How Jordan and Sarah Hymowitz Give in the Bay Area
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Congregation Emanu-El is among several Jewish organizations that commonly RECEIVE funding. Philippe Gregori/shutterstock
Jordan Hymowitz is a managing partner at Philadelphia Financial, and Sarah Hymowitz is the vice president of protein sciences at Genentech. The couple created their own philanthropic foundation in 2012. They maintain a low profile with their giving, but have emerged as significant Bay Area funders.
Here’s what we know so far about the Hymowitz Family Foundation (HFF) and how it gives to groups in and around San Francisco.
Giving for Jewish organizations
Jordan and Sarah Hymowitz identify with the Jewish faith and regularly give to religious organizations. To start with, they support their temple, Congregation Emanu-El, in San Francisco. Congregation Beth Tovim and the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco have also received HFF grants. Each year, the couple spreads their giving around to Jewish-affiliated community organizations as well, such as the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco and Jewish Family & Children’s Services. Jordan Hymowitz has recently worked with Jewish leaders in the community to bring Israel programming back to his San Francisco synagogue and overcome political debates to support Israel and help Israelis understand how Jews in the U.S. feel about issues in Israel.
An education focus
HFF commonly awards grants to educational institutions in the Bay Area, and almost all of these institutions have Jewish affiliations. Past grantees include the Jewish Institute of Religion and the Brandeis School of San Francisco. Education giving tends to follow personal family connections. For example, Sarah Hymowitz graduated from USCF, a past grantee of the couple’s foundation.
Other interests
HFF has supported various other causes over the years. It has awarded grants to arts and cultural organizations, such as the American Conservatory Theater, and human services groups like the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. HFF has supported the San Francisco General Hospital in the past as well.
Other San Francisco groups that have recently received HFF support include Huckleberry Youth Programs, Harper for Kids and Muttville. HFF awards grants for a variety of purposes, including general operating support, unrestricted support, capital campaigns, charitable events, new programs, specific funds and hardship assistance.
Seeking funding
The Hymowitz couple are still engaged in their careers and appear to pursue philanthropy on a part-time basis for now. Foundation Source handles the administration of HFF, and Jordan and Sarah Hymowitz serve as the only co-presidents and directors of the foundation. There are no staff members at HFF. In a recent year, HFF awarded over $125,000 in grants, with most of those grants being between $200 and $75,000 each. The funder tends to award numerous small grants rather than just a couple large ones each year.
Transparency is limited at HFF. The foundation does not accept unsolicited grant requests, maintain a website or make its grantmaking procedures publicly known. Read more about this funder in IP’s full profile of the Hymowitz Family Foundation in our Bay Area & NorCal Funding Guide.
