The MacArthur Foundation reports paying $561.6 million in grants and impact investments in 2025, excluding mission-related investments. The figure is a combined financial measure from the foundation’s published accounts, not the size of one fellowship class or a count of awards announced in 2026. Foundation financials
The foundation separately reports $76.7 million in charitable administrative expenses for 2025 and $46.9 million authorized for impact investments. An amount authorized and an amount paid describe different stages of financial activity. Likewise, administrative costs should not be presented as grants received by beneficiaries.
MacArthur’s Fellows programme is a separate part of the organization’s work. Its published information sets the individual fellowship award at $800,000. The award amount does not establish the total cost of a particular annual class without identifying the recipients and the programme’s payment arrangements. Fellows programme
The financial page says the foundation has awarded more than $9.19 billion since its founding. That cumulative figure and the 2025 payout provide different views of its activity. Keeping their periods and definitions clear is more informative than treating all foundation spending as a single annual grantmaking claim.
Archive note: the earlier 2026 grantmaking total, Fellows class and attributed remarks were not substantiated.