William and Flora Hewlett Foundation - Inside Philanthropy

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 OVERVIEW: Hewlett is a prolific grantmaker working across a broad range of interest areas including the environment, racial justice, economic development, democracy, education, women and girls, arts and culture, and research on AI technologies.

 IP TAKE: The William and Flora Hewlett foundation is one of the largest grantmakers in the United States. Its giving ranges from millions in support for well-known NGOs to much smaller grants for education, arts and culture, or research on emerging AI technologies . Hewlett tends to provide multi-year support to its grantees, which makes it difficult for even the most promising of newcomers to secure funding. Given this funder’s largely proactive approach to funding, grant seekers will need to network with associates in their network who’ve either received Hewlett grants in the past or can make an introduction.

 For a funder of this size, however, Hewlett is surprisingly transparent; its grants database provides a wealth of information about the particulars of its grantmaking practices and the depth of its work. For grantseekers working in any of this funder’s areas of interest, it is imperative to sign up for email updates , as Hewlett is known to issue the occasional RFP, providing an invaluable opportunity to get on this funder’s radar.

 PROFILE: The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation was established in 1966 by Bill Hewlett, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard, with a “loose charter mandating perpetual existence… as a charitable, religious, scientific, literary or educational foundation for the purpose of promoting the wellbeing of mankind.” It currently focuses on “invest[ing] in creative thinkers and problem solvers who are working to ensure everyone has a meaningful opportunity to thrive.” The foundation’s grantmaking programs are Economy and Society , Education , Effective Philanthropy , Environment , Gender Equity and Governance , Performing Arts , Racial Justice and U.S. Democracy . It also maintains a Special Projects grantmaking area, which has recently funded significant research in areas of technology related to national security and biosecurity .

 Grants for Climate Change and Environmental Conservation 

 The Hewlett Foundation’s Environment program works to “address climate change globally and to conserve the U.S. West to ensure people, communities, and the planet flourish.” This has been the foundation’s largest area of giving over the past several years.

 Its Climate and Energy strategy focuses on a crosscutting approach towards current multinational and multi-industry climate commitments in order to help meet current targets. A priority of this program is supporting “ways for all to benefit from a clean energy future.”
 Specifically, grantees work to “bring government, 

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