OVERVIEW: The NoVo Foundation seeks to transform society from one based on dominance to one based on equality. It recently underwent a comprehensive restructuring.
IP TAKE: The NoVo Foundation is a progressive, highly relationship-driven private foundation led by Jennifer and Peter Buffett. Once best known for expansive support of women and girls, gender justice and movement building, NoVo now operates with a broader—and less clearly defined—funding strategy.
After relocating from New York City to Kingston, New York, the foundation committed to a decade of local investment while “re-orienting” its broader work. Its stated mission remains rooted in a “holistic, interconnected and healing vision for humanity,” but its grantmaking is now expressed less through formal programs than through direct grants, trusted intermediaries, place-based initiatives and foundation-run food and agriculture projects.
NoVo no longer publishes conventional national program areas, detailed guidelines or application calendars. It continues to support women and girls, alongside Indigenous sovereignty, regenerative agriculture, food sovereignty, community resilience and people affected by incarceration. Grantseekers should not rely on its former program structure as a complete picture of current giving.
The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, letters of inquiry or funding requests. Its latest Form 990-PF states that grants go only to preselected organizations. A cold proposal—or a funding request submitted through the general contact form—is unlikely to help.
The most realistic path is through sustained participation in movements, coalitions, local networks and intermediary organizations NoVo already supports. Kingston-based groups have a somewhat clearer opening: NoVo welcomes information about emerging local work, provided the introduction is brief, community-centered and not framed as a formal proposal. For most nonprofits, NoVo is better monitored than pursued directly.
PROFILE: The NoVo Foundation was established in 2006 by Jennifer and Peter Buffett after Peter’s father, Warren Buffett, pledged approximately $1 billion for their philanthropy. The foundation originally placed women and girls at the center of its work, arguing that investments in their power and leadership could strengthen families, communities and societies. For years, the foundation operated through clearly defined portfolios and signature initiatives focused on adolescent girls, Indigenous communities, ending violence against women and girls, social and emotional learning, and movement building.
In 2024, NoVo reframed its priorities for what it called “the most unstable time since the Civil War,” warning that historically marginalized communities faced increasingly precarious conditions. The foundation described its role as supporting people and organizations that could serve as “lifeboats through turbulent times,” with an emphasis on “women and children first.” Following a major restructuring, NoVo no longer publishes conventional national program areas, detailed grant guidelines or application calendars. Its grantmaking is preselected and increasingly flows through longstanding relationships, intermediary funds, community institutions, fiscally sponsored projects and place-based initiatives.
NoVo’s current public language is deliberately broad, emphasizing children, land, community, health, well-being and personal agency. Its priorities are now easier to discern through recent grants and direct charitable activities than through formal program pages. Recent Form 990 filings suggest continued interest in women and children, Indigenous communities, regenerative agriculture and food systems, community resilience, health, housing, and place-based work in Kingston and New York’s Hudson Valley.
Observed Grantmaking Categories:
Grants for Women, Girls and Gender Justice
Women, girls and gender-expansive people remain important within NoVo’s grantmaking, although the foundation no longer presents this work as one centralized program.
- Recent funding suggests an emphasis on grassroots leadership, movement infrastructure, community-controlled philanthropy, ending gender-based violence and organizations led by people directly affected by incarceration and other systems of oppression.
- A major current partner is Women Building Up, a Brooklyn-based philanthropic and movement organization created by and for women, girls and gender-expansive people directly affected by carceral systems.
- Women Building Up funds grassroots efforts locally, nationally and internationally, while also convening movement leaders and providing community space.
- In 2025, it distributed $2 million among more than 20 organizations, with over 65% of its grantmaking supporting organizations led by people directly affected by incarceration and carceral systems. NoVo reported a $20 million grant to Women Building Up in 2024.
- Grantseekers should not confuse Women Building Up with NoVo’s former Women’s Building project. Women Building Up is an active, independent organization and regranting partner.
