The Flora Family Foundation makes grants in two categories -- individually sponsored grants and program-related grants.  Individually sponsored grants of $25,000 or more must be approved by the Board.  These are called Board Grants.  Individually sponsored grants under $25,000 are reviewed and approved by the Foundation president, pursuant to a delegation of authority from the Board.  These are called Council Grants.  All other grants of the Foundation are approved by the Board through the Foundation’s four program areas: the Gap Program, the Climate Protection Program, the Marine Conservation Initiative and the Black Maternal Health Initiative. 

The Gap Program addresses the gulf in wealth between the world’s rich and poor.  The Gap Program supports community-based groups and nongovernmental organizations that seek to improve the lives of the poor in selected developing settings. 

The Climate Protection Program focuses on ways to slow emissions of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere and to speed the transition to a clean energy economy.

The Marine Conservation Initiative supports research and projects with global implications for ocean health. 

The Black Maternal Health Initiative focuses on addressing the disparity in health outcomes for Black women in California.

The Foundation has no geographic or subject area constraints on grantmaking as long as the grant opportunities fit the philanthropic interests of the Family Council and meet IRS requirements.  By necessity, this open-ended approach requires that all of the Foundation's grantmaking must be done on a strictly invitational basis. We regret that we are unable to consider unsolicited requests for support.

In its grantmaking decisions as well as in its interests and activities, the Flora Family Foundation is wholly independent of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Hewlett-Packard Company, and the Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation. 

The Flora Family Foundation has committed a substantial carve-out within its endowment for investments that can both achieve market-like, risk-adjusted returns and advance the Foundation’s mission to address social and environmental problems.  Investments touch domains including green technology, affordable housing, health care for the poor, community development, education, and financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises.  Funds are active both in the U.S. and across the world.  The foundation has established performance targets pegged to appropriate benchmarks.  The portfolio has consistently achieved the foundation’s goals both with respect to financial returns and social and environmental impacts. 

The Foundation does not consider unsolicited inquiries from investment firms.

2023 Year in Review

At the beginning of every year, about 60% of the foundation’s grants budget is assigned to individual allocations for grantmaking. Each member of the 33-person Family Council and Board receives the same allocation. The remaining 40% of the grants budget is designated for the foundation’s four program initiative areas ­- the Gap Program, the Climate Protection Program, the Marine Conservation Initiative, and the Black Maternal Health Initiative. Over the course of a year, it is common for Family Council and Board members to commit some portion of their allocations to programs or initiatives. By the end of the year, this typically yields a roughly equal split between individually and collectively sponsored grants.

In 2023, 135 grants were awarded: 35% of the grants budget took the form of awards sponsored by members of the Family Council, often in co-sponsorship with others, and 65% of the budget was awarded collectively through programs, initiatives, and pooled funds to address urgent issues. Since collective grantmaking has a larger average award size, this data can be viewed through a different lens: 85 grants were individually sponsored (63%) while 50 were collectively sponsored (37%).

The balance between individual initiative and collective action continues to be a distinctive feature of the Flora Family Foundation.

Individually-sponsored awards of $25,000 or more must be approved by the Board. These are called Board Grants. Grants under $25,000 are reviewed and approved by the foundation’s president, pursuant to a delegation of authority from the Board. These are called Council Grants.

Grant Domains

In 2023, grants related to the environment constituted the largest share of the budget, with 35% of the grant dollars directed to work on environmental issues. This included grants from the Climate Protection Program and the Marine Conservation Initiative. Another 8% of the budget went to organizations involved in food and agriculture, which also relates to the environment. These results continue a trend over the past decade toward increased interest in environmental causes. By contrast, according to Giving USA, only 3% of all philanthropy nationwide is related to environmental issues.

Fifteen percent of the budget was awarded in grants related to health in 2023. Health funding includes grants under the foundation’s Black Maternal Health Initiative, which was formally established in November 2021 and had its inaugural round of grants in 2022.

Eleven percent of the budget was awarded in grants related to Community Development. These grants largely fall under the Gap Program, which in 2023 supported community-based organizations throughout the Navajo and Hopi Nations.

Seven percent of the budget was awarded in Relief/Emergency Assistance grants in 2023 in response to natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies, including the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, wildfires in Maui, wars between Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Palestine, and refugee crises in Sub-Saharan Africa.

General Operating Support

In 2023, 83% of the foundation's total grants budget and 70% of grants awarded were in the form of general operating support. According to Candid, general support accounts for only 20% of US foundation grantmaking, so FFF is distinctive in its practice of favoring unrestricted grants. General support is prized by nonprofit organizations because it allows for flexibility and the payment of expenses not covered by earmarked grants. When FFF awards project-specific grants, a 20% allocation is made available for overhead. 

Note: Values are percentages (%).

Multiyear Grants

In addition to the provision of general support, another best practice among foundations is the provision of multi-year grants. Multi-year grants give assurance to nonprofit organizations that they will have working capital going forward. This is especially helpful when it comes to hiring staff. Too often, nonprofits are unable to provide assurance to potential hires that they can offer salaries beyond one year, and this can reduce the pool of qualified candidates. In 2023 45% of FFF’s grants budget and 24% of grants awarded were multi-year grants. We aspire to increase this percentage.

Grant Renewals

In 2023, 72% of grants awarded from previous years were renewed. This is slightly higher than the 60 to 70% renewal range that we believe is appropriate for a foundation like FFF. A renewal rate below 60% suggests a lack of dependability with grantees, whereas a renewal rate above 70% raises questions about whether the foundation is adequately assessing the performance of grant recipients and actively investigating new opportunities for grants. It is worthy of note that 2023 saw the introduction of nine new grantees through the second round of Black Maternal Health Initiative grantmaking, while the foundation renewed 26 grants through the Climate and Gap Programs and the Marine Conservation Initiative.

Types of Grantees

FFF supports nonprofit organizations at all stages of development -- start-ups, mid-range organizations and mature enterprises. In 2023, 16% of grants went to organizations with budgets under $1,000,000. The foundation can identify early-stage organizations and provide infusions of flexible support that can help catalyze growth.

International Grantmaking

FFF has long been distinctive for its international orientation. In 2023, 37% of the foundation’s grants budget and 41% of grants awarded were directed to settings overseas or for work worldwide. The lower number of international grants compared to previous years is due to the Gap Program focus in the Navajo and Hopi Nations in the US, which constitutes 20% of the 2023 grants budget. Twenty-three percent of all US foundations’ grants budgets are committed to international work, a figure that is inflated by the large percentage of international funding coming out of the Gates Foundation. According to the Council on Foundations and Candid’s State of Global Giving by US Foundations, only 13% of US foundations’ global grant dollars go directly to organizations based in the country where programs were implemented. By contrast, FFF favors locally-rooted, indigenous grantees.

All in all, FFF continues on a steady course despite the turbulence of world events, with active involvement from Family Council members on issues of great significance both at home and abroad.