Girard Foundation: Grants for San Diego

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OVERVIEW: This private family funder supports K-12 and early childhood education focusing mainly on San Diego County, California. It seeks to improve student outcomes and facilitate career readiness among students.

IP TAKE: The Girard Foundation “seeks grantees that bring innovative ideas, that clearly articulate their vision and solutions, and that see technology as a tool to advance learning and education to be more powerful and effective.” Most of its grants support K-12 initiatives and schools in the San Diego area, but it has recently branched out to early childhood education and to organizations in New York and elsewhere. Girard does not run an application program, but reach out via email with questions and ideas if you think your organization is a good match.

PROFILE: The Girard Foundation, established in 1986, is a private foundation based in La Jolla, California. It seeks to “foster innovation and systemic change in K-12 education, with the goal of improving student outcomes in San Diego County and beyond.” Grantmaking targets students “facing the greatest obstacles, obtain the education and training they need to access economic opportunity and lead a fulfilling life” and takes a “venture philanthropy approach to fund scalable innovations that increase quality learning and training opportunities for all young people.” A majority of its grantmaking supports education in San Diego County, but recent giving has also supported organizations working nationally, in New York and in a handful of other locations in the U.S.

Grants for K-12 Education, Work and Opportunity

Girard’s giving for K-12 education stems from its Innovative Learning and Career Readiness initiatives.

  • The Innovative Learning giving area specifically targets “programs that combine best practices in education with emerging technologies to improve the educational experience.” Priorities for this grantmaking include personalized learning experiences, “student autonomy,” support for teachers, community and family involvement in education and underserved students and communities.

    Related grants have supported individual schools in San Diego including King Chavez Community High School, the Darnall Charter School and Old Town Academy. Other grants have supported Digital Promise, a Seattle-based organization that works globally to “scale up innovations that empower learners, especially those who’ve been historically and systematically excluded,” and San Diego’s Elementary Institute of Science, which runs in- and out-of-school programs that “broaden access to quality STEM experiences, foster critical thinking, expand technical skills and encourage students to pursue STEM careers.”

  • A separate initiative for Career Readiness supports K-12 “projects that encourage active career exploration and that focus on the real-world demands of the economy.” Funding also goes to programs that help students acquire in-demand vocational and technology skills.

    Grants have supported Junior Achievement of San Diego, Bay Vista Methodist Heights Creating Code Careers for San Diegans and career development programs at New York’s Vertex Partnership Academies.

Grants for Early Childhood Education

The Girard Foundation makes grants for early childhood education via its newer Early Impact giving area, which seeks “to establish partnerships with organizations that work in the preschool space and that provide pre-schoolers with the tools and opportunities necessary to thrive in an ever-changing world.” The focus of this giving is on equitable and accessible programs that support kindergarten readiness and subsequent academic success.

Related grants have supported YMCA of San Diego County, Reading Legacies and the Library Association of La Jolla.

Grants for Arts and Culture

This funder does not name arts and culture as areas of interest, but each year several grants provide general support to arts organizations in the San Diego area. Grantees include the Old Globe Theatre, the La Jolla Playhouse, the Mingei International Museum and the La Jolla Music Society.

Important Grant Details

The Girard Foundation’s grants range from $1,000 to about $230,000.

  • K-12 education is this funder’s largest area of giving, but it has recently begun giving for equitable early childhood education opportunities.

  • More than half of all grants support organizations based in San Diego County.

  • This funder does not accept unsolicited requests for funding.

  • For additional information about past grants, see the foundation’s Featured Grantees and List of Grantees pages.

Direct general questions to info@girardfoundation.org or (858) 551-0881. The address is 2223 Avenida de la Playa, Suite 203, La Jolla, California 92037.

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