Joan and Lewis Platt Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Joan and Lewis Platt Foundation supports human rights and women’s and girls’ causes. 

IP TAKE: This low-profile funder supports human rights and women’s and girls’ causes with grants of up to $50,000. Funding is global in scope, with several grants going to organizations working in Africa and the Middle East. 

The Platt Foundation does not accept unsolicited applications for funding and does not maintain a website. Contact information is provided below. 

PROFILE: The Joan and Lewis Platt Foundation was established in 2007 and is based in Portola Valley, California. Lewis Platt, who died in 2005, was a former chair, president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Joan, who died in 2020, was a philanthropist who served on the International Board of Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights Center at the University of California at Berkeley, the Global Fund for Children and Philanthropy Workshop West. During their lifetimes, the couple funded the Lewis and Joan Platt East Palo Alto YMCA. Their foundation supports organizations that advocate for human rights, with an emphasis on women and children. This funder does not maintain a website.  

Grants for Women and Girls

The Platt Foundation does not outline specific goals for its grantmaking in this area. It appears to prefer a broad approach to grantmaking in this space in order to consider a wider array of projects and programs. Past grantees include the Global Fund for Women’s work to end human trafficking and the African organization Tostan’s campaigns to end genital mutilation. 

Grants for Global Security and Human Rights

Human rights are the foundation’s main grantmaking focus. While the foundation does not name specific goals for its grantmaking, it has supported leading global organizations working in this area. Recent grantees include Asylum Access, the Fund for Global Human Rights, the Global Fund for Children and Just Vision, which works toward conflict resolution and peace building in Palestine and Israel. 

Important Grant Details:

The Joan and Lewis Platt Foundation makes about $150,000 a year in grants ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Grantees tend to be large, well-known organizations in the field of human rights. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent tax filings. 

This grantmaker does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation can be reached by telephone at 650-529-3499, and a mailing address is provided below. 

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CONTACT:

Joan and Lewis Platt Foundation 

127 Pinion Dr. 

Portola Valley, CA 94028-7323

(650) 529-3499