What Hearst Foundations does

The Hearst Foundations comprise two independent private philanthropic foundations — The Hearst Foundation, Inc. (founded 1946) and the William Randolph Hearst Foundation (founded 1949 as the California Charities Foundations) — managed and staffed as a single operation out of New York (headquarters) and San Francisco, with a combined 11–50 employees. The Foundations award grants to U.S. nonprofit organizations in four areas: Culture (25%), Education (30%), Health (30%), and Social Service (15%), having deployed more than $1.640 billion across 23,300+ grants to 6,600+ organizations since inception. The current asset base is approximately $1.5 billion, with annual grantmaking of roughly 300 awards (about 25% acceptance from 1,000+ applications) at a $100,000 minimum check size, skewed 80% to prior grantees and 20% to new partners.

The Foundations do not sell products or services. Their core "platform" is a Salesforce Experience Cloud-based Grants Portal (migrated to a new instance in August 2025) that supports online application submission, proposal status tracking, and required grantee reporting (non-endowment reports at 13 months; annual endowment reports in perpetuity). A publicly searchable Grant Recipients Database provides transparency into past awards, filterable by category, state, amount, and year. Two signature programs — the United States Senate Youth Program and the Hearst Journalism Awards Program — are administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and provide direct educational experiences and scholarships to high school and college students.

The revenue model is endowment-based: the Foundations do not charge fees for applications and have no product pricing. Grantmaking is funded by the ~$1.5B asset base, historically anchored by the ~$137M received from the Hearst Corporation in 1975 following the Tax Reform Act of 1969 separation. Geographic scope is U.S. only (organizations east of the Mississippi reviewed by New York staff, west by San Francisco staff); international organizations are explicitly excluded. Leadership is a co-Executive Director model (Donna Kalajian Lagani and Paul Dinovitz), supported by a small program staff and a Board of Directors that approves grants quarterly.

Name

Hearst Foundations

Legal name

The Hearst Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://hearstfdn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Hearst Foundations are two affiliated U.S. private philanthropic foundations (The Hearst Foundation, Inc. and the William Randolph Hearst Foundation), founded 1946 and 1949, that award grants to American nonprofits in Culture, Education, Health, and Social Service from an approximately $1.5 billion endowment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation Philanthropy and Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Private foundation funding
• Nonprofit grants
• Health education grants
• Arts culture philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Hearst Foundations award philanthropic grants to qualifying U.S. nonprofit organizations across four program areas: Culture, Education, Health, and Social Service. Grants (minimum $100,000) are provided as program support, capital support, general support, scholarship support, and limited endowment support, with funding decisions made through a rolling evaluation process and quarterly Board approval. The Foundations additionally administer two signature educational programs: the United States Senate Youth Program and the Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

Product overview

The Hearst Foundations operates a grant-making platform consisting of multiple interconnected digital products. The primary offering is a Salesforce-based Grants Portal (hearstfoundations.my.site.com) through which organizations submit grant proposals and track application status. A companion Online Reporting Portal enables funded grantees to submit required non-endowment and endowment grant reports. A searchable Grant Recipients Database provides public visibility into past awards. The William Randolph Hearst Foundation administers two signature programs: the United States Senate Youth Program and the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. All applications are processed through a rolling evaluation cycle with quarterly board approvals. The organization does not offer a public API.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• United States Senate Youth Program: A unique educational experience for outstanding high school students to spend a week in Washington experiencing their national government in action.
• Hearst Journalism Awards Program

Products and services

• COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund A special emergency grant program through which the Hearst Foundations allocated over $55.5 million to American nonprofits impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• United States Senate Youth Program A unique educational experience for outstanding high school students to spend a week in Washington, D.C. experiencing their national government in action. Administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
• Hearst Journalism Awards Program A scholarships program for college students recognizing outstanding performance in writing, photojournalism, radio, television, and multimedia. Administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
• Hearst Foundations Grants Portal A web-based application platform hosted on Salesforce Experience Cloud (my.site.com) enabling organizations to submit grant proposals, track application status, and manage grant-related communications with the Hearst Foundations.
• Online Reporting Portal A portal for grant recipients to submit required progress and impact reports, including non-endowment grant reports (due 13 months after award or until funds are expended) and endowment grant reports (required annually in perpetuity).
• Grant Recipients Database A searchable online database of grants approved by the Hearst Foundations, filterable by category (Culture, Education, Health, Social Services), grant amount, state, and year.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Rockefeller Foundation: Major private foundation with comparable endowment scale and multi-pillar grantmaking across health, education, and culture. Direct peer in mission and operating model.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Large health-focused private foundation. Directly comparable to Hearst's health pillar (30% allocation) in scale and US health grantmaking operations.
• Kresge Foundation: Private foundation with multi-billion dollar endowment supporting education, health, human services, and community development. Comparable in focus areas and operating model.
• Ford Foundation: Large US-based private foundation with multi-billion dollar endowment supporting education, social justice, and economic opportunity. Highly comparable to Hearst in scale, structure, and US grantmaking focus.
• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: Major private foundation with comparable grantmaking scale, supporting programs in education, health, and culture. Direct peer in structure and mission breadth.
• The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: Large private foundation funding education, environment, and other program areas. Comparable in scope, governance structure, and US grantmaking scale.
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation: Major private foundation focused on children, education, and health equity. Comparable in mission priorities (education, health) and operating scale.
• Lilly Endowment: Large private foundation with significant education and community development grantmaking. Comparable in scale, US focus, and emphasis on education-related programs.
• Carnegie Corporation of New York: Long-established private foundation with emphasis on education and democratic engagement. Directly comparable to Hearst in heritage, asset scale, and US-focused grantmaking.
• Pew Charitable Trusts: Large national and global philanthropic organization with substantial endowment funding public policy, culture, and education. Comparable in scale and multi-pillar grantmaking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hearst-foundations

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments46 records

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Frequently asked questions about Hearst Foundations