Established by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1911, the Carnegie Corporation of New York (the Corporation) is one of America's oldest and largest grantmaking foundations.  The Corporation has dedicated its efforts toward two issues Carnegie considered paramount: international peace and the advancement of education and knowledge.

Examples of funding include:

• International Peace Program which has been guided by Carnegie’s vision to advance peace as the absence of armed conflict and creation of conditions that sustain non-violent growth and change.
  • Priority themes have included: preventing and managing conflict, movements of people, and non-state actors.
  • Examples:
    • A Peace in Our Cities initiatives
    • Over 600 grants in nuclear security / arms control
    • 11 grants for frameworks for peace, to foster new ideas and practical solutions.
• Advancement of Education and Knowledge
  • Funded massive expansion of public libraries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (often referred to as Carnegie Libraries). Between 1880 and 1920, Carnegie funded roughly 2,500 public and academic libraries worldwide. About 1,700 were in the U.S., and the rest were spread across Canada, the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the Caribbean. Additional library-related grantmaking in the mid-20th century supported national library development, librarian training, and modernization efforts, especially in the Global South (e.g., library schools in Africa and expansion of university libraries in English-speaking African countries).
  • Establishment of the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
  • Contributing to the creation of the Pell Grant program.
  • Contributing to the establishment of Sesame Street.
  • Today, its work in education is largely focused on the Future of Learning & Work.
    • In this area, the Foundation's grantmaking supports the cultivation of diverse college and career pathways and opportunities for young people to acquire the academic and real-world knowledge needed for meaningful careers and socioeconomic mobility. Examples of work include:
    • Helping school districts design new high schools (such as through its Opportunity by Design initiative) that prepare all students for postsecondary learning and the global economy.
    • Studies and initiatives to strengthen connections between the world of work and schools—from elementary through postsecondary levels—and to expand career-related learning opportunities like internships and apprenticeships, particularly for low-income students.

Resources

Carnegie Corporation of New York. (n.d.). Homepage. https://www.carnegie.org/

Carnegie Corporation of New York. (n.d.). About. https://www.carnegie.org/about/

Columbia University Libraries. (2024). Carnegie Corporation of New York: Historical Note. https://library.columbia.edu/libraries/rbml/collecting/philanthropy/carnegie/ccny-history.html

Learn & Work Ecosystem Library. (2025, September 16). Educational Testing Service (ETS). https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/organizations/ets/

Learn & Work Ecosystem Library. (2025, July 14). Pell, Short Term Pell, Workforce Pell - Finance. https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/topics/pell-short-term-pell/

Carnegie Corporation of New York. (n.d.). Future of Learning & Work. https://www.carnegie.org/our-work/category/education/tag/future-learning-work/

Carnegie Corporation of New York. (2013). Opportunity by Design. New High School Models for Student Success. https://www.carnegie.org/publications/opportunity-by-design-new-high-school-models-for-student-success/