Mission Statement
The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to deepen knowledge and understanding in pursuit of a more democratic and just world.
We do so by nurturing knowledge communities and institutions, fostering dialogue across divides, enriching public discourse, amplifying diverse voices, and investing in leadership development.
Vision Statement
We envision a world in which diverse people and communities thrive— determining their own best futures and working together in pursuit of knowledge and shared understanding.
Values and Commitments
For nearly a century, the Henry Luce Foundation has honored and been inspired by the lives and work of Henry R. Luce and of his parents, Henry Winters Luce and Elizabeth Root Luce. The Foundation recognizes that deepening understanding is essential to advancing justice, democratic values, peace, and a sustainable environment.
We believe that ideas, stories, data, creative expression, and scholarship are the tools that communities of all kinds and scales use to define themselves and their aspirations, to assert their rights, and to live and collaborate with others. Therefore, the Foundation invests in organizations, networks, and individuals who create, care for, and share knowledge for the benefit of their communities and the wider world.
We recognize that knowledge takes many forms and that knowledge-makers pursue their work in many different ways, and so we cast a wide net, looking both to established and to emerging or under-recognized thinkers. We also understand that change in the world of ideas can be slow, and so we commit to fields and questions for many years. At the same time, we know that new ways of thinking are always emerging—often from unexpected directions— and so we must be attentive to what is new and innovative.
We understand that our knowledge and judgment are limited and imperfect. Therefore, we approach our work in the spirit of partnership and humility, in pursuit of a better world.
