Introduction
2025 marked the culmination of five years of focused work to clarify the Mensa Foundation’s mission, update our assumptions about intelligence, and align our programs, research, and infrastructure with that direction. In that time, we listened more closely to gifted and neurodivergent individuals, questioned an IQ-only understanding of intelligence, and began reshaping how the Foundation shows up through scholarships, programming, research, and outreach.
The Foundation has incorporated the lived experiences of gifted and neurodivergent individuals and expanded our understanding of intelligence beyond IQ to embrace a multidimensional, contextual view. Building on that evolution, we are developing a broader, research-driven mission focused on supporting gifted and neurodivergent people across the lifespan.
The work we advanced in 2025 has fallen into three main areas:
- Strategic refinement
- Modernization for scale
- Community presence and engagement
Strategic refinement
Scholarships remain a flagship initiative and one of the most tangible ways we help bright, driven people take their next step. We earned this reputation, and it remains central to who we are. In 2025, however, the Foundation took clearer steps to define ourselves as more than a scholarship funder.
Through our Colloquium and Speaker Series, we focused explicitly on what distinguishes human intelligence in the age of AI and on how our understanding of intelligence needs to evolve. We also examined whether giftedness should be understood as a form of neurodivergence. These programs did more than present interesting ideas; they signaled a deliberate move toward a multidimensional, research-informed view of intelligence that accounts for context, lived experience, and neurodiversity.
To support that shift with evidence, the Foundation has begun advancing a formal literature review on intelligence, giftedness, and neurodivergence. The review will synthesize current research on how these terms are defined, examine whether giftedness should be considered a form of neurodivergence, and provide a clearer framework for how we use this language. Its findings will guide board decision-making, sharpen internal and external messaging, and inform future programs, grants, and partnerships that support people across the lifespan, not only at a single academic milestone.
Taken together, these steps move the Foundation toward a clearer identity: a mission-driven organization that explores, supports, and applies intelligence in all its complexity.
Modernization for scale
A broader mission requires systems that can sustain it. Much of 2025’s progress happened behind the scenes, where the Foundation invested in infrastructure that can support growth, equity, and long-term stability.
Our scholarship program is the clearest example. This year, the Foundation processed more than 50,000 applications and awarded over $180,000 across 126 scholarships, supported by hundreds of volunteer judges. To handle that scale responsibly, we implemented a new scholarship platform and refined review processes to improve consistency and protect the integrity of the program in a world where AI tools are increasingly common.
Governance and policy also moved forward. Updated guidelines for accepting gifts signaled a more deliberate approach to how the Foundation adopts resources. These changes help ensure that our growth aligns with our mission and that we evaluate new opportunities against clear standards.
While these efforts might not be as visible as a public event or new award, they are what allow the Foundation to expand our work without compromising quality, trust, or focus.
Community presence and engagement
The Foundation also worked in 2025 to step out of the shadows and build a more consistent relationship with the communities we serve. A key development was the launch of two newsletters. Foundation Insights focuses on mission content: reflections, context, and resources that explore intelligence, giftedness, and neurodiversity in depth. Foundation Headlines serves as our primary news update, highlighting scholarships, programs, events, and organizational milestones. Together, they provide a more regular and well-rounded view of the Foundation’s work, rather than limiting communication to fundraising appeals or occasional announcements. Early engagement has been strong, indicating that supporters want more frequent and substantive contact with what we do.
The inaugural Foundation Challenge offered another kind of presence: participatory rather than observational. We designed The Challenge to identify meaningful problems, develop practical solutions, and help move the strongest ideas toward real-world implementation. By inviting participants to work together on a focused question, the Foundation created a space where gifted and neurodivergent individuals, families, educators, and allies could actively contribute to the mission, not just hear about it. For many, it also served as a rare space where their experiences and ideas were taken seriously and where they felt genuinely seen and heard.
We also showed up more intentionally in spaces where our broader community already gathers, including sponsoring and participating in events within and beyond the Mensa organization. That presence — on-site, visible, and engaged — helped connect our evolving mission with the people and partners it is meant to serve.
Increased transparency through broadcast open board meetings, clearer visibility into board work and decision-making, and continued recognition through prizes and fellowships reinforced a simple message: the Foundation is here not only to fund opportunity, but also to convene, listen, and engage.
What 2025 signals about the Foundation’s future
Viewed as a whole, 2025 was not just a busy year; it was a clarifying one. The Foundation sharpened our mission around the lived realities of gifted and neurodivergent people, invested in the systems required to support that mission at scale, and began showing up more consistently as a visible, engaged presence in the broader conversation about intelligence.
The result is a clearer trajectory: a scholarship program that remains a cornerstone, anchored within a larger, research-informed effort to understand and support intelligence in all its forms, across the lifespan, and in partnership with the communities most impacted.
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