Rock Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Rock Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of venture capitalist Arthur Rock and his wife, Toni. Grantmaking areas are education reform, legal rights, arts and culture and more. 

IP TAKE: The Rock Foundation flies well under the radar, without a notable web presence or a clear way to get in touch with the couple about grants.

PROFILE: Established in the late-1960s, the Rock Foundation is the foundation of venture capitalist Arthur Rock and his wife, longtime attorney Toni Rembe Rock. They have been in the Bay Area for decades, where the have been active in civic and philanthropic life. Their grantmaking areas of interest include education, legal rights, human services, arts and culture, health, Environment.

The Rock Foundation does not have much of a web presence or clear guidelines for grantseekers. However, one area of interest in the Bay Area is education. Last decade, the couple gave a $10 million gift to Stanford Law School to create the Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. The couple has also funded the UCSF Mission Bay Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Hall and has supported Golden Gate University. Rock and Toni have also been active in the education reform space. The couple supports Teach for America, and Rock is a co-founder and president emeritus of the BASIC fund, which provides scholarships to inner-city children in the Bay Area. Money has also gone to Bay Area outfits that work for legal rights. The personal motivations are strong, here, as Toni was one of the first women to be named partner at a major law firm in California. Rock and Toni's philanthropy also involves arts and culture outfits such as SF Ballet, SF Playhouse, American Conservatory Theatre, Museum of the African Diaspora, The Exploratorium, Asian Art Museum Foundation, and Magic Theatre, where Toni sits on the board. Grants have gone to public radio station KQED, as well as to environmental organizations, such as SF Parks Alliance.

In a recent tax year, the foundation held some $43 million in assets and gave slightly under $2 million. Review the foundation’s recent tax records to learn more about local giving. The Rock Foundation's grantmaking involves quite a few Bay Area organizations in Northern California.

The foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. The address for the foundation is 1 Maritime Plaza, Suite 1220, San Francisco, California 94111.

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