The Slavin Family Foundation provides support to dedicated students that have a desire to contribute to humanity and the ability and discipline to bring entrepreneurial ideas to life.

The Foundation’s main activity is the Slavin Fellowship, which offers support, mentorship, and a grant to a limited number of undergraduate and graduate students pursuing entrepreneurial projects.

The Fellowship is primarily run remotely, with the Foundation’s team and its contacts, and the Fellows themselves, located across the US and the world.

The Foundation also organizes an annual Slavin Fellowship Summit to bring together current and past Fellows. Our most recent summit was June 25-28, 2026 at the University of Washington. The dates and location of our 2027 summit are TBA.

The 2025, 2024, and 2023 Summits were held in June at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, respectively. From 2020 through 2022, Fellows gathered periodically online. The 2019, 2018, and 2017 Summits were held at McGill University, Georgetown University, and Rice University, respectively.

The Foundation’s team includes chairman Nick Slavin, executive director Bethany Cates, and collaborators John Adler (Stanford), Jeff Andrews (IP expert), Matthew Hoerl (Beautiful Things), Daniel Kammen (UC Berkeley), Sean Kellman (EES Ventures), Lynn Loo (Princeton), Erica Lutes (Fulbright Commission), Olav Sorenson (UCLA), Nova Spivack (Magical), and Victor Strecher (U Michigan).

Our hope is that the long-term impact of the Slavin Family Foundation will be as a meaningful supporter of independent thinking and the exploring spirit that pushes the boundaries of what is possible.

Descriptions of our Slavin Fellows can be found here.

A fuller description of the Fellowship program, including application instructions, can be found here.

Application deadlines for 2027 are February 15, June 15, and October 15.