Arrillaga Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Arrillaga Foundation supports higher education, health and human services through programs operating in Menlo Park and the greater Bay Area.
IP TAKE: The Arrillaga Foundation, with only a few exceptions, is not very transparent and does not provide much information about where its grants go. The city of Menlo Park and Stanford University are important to this funder, although health organizations and human service programs see some support too. According to tax filings, the foundation accepts unsolicited LOIs. An address and phone number are provided below.
Unfortunately, the foundation’s status is unclear after John Arrillaga’s death in 2022.
PROFILE: Established in 1978, the Arrillaga Foundation is the foundation of the late John Arrillaga. With his business partner, Richard Peery, John Arrillaga made his fortune in Silicon Valley commercial real estate. Arrillaga and Peery bought farmland and transformed it into highly coveted office space that Google and Apple now call home. Arrillaga’s daughter, Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen launched her own foundation to encourage collaboration among philanthropists, but she also served as a director and board member for her father’s foundation. Arrillaga’s son, John Jr., also serves on the Arrillaga Foundation board. The founder’s grantmaking areas of interest include higher education, health organizations, human services, and programs in Menlo Park.
Grants for Higher Education, Public Health and Access, and Community Development
The foundation does not have a website to guide grantseekers. It keeps a relatively low profile about its grantmaking, with a few exceptions. Arrillaga has regularly given to John’s alma mater, Stanford University, to support university projects and student scholarships. The university is home to the Arrillaga Family Sports Center and the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center. Arrillaga gave the school $100 million in 2006 and $151 million in 2013.
In addition to Stanford, the foundation has also given over $13 million to Menlo College and $2 million to Brown University.
The foundation has also supported Menlo School in Atherton, California and the City Menlo Park to construct gyms. Embarcadero Media Foundation, Christmas Bureau of Palo Alto, Vista Center For The Blind and Visually Impaired, and the San Francisco Ballet have also seen support.
Important Grant Details
This foundation often makes million-dollar grants, and the foundation’s annual giving is often between $1 million and $5 million. It typically makes between 25 and 50 grants per year. Learn more about local giving by examining the funder’s recent tax records. The San Francisco Bay area is a big giving priority, but the funder is known to support causes outside the region as well.
It does not appear that this foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits. The phone number for the foundation is 650-618-7000.
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CONTACT:
2450 Watson Ct
Palo Alto, CA 94303-3216
650-618-7000
