Troper Wojcicki Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Troper Wojcicki Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to education, Jewish causes, global development, and the environment. It also earmarks funds for various causes in the Bay Area.
IP TAKE: The Troper Wojcicki Foundation is the personal foundation of Susan Wojcicki, one half of IP’s “2023 Philanthropic Siblings of the Year,” and her husband, Dennis Troper. It keeps a low public profile, which limits information about its grantmaking priorities and activities. Additionally, it pre-selects its recipient organizations and does not accept unsolicited applications for funding. Most grants stay in California; however, the foundation has supported select organizations across the country and around the world from time to time. An inaccessible funder, the foundation does not provide a clear way to get in touch. We have provided a mailing address and phone number below; nevertheless, networking is the best way to get on Troper Wojcicki’s radar.
PROFILE: Established in 2005, the Troper Wojcicki Foundation is the private foundation of former Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki and her husband Dennis Troper, Director of Product Management at Google. They are both Giving Pledge Signatories. Susan Wojcicki is an older sister of 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe founder. Susan graduated from Harvard with an A.B., received her M.S. in economics from University of California, Santa Cruz, and received her MBA from UCLA in 1998. She worked at Intel and Bain & Co. before joining Google as one of its first employees. She advocated for Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube in 2006 and served as CEO of YouTube for almost a decade.
The foundation does not maintain a website, which makes it difficult to locate further information on its priority areas and grantmaking strategies. Tax filings suggest that the Troper Wojcicki Foundation prioritizes grantmaking related to education, Jewish causes, global development, and the environment. It also earmarks funds for various causes in the Bay Area.
Grants for Higher and STEM Education
Some of the foundation’s largest grants have gone to education organizations. The foundation has given at least $3 million to Johns Hopkins University and $1.3 million to Stanford University over the years. Susan strongly supports her schools Harvard and UCLA. Other grantees include Berklee College of Music, Menlo School, Code.org, and Computer History Museum.
Grants for Jewish Causes
It is worth noting that Susan's maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants who eventually landed in Southern California, and she identifies as Jewish. The foundation has primarily supported Jewish causes in the Bay Area, but it has supported a few groups in Israel.
Previous grantees include Oshman Family JCC, Gideon Housner Jewish Day School, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Berkeley Hillel, Chabad Jewish Student Center, Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Congregation Emek Beracha, Congregation Kol Emeth, Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, and Camp Tawonga, a Jewish Summer Camp.
The foundation has supported Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and it has been a steady supporter of the Anti-Defamation League.
Grants for Bay Area and Community Development
The Troper Wojcicki Foundation is based in the Bay Area and supports more organizations there than in any other geographic location. The types of nonprofits who have seen support here range from arts and culture groups to homeless shelters and food banks.
Local grantees include Computer History Museum, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, San Diego Foundation, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Bay Area Friendship Circle, Silicon Valley Education Foundation, and Hamilton Families, an organization focused on homelessness.
Grants for Global Health and Development, Immigrants and Refugees
Troper Wojcicki’s international grantmaking is not a robust funding area; however, the types of organizations it has given to are diverse, not limited to one geographic region or cause.
Global health organizations that have seen support include Doctors without Borders, Global Aids Interfaith Alliance, Beyond Fistula, and Himalayan Cataract Project.
It has also given to immigrant and refugees groups, including Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project and The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
Other groups include Vital Voices Global Partnership, Population Services International, Water.org, Playpumps International, Rainforest Trust, Amigos of Costa Rica, International Rescue Committee, and Room to Read, which works to improve literacy and gender equality in education in the developing world. It has also given to CAMFED, which seeks to eliminate poverty in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi.
Grants for Public Health and Access
The foundation does not regularly give to health organizations serving populations in the United States; however, it has supported Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and Partners In Health, which received a $1 million grant in 2021.
Grants for Environment, Animal Welfare and Wildlife
Environment justice and conservation are two other funding interests that regularly see support, as is animal welfare. Past grantees include Friends of the Osa Earthjustice, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, Heifer Project International, Nine Lives Foundation, Marine Conservation Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Cleanup North Pacific Foundation.
Important Grant Details
Grants range from $1,000 to $1 million, with $10,000 as the most common amount. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $11 million. Learn more about past local giving in the funder's recent tax records.
The Troper Wojcicki Foundation keeps a low profile, and it does not accept unsolicited proposals.
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CONTACT:
Troper Wojcicki Foundation
171 Main St Ste 259
Los Altos, CA 94023
650-704-6017