- No current standing application process is visible on its website, so organizations should monitor Women Building Up directly for future funding opportunities rather than contacting NoVo about its grant decisions.
- NoVo also reported a $19.3 million 2024 grant to Tides Foundation for the Advancing Girls Fund.
- This indicates that NoVo continues to support girls’ rights and leadership through an intermediary structure. However, there are no currently available public application dates and guidelines.
- Grantseekers should not assume that this Fund is continuously open or that an application submitted through older online materials will be considered.
- Other recent grantees working in this broad area include Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, North Star Fund, Thousand Currents and Columbia University’s Women Transcending initiative. These grants point toward continued interest in gender justice, grassroots power, movement leadership and work involving women and girls affected by structural inequities.
Grants for Regenerative Food and Agriculture
Regenerative agriculture, local food systems and relationships among land, food and community are major components of NoVo’s current work. This funding includes both grants to independent organizations and substantial foundation-operated activities in the Hudson Valley.
- The Hudson Valley Farm Hub is a NoVo subsidiary operating on approximately 1,600 acres in Hurley, New York. It provides professional farmer training, hosts and supports agricultural research and offers educational resources related to regenerative agriculture, ecology and food production. NoVo reported nearly $15.9 million in 2024 expenses for the Farm Hub. The Farm Hub is a direct charitable activity and operating organization—not an open NoVo grant program.
- NoVo also operates or develops Milestone Mill and Crop Shop Hudson Valley. Milestone Mill is intended to process and distribute locally produced wheat, rye, corn and beans, while Crop Shop is designed to provide regional vegetable processing for farmers and institutional purchasers. The foundation reported approximately $2.1 million in 2024 expenses for Milestone Mill and $1.4 million for Crop Shop. These are food-system infrastructure projects, not grant competitions.
- Recent independent grantees in agriculture, food systems and land include the Land Institute, the Berry Center, the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, Rockefeller Family Fund’s New Perennials Project and several Indigenous food-sovereignty organizations.
- Strong prospects are likely to connect ecological stewardship with community control, farmer viability, food access, cultural knowledge or regional economic resilience.
Grants for Indigenous Communities
NoVo has a long history of supporting Indigenous-led work and continues to make significant grants involving Indigenous sovereignty, rights, leadership, culture, land and community well-being. The strongest prospects are generally organizations led by Indigenous people and accountable to the communities they serve.
- In 2024, NoVo awarded $10 million to Tides Center for One Generation. One Generation works alongside Indigenous individuals and collectives to advance sovereignty, rights, education, governance, health, economic development, holistic wellness and intergenerational leadership.
- The legal recipient listed in NoVo’s filing is Tides Center, indicating that the grant operated through a fiscal-sponsorship or intermediary structure.
- One Generation is not a formal NoVo program or an open NoVo application channel.
- Other significant recent Indigenous-focused grantees include Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, First Nations Development Institute, Cultural Survival, Indian Land Tenure Foundation and RSF Social Finance for the Pawanka Fund.
- These relationships suggest that Indigenous-led intermediaries and established movement networks may be among the most realistic pathways through which smaller organizations become visible to NoVo.
- These organizations don’t operate a formal referral process to the foundation.
Grants for Kingston, New York
NoVo in Kingston, a branch of the NoVo Foundation, was established in 2023 with the purchase of what was known as Gill Farm and its transition to the Hudson Valley Farm Hub. The purpose of NoVo Kingston is to provide funding to local nonprofits providing direct services to the greater Kingston community.
- NoVo in Kingston prioritizes general operating support for trusted organizations serving historically and continually marginalized communities, as well as initiatives intended to strengthen Kingston’s long-term resilience. Its work includes direct services, housing, health, youth development, food access, community media, arts and culture, neighborhood infrastructure and systems-building.
