Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund

OVERVIEW: The San Francisco-based Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund supports democracy and civil liberties, civic education, environmental initiatives, Jewish community organizations, and reproductive health and rights. It also makes invitation-only grants for health and recreation, San Francisco Bay Area institutions and projects, and special projects and initiatives.

IP TAKE: The Goldman Fund is a San Francisco–based family foundation that supports organizations enhance society. Goldman grantees range from well-established national organizations to small local upstarts. This funder accepts letters of inquiry at any time via its website.

This is a good prospect for organizations that closely match one of Goldman’s five open strategic priorities, particularly nonprofits working nationally or across multiple states. The Fund provides a clear point of entry: eligible organizations may submit an LOI at any time, with promising applicants invited to submit a full proposal. Grantseekers should pay close attention to the Fund’s strict geographic and program requirements; broad alignment with democracy, education, climate, Jewish life or reproductive rights is not enough. Local Bay Area organizations may also receive substantial support, but much of that grantmaking occurs through separate invitation-only or relationship-based channels. For open programs, a strong LOI demonstrating exact strategic fit is the most practical way onto Goldman’s radar.

PROFILE: Established in 1992, the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund is a San Francisco-based family foundation with longstanding ties to Bay Area philanthropy. Douglas Goldman is the son of Richard and Rhoda Goldman, heirs to the Levi Strauss fortune and major San Francisco philanthropists. After Richard Goldman died in 2011, roughly $280 million in assets from his foundation were divided among the couple’s three children. Goldman is the founder and chairman of Certain, Inc., a San Francisco software company. His civic and philanthropic leadership has included serving as president of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, chairing the Stern Grove Festival Association, and sitting on the board of the University of California Berkeley Foundation.

The foundation accepts requests in five areas: Democracy & Civil Liberties, Civic Education, Environment, Jewish Community, and Reproductive Health & Rights. Three other areas—Health & Recreation, San Francisco Bay Area Institutions & Projects, and Special Projects & Initiatives—are considered by invitation only.

Grants for Democracy and Civil Liberties

Democracy and civil liberties is a national and multistate funding program focused on protecting participation in democratic institutions and responding to threats to civil liberties.

Current strategies include:
- Protecting voting rights and expanding access to voting
- Reducing the influence of money in politics
- Strengthening policy and education efforts to prevent gun violence
Projects must operate nationally or in multiple states. Goldman says it does not currently accept applications in this area for projects confined to a single city or state.
Recent grantees illustrate a mix of litigation, policy advocacy, voter engagement, election administration and movement infrastructure. They include Protect Democracy Project, League of Women Voters Education Fund, Issue One, Verified Voting Foundation, Maplight, State Democracy Defenders Fund and Global Action on Gun Violence. Recent listed grants range from $75,000 to $150,000 among these examples.
Goldman also makes larger funder-directed democracy investments. Its Defending American Democracy Emergency Initiative awarded $975,000 among seven organizations working on legal strategies, pro-democracy movement-building and state-level protection of democratic freedoms. Grantees included American Oversight, Democracy Forward Foundation, Protect Democracy Project and the League of Women Voters Education Fund.
This program is a strong prospect for national and multistate nonprofits using litigation, policy advocacy, public education, research, coalition building and civic engagement to address Goldman’s stated democracy concerns.

Grants for Civic Education

Goldman’s current education priority is Civic Education, rather than general K-12 education or literacy. Its goal is to advance civic education for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Funding supports:
- State- and national-level efforts to prioritize civic education
- Professional development that expands teachers’ knowledge of civics and improves their ability to teach the subject effectively
Projects must operate nationally, regionally or in multiple states. The fund does not currently accept applications for single-city or single-state civic education projects.
Recent examples include iCivics, which received $100,000 for a professional-learning program for K-12 civics teachers, and CivXNow, which received $100,000 for work supporting state civic-learning coalitions, policy development and other national civic education priorities.
Grantseekers should not confuse this open program with the broader Education and Literacy category that still appears in Goldman’s historical grants database. That database includes longstanding and relationship-based grants to universities and other educational institutions that do not necessarily reflect the current open Civic Education strategy. For example, the fund’s recent-grants page lists a $10 million grant to UC Berkeley’s Cal Athletics for a basketball practice facility under Education and Literacy. This should not be taken as evidence of an open higher-education funding program.

Grants for Environmental Conservation and Climate Change

Goldman’s environmental program currently operates through two strategies, both related to climate change and natural resources.

The first seeks to promote industry practices that mitigate climate change and protect natural resources. This strategy supports sustainable practices throughout product lifecycles and efforts to shift markets toward environmentally responsible materials and reduced use of harmful chemicals. Projects must operate nationally or in multiple states.
The second strategy supports nature-based solutions to the climate crisis, with particular interest in protecting ecosystems that sequester carbon, including primary forests, and engaging Indigenous communities in climate solutions. Projects may operate internationally, nationally or in California.
Recent grants illustrate Goldman’s interest in market change, plastics and petrochemicals, food waste, forests and Indigenous-led conservation. Recent grantees include Clearya, Food Recovery Network, Rainforest Foundation US, Replate, Story of Stuff Project and As You Sow.

