The Mensa Foundation will launch the Catalyst Grant later this fall, creating a new $10,000 annual award to help people explore early-stage ideas that could benefit others. Made possible by Deborah L. Stone through the Stone Family Memorial Fund, the opportunity will be open to Mensa members and nonmembers. At its heart is Deb’s belief that a promising idea should not be abandoned simply because the person behind it does not know where to find support.
An Idea That Started in a Garage
Nearly 50 years ago, Deb watched a member of her family join a company in its earliest days. The founder was an engineer who had developed in his garage a tiny component used to help create clean-room environments. That company eventually grew into a business worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
For Deb, this story remains an example of how something small can become far more consequential than anyone imagined at the beginning. It also makes her think about the ideas that never receive the same chance.
“Some of the world’s most transformative innovations began with an individual who had an idea and the opportunity to explore it,” Deb said. “Sometimes, people don’t even know where to begin looking for support.”
A New Direction for the Fund
The path to the Catalyst Grant began in 2020, when Deb established a fund at the Mensa Foundation. Her original intention was to create a mathematics prize in honor of her mother.
As the Foundation embraced its new mission to unleash intelligence, Deb began to see another possibility for the fund. She kept returning to people whose ideas might never have an opportunity to develop.
Deb thought about people with unconventional ideas who lacked a clear path to pursue them. She also thought about those whose lives had taken them in different directions but who still carried dreams they wanted to explore.
Opening a Door
Applicants will not need an established organization behind them or a guarantee that their idea will succeed. They will need to explain why the idea is worth exploring and how the funding would help them take the next step.
A recipient might use the grant to develop a prototype or test a hypothesis. The work could also reveal an unexpected direction or connect the recipient with someone who shares the same vision.
“The Catalyst Grant isn’t about guaranteeing outcomes,” Deb said. “It’s about opening a door that might otherwise remain closed, and seeing what becomes possible when someone has the resources to begin.”
What Success Could Look Like
Deb hopes the recipient will eventually be able to say, “I had an idea, someone believed it was worth exploring, and I was given the chance to find out where it could lead.” No one can know at the beginning which ideas will grow into something significant, but Deb believes even the smallest idea deserves that chance.
Applications for the first Catalyst Grant will open later this fall. Visit the Catalyst Grant webpage to learn more and sign up to be notified when applications open.
What Could Your Giving Make Possible?
Interested in creating something of your own with the Mensa Foundation? If you have an idea for how your philanthropy could create new opportunities through the Foundation, we’d welcome the conversation. Contact us to explore what your giving could make possible.
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