McMurtry Family Foundation of 2003

OVERVIEW: The McMurtry Family Foundation of 2003 is the philanthropic vehicle of veteran venture capitalist Burt McMurtry and his family. The foundation's Bay Area grantmaking supports local schools, arts and culture organizations and health and human services groups. 

IP TAKE: The foundation keeps a low profile and does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals. Networking will be key to getting on this funder's radar. Unfortunately, the foundation lacks transparency and does not maintain a website.

PROFILE: Established in 2003, the McMurtry Family Foundation of 2003 if the foundation of Burton J. McMurtry, a veteran Silicon Valley venture capitalist investor. His firms support companies including Adaptec, Altera, Compaq, and Intuit. McMurtry and his family have directed some of their wealth towards philanthropy in the fields of education and youth, health, human services and arts and culture.

According to past tax filings, the foundation has funded Stanford University, home to the McMurtry Building for the Department of Art & Art History, which provides unified facilities for art history, art practice and film programs. The family has also supported Stanford's Haas Center for Public Service, Cantor Arts Center, and Hoover Institution, where McMurtry sits on the board.  Other Bay Area education grantees include Menlo-Atherton High School, UC Berkeley, and Eastside College Preparatory School. 

Foundation grants tend to range from $5,000 to $100,000. Apart from education, the McMurtrys, via their foundation, support a mix of arts, health, and human services organizations in the Bay Area. Past grantees include Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Exploratorium, Wildaid, Peninsula Open Space Trust, the Canary Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. Review the funder’s recent tax records to learn more about local giving.

Some of the family's giving takes place in Texas, where the family strongly has supported Rice University. Away from Texas, though, a good portion of the McMurtry Foundation's grantmaking involves the Bay Area.

The McMurtry Foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. The telephone number for the foundation is 941-485-8220.

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