- Capital projects include the Broadway Bubble laundromat and community hub, Greenkill House youth space, Radio Kingston studios, Pine Street Family Health Center, a commercial community kitchen, the restoration of the historic Burger-Matthews House, residential property rehabilitation and the redevelopment of the former Metro factory. Some properties are owned by NoVo, while others are owned and operated by community partners.
- Recent Kingston and Hudson Valley grants include $8.3 million to Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley for Radio Kingston, $5 million to RUPCO for housing support, approximately $2.7 million to the Institute for Family Health for the Pine Street clinic, $1.5 million to Samadhi and $1 million each to People’s Place and the Ashokan Center.
- NoVo in Kingston does not accept unsolicited proposals. It does, however, invite local organizations and community members to introduce emerging work and share information about efforts that could strengthen Kingston. This contact should be treated as a community introduction—not as permission to submit a proposal or funding request.
- Kingston-area organizations may contact NoVo in Kingston at info@novoinkingston.org to share information about local or emerging work. This is not an application channel.
Grants for Children, Health and Well-Being
NoVo’s current language places particular emphasis on children’s joy, wonder and curiosity, along with adults’ health, well-being and agency. The foundation does not publish a stand-alone child development or health program, but recent projects demonstrate continued interest in childcare, youth development, family health and community institutions.
- Examples include the Pine Street Family Health Center, Greenkill House for older youth, a potential community-based childcare program in Kingston and support for organizations providing housing, food, health and other community resources.
- Prospective grantees should demonstrate more than the delivery of isolated services; the strongest fit appears to involve durable, community-rooted systems and institutions.
- The foundation appears to prioritize Waldorf and Rudolf Steiner Schools and has supported the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City, the Lakota Waldorf School in South Dakota, the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge, New York and the Mountain Laurel Waldorf School in New Paltz.
- NoVo also regularly supports multiple chapters of Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCA organizations in the Hudson Valley as well as places like South Dakota and Oklahoma.
Other opportunities
Intermediaries and Regranting Organizations
A substantial share of NoVo’s funding moves through intermediaries, regranting organizations and fiscal sponsors. These structures allow NoVo to support grassroots organizations, movements and projects that may not receive grants directly from the foundation.
- Important recent examples include Tides Foundation for the Advancing Girls Fund, Tides Center for One Generation, Women Building Up, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, First Nations Development Institute, North Star Fund, Thousand Currents and RSF Social Finance for the Pawanka Fund.
- These organizations may offer grant opportunities, fiscal sponsorship, convenings or other forms of movement support under their own guidelines. They should not be presented as automatic entry points to NoVo, and a relationship with one does not guarantee consideration by the foundation. Nevertheless, organizations already doing credible work within these networks are more likely to become visible than nonprofits relying on cold outreach.
Important Grant Details:
The NoVo Foundation’s 2024 Form 990-PF reported approximately $937.8 million in total assets and $252.5 million in charitable disbursements. The NoVo Foundation made 508 grants in the same filing, with a median award of $150,000 and a range of approximately $5,000 to $20 million. The 2024 grant list records $14 million to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, with the purpose identified as “Donor Advised Fund.”
- The U.S. is the main focus of NoVo’s giving, but community, environmental and Indigenous groups in Canada also receive support. Less often, the foundation supports groups that conduct work internationally in Africa, Latin America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Europe.
- Notable 2024 grants include:
- $20 million to Women Building Up
- $19.3 million to Tides Foundation for the Advancing Girls Fund
- $14 million to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors for a donor-advised fund
- $10 million to Tides Center for One Generation
- $8.3 million to Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley for Radio Kingston
- $5 million to RUPCO for housing support
- Approximately $2.7 million to the Institute for Family Health for the Pine Street Family Health Center
- Approximately $2.3 million to Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples
- The foundation may be contacted via a form at the bottom of its webpage or via telephone at (212) 808-5400.
- Contact NoVo in Kingston using the form on its contact page.
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