Snacking, food, and pet care products provider Mars announced a series of new investments from its Mars Impact Fund, with $13 million in grants for projects aimed at strengthening the resilience of the company’s sourcing communities, developing the next generation of scientists and improving companion animal wellbeing.

The new grants follow the launch of the impact fund earlier this year, aimed at investing philanthropic capital targeting key themes including community resilience, scientific opportunity, and animal wellbeing, with an initial $85 million allocation between 2025 and 2027, and annual funding of at least $50 million from 2028 onwards.

The new investments, across Côte d’Ivoire, India, the U.S. and Thailand will expand community health and economic resilience for cocoa-growing and mint-farming families, build pipelines for the next generation of scientists, and drive last-mile rabies elimination, the company said.

The grants will be deployed across six strategic partnerships with organizations including Elucid, Tanager, Pratham Education Foundation, People’s Action for National Integration (PANI), National 4-H Council and Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS).

In India, the fund will provide $5.6 million to Tanager to support 20,000 mint-farming families in increasing farm income through crops other than mint, including potato, mustard and rice, the fund’s Pratham Education Foundation will support early childhood development and school readiness for children, while a complementary planned partnership with PANI will focus on combating child undernutrition and establishing sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure in rural schools.

In the U.S., the fund has committed $3 million to National 4-H Council to support up to 200,000 young people explore careers in food, agriculture and veterinary sciences through hands-on learning, leadership development and career-connected experiences.

Under the partnership with Elucid, Mars will provide $2.07 million over three years to support access to healthcare to cocoa-farming households in Côte d’Ivoire. The fund is also investing $3 million in WVS to support final-mile rabies elimination efforts in Thailand.

Earlier partnerships launched in 2026 include a $1 million grant to World Central Kitchen to support earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela, a €1.5 million grant to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings to fund global fellowships for early-career researchers, a $3 million grant to Save the Children to strengthen resilience in cocoa-growing communities in Indonesia, and a $726,000 grant to Humane World for Animals to expand equitable access to veterinary care in India and Mexico.

Michelle Grogg, Executive Director of the Mars Impact Fund, said:

“The Mars Impact Fund aims to develop long-term partnerships that deliver sustained impact over time. We are confident that these multi-year investments in Elucid, WVS, National 4-H, Tanager, Pratham Education Foundation and PANI will improve farmer livelihoods, increase opportunities for youth and improve the health of people and pets in our communities.”