Blavatnik Family Foundation gives $15 million to expand the Council on Foreign Relations internship program

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) announced on October 12 a $15 million gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation to strengthen and expand the Blavatnik Internship Program. The money includes both endowment and current-use support, and CFR said the commitment more than doubles the foundation's original investment in the program.

What the gift will fund

According to CFR, the gift will let the program offer full-time internships for its summer cohort and meet growing operating costs. CFR said the expansion will give participants a richer, more sustained experience and deeper engagement with its scholars and programs.

The program was established in January 2020 with a $12 million gift from the same foundation, CFR said. It has supported more than 1,000 young professionals and attracts an average of 58,000 applicants a year for 140 internships. By our arithmetic, that is roughly one internship for every 400 applicants.

What the donor and CFR said

"We hope this expanded program will open doors for the next generation of leaders and equip them to tackle the defining challenges of our time," said Len Blavatnik, founder of Access Industries and a CFR life member.

Michael Froman, CFR's president, said the gift "expands access to paid internships, ensuring that talented students and recent graduates can pursue opportunities regardless of financial circumstances."

CFR said the Blavatnik Family Foundation has contributed more than $1.5 billion to more than 300 organizations. The announcement did not say how the $15 million divides between endowment and current use.

What other organizations can take from it

In our view, the structure is the lesson. A first gift started the program in 2020, and the same donor came back six years later with a larger commitment that mixes permanent endowment with money to spend now. A donor who has watched a program run for years is often the likeliest source of a bigger second gift, which is one reason clear reporting on how the first gift was used matters. For more on keeping gifts tied to their purpose, see why a restricted gift is a promise, and for another recent named gift in higher education, see Purdue's $42 million naming gift.