$8.2 Million in Grants to Reduce Nuclear Dangers Awarded by Carnegie Corporation of New York

New York, NY, January 29, 2026 — The philanthropic foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York announced $8.2 million in grants today for work aimed at preventing nuclear war and crisis escalation. The grants will support a range of projects, including an accelerator program for a new generation of nuclear security professionals, simulation platforms to test nuclear deescalation options, media workshops to improve nuclear coverage, and policy-relevant research on how artificial intelligence and space are shaping nuclear risks. Twenty organizations will each receive grants ranging from $300,000 to $800,000.

Eight of the grants are the result of a request for proposals issued by a new philanthropic consortium announced by Carnegie in 2025 to invest in reducing nuclear dangers. The grants are listed below and were announced today by the consortium’s core members: Founders Pledge, Longview Philanthropy, and PAX sapiens, with the recent addition of the Global Challenges Foundation.

“Nuclear dangers are evolving faster than the tools we rely on to prevent catastrophe. As long-standing arms control frameworks erode and geopolitical competition intensifies, emerging technologies, space systems, and the speed of modern crises are creating new pathways to escalation,” said James McKeon, a program officer in Carnegie’s International Program. “These grants are designed to strengthen the understanding of new nuclear dangers and improve stability during a potential crisis.”

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists identified nuclear risk and disruptive technologies as two key areas of concern that are moving humanity closer than ever to a possible global disaster. With an erosion of nuclear arms control agreements like New START and a deterioration in global security, the risk of nuclear proliferation has increased as more nations are considering developing or hosting nuclear arsenals.

The grants that Carnegie announced today reflect the foundation’s long-term commitment to promoting greater political salience and understanding of nuclear dangers and averting the spread and use of nuclear weapons. Carnegie is the largest philanthropic funder of nuclear security. Guided by Andrew Carnegie’s founding vision to advance peace, the foundation has awarded over 620 grants totaling approximately $180 million to reduce nuclear dangers since 1983.

The foundation’s nuclear security work is part of Carnegie’s International Program, comprised of three core security areas: preventing and managing conflict, movements of people, and non-state actors.

Carnegie Selected Grantees

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ($500,000)
To advance research and policy engagement to reduce the risks of nuclear war by strengthening strategic stability among nuclear-armed states and curbing proliferation pressures

Chicago Council on Global Affairs ($325,000)
To assess public attitudes in U.S.-allied countries on nuclear weapons programs to address perceived insecurities and communicate the risks of nuclear proliferation

Dartmouth College ($300,000)
To train emerging nuclear weapons scholars how to assess and model the impact of nuclear weapons to inform public debates about nuclear deterrence and strategic stability

Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship ($320,000)
To help prepare a new generation of professionals in nuclear and international security policy

Institute for Security and Technology, Inc. ($400,000)
To bridge the knowledge gap between nuclear policy and artificial intelligence via the Andrew Carnegie AI-Nuclear Policy Accelerator

National Academy of Sciences ($350,000)
To develop new policy recommendations for reducing risks and sustaining relationships essential for crisis management through U.S.-Russia Track II dialogues

National Security Archive Fund, Inc. ($350,000)
To assess the evolution of U.S. nuclear policy and its implications for global security related to nuclear targeting, presidential launch authority, weapons effects, and accident protocols

Outrider Foundation Inc. ($300,000)
To provide journalists and editors with training workshops, educational materials, and access to nongovernmental experts to improve overall coverage of nuclear issues

President and Fellows of Harvard College ($600,000)
To advance policy-relevant research on deterrence, nonproliferation, and the future of nuclear policy

Princeton University ($800,000)
To support independent scientific and technical research, analysis, and training to advance nuclear arms control, curb proliferation, and reduce modern nuclear war risks

ReThink Media ($500,000)
To develop data-driven narratives and communications support to promote safer policies related to nuclear diplomacy, arms control, and nonproliferation

U.S. Pugwash ($500,000)
To support the research and diplomatic efforts of leading scientists globally aimed at reducing nuclear dangers

Consortium Selected Grantees

Atlantic Council of the United States, Inc. ($385,000)
To design and conduct a series of operational-level wargames to examine how limited nuclear strikes affect conflict outcomes, escalation dynamics, and crisis stability

Council on Strategic Risks ($350,000)
To convene international dialogues and develop policy recommendations that reinforce global norms against the deployment and use of nuclear weapons in outer space

Inter Mediate ($400,000)
To strengthen crisis channels and arms control across critical nuclear dyads (U.S.-China, India-Pakistan, India-China, and U.S.-DPRK) to reduce misperceptions and lay the groundwork for future nuclear diplomacy

Massachusetts Institute of Technology ($400,000)
To assess whether new verification technologies can confirm or disprove the presence of nuclear warheads in orbit

New America ($400,000)
To generate policy recommendations that reduce escalation after the first use of a nuclear weapon and provide credible options to halt further escalation

Search for Common Ground ($450,000)
To design and deploy a simulation platform using social digital twinning and multi-agent artificial intelligence to model escalation dynamics and test de-escalation options

University of Wisconsin, Madison ($300,000)
To develop an integrated, open-access model that simulates the full spectrum of the consequences of nuclear conflict

Verification Research, Training and Information Centre ($300,000)
To estimate China’s fissile stocks and nuclear weapons potential using advanced open-source intelligence