Organizations working primarily on local conservation should review the guidelines carefully. A Bay Area location alone does not establish fit with the open environmental program. National and multistate industry-change work and qualifying nature-based climate strategies are more directly aligned with the fund’s current published priorities.

Grants for Jewish Causes

Goldman seeks to support a vibrant, inclusive and safe Jewish community, with funding available for projects in the San Francisco Bay Area and for work implemented nationally. The fund does not currently accept applications for projects confined to another single region.

Its current strategies are to:
- Combat antisemitism and discrimination against Israel through education, advocacy and communications concerning Jews, Judaism and Israel
- Engage Jewish communities in climate change, voting access, gun violence prevention, and reproductive health and rights
- Support innovative and experiential projects that enhance Judaism’s relevance in contemporary life
Recent grantees include the Bay Area Center to Counter Antisemitism, which received $125,000 in general support; Bay Area Jewish Camp Collective, which received $50,000 for Israel education and programming; Blue Compass, which received $50,000 in startup support; and a BBYO regional program supporting experiential civic education for Jewish teens.
The Fund also makes major relationship-based commitments to Jewish institutions. It has highlighted a $12 million commitment to Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco for renovation and modernization of its historic synagogue. Such large institutional grants should be distinguished from the kinds of requests available through the open Jewish Community program.
Goldman also states that it will not award grants to organizations that advocate for, engage in or endorse antisemitic policies or actions or that question the legitimacy of Israel as a secure, independent and democratic Jewish state. Prospective applicants should review the foundation’s complete Eligibility & Fit language before applying.

Grants for Reproductive Health and Rights

Goldman’s reproductive health and rights program focuses specifically on protecting and expanding abortion access by strengthening the abortion service-delivery ecosystem.

Current strategies include:
- Advancing and expanding access to medication abortion
- Improving abortion seekers’ ability to access care
Eligible projects may operate nationally, regionally, in California, or across multiple states. The fund does not currently accept applications for projects operating in only one state unless that state is California.
Recent grantees include Plan C, which received $125,000 in general support, and the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, which received $100,000 in project support. The fund has also backed newer abortion-access organizations, including the Red Tent Fund, which received $175,000 in startup/general support to provide financial assistance to people seeking abortions.
This is a particularly strong prospect for organizations working on medication abortion, practical abortion access, service delivery, abortion-fund infrastructure, interstate access and related policy or systems work. General women-and-girls programming without a direct connection to the fund’s reproductive health strategy is less likely to fit.

Invitation-Only Grantmaking

Goldman considers funding in three additional areas by invitation only:

Health & Recreation: The grants database contains significant historical funding for health, recreation and related institutions, but Goldman does not currently solicit applications in this area. One major highlighted investment is the Lisa and Douglas Goldman Tennis Center in Golden Gate Park, supported with more than $6.6 million.

San Francisco Bay Area Institutions & Projects: This category accounts for some of Goldman’s highly visible local philanthropy. Recent listed grants include $1 million in exhibition support to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and $75,000 in capital support to WildCare. These awards demonstrate the fund’s continued commitment to Bay Area institutions, but organizations cannot submit unsolicited requests through this program.

Special Projects & Initiatives: Goldman also initiates special responses to emerging issues. These have included democracy-focused initiatives and emergency grantmaking. The foundation does not publish an open application process for this category, so grantseekers should regard it as funder-directed unless a specific opportunity is announced.

Important Grant Details:

Its 2024 Form 990-PF reported about $266.3 million in net assets, according to IRS data compiled by ProPublica. The fund reports that it paid $14.4 million in grants to 194 nonprofit organizations in 2025.

The Goldman Fund accepts unsolicited letters of inquiry for its five open program areas. There are no application deadlines, and requests are accepted throughout the year. Each organization may submit only one request per year. If a letter of inquiry advances, Goldman contacts the applicant and invites it to submit a full proposal. Unsolicited full proposals are therefore not accepted. The board generally considers grant requests four times per year.
The foundation also makes Annual Grants, a designation that appears throughout its searchable database. Goldman explicitly states that it does not accept applications for Annual Grants. Grantseekers should therefore avoid treating every recurring or historical grantee in the database as evidence of an open funding opportunity.
Organizations that fit one of Goldman’s five open priorities do not need to secure an invitation before approaching the fund. The most practical first step is to review the current program and geographic requirements closely and submit a focused Letter of Inquiry. The LOI asks for basic organizational information, a project description of no more than two pages, the requested amount, an itemized project budget and information about committed and pending project funding.
For additional information, see the foundation’s searchable Grants Database, Recent Grants and Grant Highlights.
The Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund accepts letters of inquiry at any time, but asks that applicants review its eligibility requirements and FAQ before submitting letters.
Grant-related questions may also be directed through the fund’s Contact Us page. The fund lists grantsmanager@ldgfund.org and 415-771-1717 for inquiries.

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