Projects
The Sijbrandij Foundation funds both new initiatives and existing projects and companies. Below is a selected list of active projects and investments.
To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today's best young scientists with the funding and freedom they need to pursue innovative research in the early stages of their careers, when statistically most major breakthroughs are made. Damon Runyon has gained worldwide prominence for its scientific rigor and outsized impact on cancer research. Thirteen scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize. Since its founding in 1946, in partnership with donors across the nation, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has invested over $470 million and funded more than 4,000 scientists.
Third Sector is a national nonprofit helping to unlock possibility, confront inequity, and catalyze change to the benefit of the people and places our government, community-based, and philanthropic partners serve.
The Levitt Lab (TLL) reimagines high school education by asking, “What do students really need to thrive in life, not just in school?”. Created by Steven Levitt, economist and author of Freakonomics, in partnership with Arizona State University, its first high school opened in 2025 to pioneer a tech-enabled, student-centered model to maximize outcomes while inspiring lifelong learners.
Emergent Ventures is a fast, flexible grant program at the Mercatus Center that serves as a talent catalyst, supporting over 1,000 projects advancing prosperity and well-being worldwide since 2018.