Hollyhock Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Hollyhock Foundation makes grants in the areas of education, youth, and human services in California and New York.
IP TAKE: The Hollyhock Foundation does not maintain a website or provide a clear way for grantseekers to get in touch. It keeps a low public profile and does not appear to have traditional grant programs or focus areas. Networking is likely to only way for new grant seekers to get on Hollyhock’s radar.
Karr closed Joho Capital a few years ago with the intention of spending more time with family and focusing on philanthropy. In a client letter, Karr talks about inequalities in the K-12 public education system and how his foundation has "focused on giving every child access to high performing public schools and high quality teachers.” Expect the family to remain focused on this issue.
PROFILE: The Hollyhock Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of Robert Karr and his wife Suzanne. It focuses on educational access and teacher training. Raised on Bainbridge Island in Washington, Robert Karr graduated with a B.A. in economics from Stanford University in 1984 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1990. Karr ran Tiger Management in Tokyo and was principal of Joho Capital from 1996 to 2014. Karr closed Joho Capital with the intention of spending more time with family and focusing on philanthropy. He has spoken about inequalities in the K-12 public education system and described his as "focused on giving every child access to high performing public schools and high-quality teachers.”
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
Hollyhock strongly prioritizes education with their foundation; note that Suzanne’s mother was a teacher. The foundation supports and Karr chairs the board of Generation Teach, which focuses on “building the next generation of local, diverse teachers with a premier undergraduate teaching fellowship,” and Suzanne has been on the board as well.
Hollyhock is a seed funder of the Stanford Hollyhock Fellows program, which supports early-career high school teachers, Zearn, a math program, and Harvard Teaching Fellows. The foundation has also supported Suzanne’s alma mater, Williams College, where she has served on the advisory council of the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
Suzanne was a trustee of three Uncommon Collegiate Schools and St. David’s School in Manhattan, which the foundation has supported. Other grantees include Summit Public Schools, Charter School Growth Fund, and iMentor. It has also given $5.8 million to Uncommon Schools.
Grants for Community Development
Hollyhock’s community development grants support groups in California and the five boroughs of New York. The foundation has steadily supported Robin Hood Foundation. It has also given to the Environmental Defense Fund in New York, Good Shepherd Services, and Immigrant Justice Corps.
Important Grant Details:
Hollyhock has transferred almost $100 million to a donor-advised fund at Schwab, making it difficult to discern the full scope of their philanthropy. The family has also been particularly supportive of the Robin Hood Foundation.
Grants range from $5,000 up to the tens of millions, but the most common amount is $25,000.
Available tax filings indicate that the Hollyhock Foundation awarded almost $30 million in grants in a recent year. Its grantmaking prioritizes education and community development in New York and California.
It does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding and only makes grants by invitation only. Grants prioritize California and New York; however, it also does limited grantmaking in New Mexico.
PEOPLE:
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CONTACT:
The Hollyhock Foundation
55 E. 59th St., 15th Fl.
New York City, NY 10022
