Grove Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Grove Foundation supports public health, human rights, education, immigrants and refugees, women and girls, housing and environmental initiatives.
IP TAKE: Across funding areas, the Grove Foundation focuses on organizations that provide legal support and advocacy to underserved people and causes. Its grantees range from large national and international organizations to much smaller, community-oriented groups, and its geographic area of priority appears to be California.
Although it awards around $15 million a year in grants, this funder does not maintain a website or run a formal application process, making it inaccessible, unless you get on its radar through networking. Otherwise, it’s very open-minded and effective in its support.
PROFILE: Based in Los Altos, California, the Grove Foundation was established in 1986 by the late Andrew Grove, a former chair and CEO of the Intel Corporation. Grove, who was Jewish, was born in Hungary. During World War II, he and his mother took on false identities and hid with friends. In 1956, he and his family fled the Hungarian Revolution and came to the U.S., where he studied at the City College of New York and the University of California at Berkeley. He worked briefly at Fairchild Semiconductor but became involved in the establishment of Intel from its earliest days, eventually becoming the company’s chair and CEO. The Grove Foundation, which is currently led by Grove’s daughter Karen, supports public health, human rights, education, immigrants and refugees, women and girls and housing and homelessness and environmental initiatives.
Grants for Public Health
Health has been the Grove Foundation’s largest area of giving in recent years. Grantmaking tends to focus on improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare for low-income communities. Past grantees include California’s Cardea Services, the Ravenswood Family Health Center, the Asian American Health Coalition and Mississippi First. Grove himself suffered from Parkinson’s disease, and for the past several years, the foundation has donated over $2 million annually to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Another funding priority in the health arena appears to be reproductive health as the foundation gives to multiple chapters of Planned Parenthood and other women’s health organizations around the U.S. on a regular basis.
Grants for Global Security, Human Rights, Immigrant and Refugees
Human rights funding represents a significant portion of the Grove Foundation’s philanthropy, but overlaps considerably with grantmaking for immigrants and refugees. Funding generally goes to U.S. organizations that work in developing countries. Recent human rights grantees include the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, the Social Good Fund, One Justice, the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies and the International Institute of the Bay Area.
Recent grantmaking focused on the rights of immigrants and refugees in the U.S., with a specific focus on legal aid and advocacy. Grantees include San Francisco’s Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the National Immigration Law Center, Arizona’s Florence Immigration and Refugee Rights Project and the Tahirih Justice Center of Virginia.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
Education is one of the Grove Foundation’s larger areas of giving and focuses mainly on higher education. In 2005, Grove gave $26 million to his alma mater, the City College of New York, for its engineering school, which was renamed the Grove School of Engineering. The foundation has also made large donations to the University of California campuses at San Francisco and Berkeley over the years. Other education grantees include Rutgers University, the University of Washington, Cabrillo College, New York’s Genesee Valley Educational Partnership, San Mateo Community College and public schools in Redwood City and San Mateo, California.
Grants for Women and Girls
The Grove Foundation has demonstrated a commitment to women’s and girls’ causes and places a strong focus on reproductive health and freedom as well as minority women’s activist groups. Reproductive health grantees include the Reproductive Health Investors Alliance, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the Reproductive Health Access Project and Funders for Reproductive Health Equity. Other women’s groups that have received funding include Black Women for Wellness, San Francisco’s Mujeres Unidas y Activas and Teva Women United, a multiracial and multicultural organization led by Native American women.
Grants for Housing and Homelessness
The Grove Foundation funds work involved in creating and maintaining affordable housing predominantly in California. The foundation doesn’t name giving strategies or particular approaches here, preferring to keep an open mind. Past grantees include the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, LifeMoves of Menlo Park, Oakland’s Prospera Community Development Corporation.
Grants for the Environment
The Grove Foundation broadly supports environmental causes , working with a range of grantees that includes both large international initiatives and small community-led projects. Grantees include the World Wildlife Fund, Oakland’s Urban Habitat Program, the Trailhead Institute of Colorado, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, Sustainable Conservation of San Francisco and the Sierra Club Foundation.
Important Grant Details:
The Grove Foundation makes upwards of $15 million in grants each year. Grants are generally awarded in amounts up to $1 million, with an average grant size of about $50,000. California is a clear geographic priority for this funder, and many small grassroots organizations receive support over the years. For additional information about past grantees, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.
The Grove Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funding or maintain a direct avenue for getting in touch. A mailing address and telephone number are provided below.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
Grove Foundation
P.O. Box 1667
Los Altos, California 94023
(650) 523-1300
