Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

American philanthropic nonprofit organization

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is an American philanthropic nonprofit organization. It was established in 1934 by Alfred P. Sloan Jr., then president and chief executive officer of General Motors. The Sloan Foundation makes grants to support original research and broad based education related to science, technology, and economics. The foundation is an independent entity and has no formal relationship with General Motors. As of 2022, the Sloan Foundation's assets totaled $2.0 billion.

During the initial years of Alfred P. Sloan’s presidency, the foundation devoted its resources almost exclusively to education in economics and business. Grants were made to develop materials to improve high school and college economics teaching; for preparation of and wide distribution of inexpensive pamphlets on the pressing economic and social issues of the day; for weekly radio airing of round table discussions on current topics in economics and related subjects; and for establishing a Tax Institute at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to interpret new taxes and new trends in public finance for the average citizen. From 1936 to 1945, Harold S. Sloan, an economist and Alfred's younger brother, served as director and vice president of the foundation. The Sloan Foundation also made many civic contributions to the foundation's home city of New York, including grants to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Channel 13, New York Public Library, New York University, and the Fund for the City of New York. Starting January 2018, Adam Falk, past president of Williams College, assumed the presidency of the foundation.