulated byAndrew Mellon of theMellon family ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2] It is the product of the 1969 merger of the Avalon Foundation and the Old Dominion Foundation. These foundations had been set up separately byAilsa Mellon Bruce andPaul Mellon, the children of Andrew Mellon.
The foundation is housed in New York City in the expanded former offices of theBollingen Foundation, another educational philanthropy once supported by Paul Mellon. Poet and scholarElizabeth Alexander is the foundation's current president. Her predecessors have includedEarl Lewis,Don Randel,William G. Bowen,John Edward Sawyer andNathan Pusey.
In 2004, the foundation was awarded theNational Medal of Arts.[3]
Mellon's research group has investigated doctoral education, collegiate admissions, independent research libraries, charitable nonprofits, scholarly communications, and other issues to ensure that the foundation's grants would be well-informed and more effective.[6] Some of the recent publications of this effect includeEquity and Excellence in American Higher Education,Reclaiming the Game: College Sports and Educational Values,JSTOR: A History,The Game of Life: College Sports and Educational Values, andThe Shape of the River.[7]
Mellon's endowment fluctuates in the range of $5 to $6 billion, and its annual grant-making amounts to about $300 million.[8][9][10]
According to Alexander, Mellon supports the “work, experiences, and visions of disabled artists."[11] In July 2024, the Ford and Mellon Foundations named 20 "Disability Futures Fellows," including aBroadway composer, aMarvel video game voice actress, and a three-timePushcart Prize-nominated poet.[12]
