Mission:
To serve as a philanthropic catalyst for discoveries relating to the "big questions" of human purpose and ultimate reality.

Background:
The Templeton Foundation was established in 1987 by billionaire investor Sir John Templeton to encourage civil, informed dialogue among scientists, philosophers, and theologians and between experts and the public at large. In an effort to help advance human progress, the foundation, which has a $1.6 billion endowment, funds a wide variety of research in the areas of science and the big questions, character development, freedom and free enterprise, exceptional cognitive talent and genius, and genetics. The foundation is perhaps best known for its annual Templeton Prize, which each year awards $1.5 million to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension through insight, discovery, or practical works.

Outstanding Web Features:
The Templeton Foundation Web site offers a detailed grantmaking calendar; an audio and photo history of the life of Sir John Templeton; video conversations with authors of books that deal with Templeton Foundation issues; and video interviews with grantees of the foundation's Foundational Questions Institute, which supports and disseminates research on questions at the foundation of physics and cosmology, with a focus on innovative ideas that are integral to a deep understanding of reality but are unlikely to be supported by conventional funding sources.