Strengthening American freedoms and promoting civic engagement

Photo Credit: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, photograph by Jared Sorrells © 2023 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Exhibitions at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, in Bentonville, Arkansas, invite visitors of all ages to view artworks related to the country’s political history and engage directly with the founding documents of American democracy—including an original copy of the U.S. Constitution, purchased by Ken Griffin in December 2021.
Freedom and democracy are fundamental pillars of our society, but they are not guaranteed. Griffin Catalyst works with our partners to champion these essential American values.

our impact stories

Honoring America’s Heroes

To pay tribute to the nation’s most distinguished military heroes—and to unite our country around the values their stories represent—Griffin Catalyst is supporting the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation with a $30 million gift.
The National Medal of Honor Griffin Institute is a key component of a three-pronged, $300 million effort that also includes a new museum in Arlington, Texas, and a new monument in Washington, D.C.

Securing the Future of One of America’s Most Iconic Monuments

The Lincoln Memorial has long been one of America’s most visited monuments and the scene of some of the defining moments of the last century.

In time for the 250th anniversary of the country, a new expansion project will transform a massive, long-hidden space beneath the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall into an immersive museum, exhibition, and theater space, encouraging visitors to explore the story of one of America’s greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, and to learn about the nation’s progress toward becoming a more perfect union.

Honoring the Service and Sacrifice of the Navy SEALs 

Since our country’s founding, generations of Americans have bravely answered the call to serve, putting themselves in harm’s way to defend the United States. 

It is our duty to honor those who have served and sacrificed and to care for our service members when they return home. Griffin Catalyst is proud to partner with the Navy SEAL Foundation to provide critical support services to these elite operators and their families. 

Championing Freedom of Speech

Our fundamental freedoms are the lifeblood of democracy. They foster innovation, advance progress, and enable individuals to pursue their dreams.

Free speech is a cornerstone of our American freedoms, and Griffin Catalyst is proud to partner with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in its wide-ranging, nonpartisan efforts to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought.

Learning From Our Past, Inspiring Future Generations

Griffin Catalyst partnered with the nonprofit American History Unbound to present a dramatic multimedia storytelling about World War I and World War II to audiences in New York and  Miami, and nationwide through a documentary being filmed for broadcast on public television later this year.

The unique combination of narration and imagery from renowned historian John Monsky, accompanied by music from Broadway stars and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, brings to life in new ways two of the most pivotal events in the 20th century.

8M+

Annual visitors to the Lincoln Memorial.

3,528

Medal of Honor recipients whose examples educate future leaders through the Griffin Institute.

35

Accessible, educational videos through iCivics’ series “The Constitution Explained”

A student playing an iCivics game—an interactive game about constitutional history for fifth- through ninth-graders—at the Baylor University iEngage Summer Civics Institute in Waco, Texas.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor knew we needed to invest in students to understand what it takes to be a part of civic life and solve common problems. The Constitution Explained as well as the Conventional Wisdom games touch on these things. Through the Constitution you develop the skills to think about these things, and then you become invested.

Louise Dube Executive Director, iCivics Inc.
A student playing an iCivics game—an interactive game about constitutional history for fifth- through ninth-graders—at the Baylor University iEngage Summer Civics Institute in Waco, Texas.

Featured Partners

Our partner organizations are doing vital work in upholding freedom and democracy. We’re proud to support them.

In Brief

June 30, 2020
Griffin Catalyst has made the largest gift in the history of the Navy SEAL Foundation, to provide critical education, health care, and financial support to members of one of the U.S. military’s most elite special operations forces and their families.
May 23, 2024
To pay tribute to the nation's most distinguished military heroes—and to unite our country around the values their stories represent—Griffin Catalyst is supporting the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation with a $30 million gift. The National Medal of Honor Griffin Institute is a key component of a three-pronged, $300 million effort that also includes a new museum in Arlington, Texas, and a new monument in Washington, D.C.
February 12, 2024
The Lincoln Memorial has long been one of America’s most visited monuments and the scene of some of the defining moments of the last century. In time for the 250th anniversary of the country, a new expansion project will transform a massive, long-hidden space beneath the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall into an immersive museum, exhibition, and theater space, encouraging visitors to explore the story of one of America’s greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, and to learn about the nation’s progress toward becoming a more perfect union.
June 17, 2025
How did the end of the Age of Dinosaurs in Africa impact world history? That’s what researchers aim to uncover during a five-year project of excavation and analysis in the Northern Cape region of South Africa. Their study will explore fossil ecosystems and the biodiversity of sub-Saharan Africa during the Late Cretaceous Period to dramatically expand scientists’ currently limited understanding of this important epoch.
April 17, 2025
Griffin Catalyst is proud to partner with the nonprofit American History Unbound. The collaboration will present dramatic multimedia storytelling about World War I and World War II to audiences in New York and Miami, and nationwide through a documentary being filmed for broadcast on public television later this year, to coincide with Veterans Day. The unique combination of narration and imagery from renowned historian John Monsky, accompanied by music from Broadway stars and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, brings to life in new ways two of the most pivotal events in the 20th century.
October 28, 2024
Griffin Catalyst provided a seed gift of $2.5 million to accelerate the efforts of Feng Zhang, a faculty member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, to develop “programmable therapeutics,” an approach that holds promise for revolutionizing medicine by reprogramming cells to cure a wide range of human diseases.
August 30, 2024
Since 2023, Griffin Catalyst has announced transformative gifts to three major health care institutions in Miami. Taken together, the support—totaling $125 million—represents an investment in the future of medical care and research in South Florida.
May 31, 2024
Launched in 2023, the Miami-Dade Innovation Authority leverages the power of competition and innovation to support start-ups, scale solutions to local problems, and improve lives.
May 20, 2024
In December 2023, Griffin Catalyst and the David Geffen Foundation announced a gift of $400 million to New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), one of the most renowned and advanced cancer research and treatment institutions in the world. This landmark gift—the largest donation to the institution in its nearly 150-year history—will allow MSK to significantly expand and upgrade its research, educational, and treatment facilities toward a singular goal: eradicating cancer.

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