Conrad N Hilton Foundation
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a global humanitarian foundation that funds initiatives including foster youth, homelessness, safe water, refugees, early childhood development, and Catholic Sisters and awards the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. The official site provides a searchable grants database, program overviews, news, and organizational information.
Source: Website · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
Organizations working in the foundation's program areas (early childhood, foster youth, homelessness, safe water, refugees, Catholic Sisters and related field-building), including both place-based California partners and larger national or international intermediaries with capacity for multi-year, evidence-informed work.
Good Fit
- • Programmatic alignment with early childhood, foster youth, homelessness, safe water, refugee support, or sisters' leadership
- • Capacity to manage multi-year or sizable grants and report on outcomes
- • A presence or partnership in California for place-based initiatives (given CA's larger share of funding)
- • Ability to participate in learning, evaluation, or systems-change efforts
- • Willingness to accept general operating or project support rather than only narrow one-off funding
- • Openness to collaborative or intermediary roles (pooled funds, coalitions, or fiscal sponsor structures)
Geography
Observed grants in the latest year reached 83 distinct states/regions and include international recipients; while California received about one-third of dollars, the overall footprint is national and global.
Recipient Variety
In 2024 the foundation made roughly 1,200 grants to 913 distinct recipients, with a large mix of small and large awards across many independent organizations and program types, indicating broad recipient variety for a foundation of this scale.
New Applicants
Direct evidence of applicant turnover and entry exists: about 464 first-time recipients appeared in 2024, and the foundation publishes application information and a grant communications contact, so unfamiliar organizations plausibly can access funding.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
