What Heising-Simons Foundation does

Heising-Simons Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in 2007 by Mark Heising and Liz Simons and headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area (Los Altos). It deploys endowment-funded grants across five programmatic verticals — Climate and Clean Energy, Education, Human Rights, Science, and Journalism — plus a localized San Francisco Youth Housing initiative. Programmatic delivery is structured around open grant cycles (e.g., Science Events and Gatherings), network-coordinated multi-year initiatives (e.g., California Child Care Justice Network), and branded postdoctoral fellowships such as the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship in planetary astronomy and the Astronova™ Astronomical Innovation Fellowship.

The Foundation's core "products" are not commercial offerings but named programs and grant instruments. The Science program supports postdoctoral fellowships (up to $450,000 over three years per 51 Pegasi b fellow), multi-institution research collaborations (FASER, FLArE, DESI, Pacific Coastal Fog Research), and event funding. The Education program — the Foundation's largest by cumulative giving at $416 million across nearly 1,100 organizations — anchors on early math research via the Stanford-based DREME Network (founded 2011), workforce development through CSCCE at UC Berkeley, the Early Educator Investment Collaborative, and the recently launched California Child Care Justice Network. The Foundation operates with a lean staff of 51-100 and has no commercial technology stack, proprietary software products, or AI/ML systems of its own.

The Foundation's operating model is endowment-funded grantmaking rather than revenue generation. Cumulative scientific research giving exceeds $250 million since first grants in 2008, with approximately $50 million deployed annually into early education. Go-to-market is community-led: the Foundation surfaces programs through its website, email newsletter (MailChimp), LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, scientific conferences, and open application calls. Grantees are nonprofit organizations, universities, research institutions, and individual researchers; no pricing, customer contracts, or commercial terms are applicable given the philanthropic structure. Liz Simons serves as Board Chair, with program leadership distributed across dedicated Science (e.g., Jochen Marschall, Emily Schaller, John O'Brien) and Education (e.g., Rebecca Gomez, Kimberley Brenneman, September Jarrett) officers.

Name

Heising-Simons Foundation

Legal name

Heising-Simons Foundation

Website

https://hsfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Heising-Simons Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation, founded in 2007 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, that distributes endowment-funded grants across science, education, climate, human rights, journalism, and youth housing programs to nonprofit and academic organizations in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Foundation / Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Private foundation
• Postdoctoral fellowships
• Early childhood education
• Climate science funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Altos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Grants and program funding, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grantmaking: The Heising-Simons Foundation operates as a private philanthropy, distributing grants funded by its endowment. The Foundation does not generate revenue through commercial means but rather deploys capital from its investment portfolio to support grantee organizations. Total giving exceeds $50 million annually across its program areas.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Heising-Simons Foundation is a private family philanthropy that distributes grants funded by its endowment across five program areas: Science, Education, Climate and Clean Energy, Human Rights, and Initiatives (Youth Housing and Journalism). It operates fellowship programs (51 Pegasi b Fellowship and Astronova Fellowship), open-call grant programs (Science Events and Gatherings, California Child Care Justice Network), and supports multi-year research collaborations such as DESI and the Pacific Coastal Fog Research project, with total giving exceeding $250 million since 2008.

Product overview

The Heising-Simons Foundation is a philanthropy organization that does not offer a traditional product but rather manages a portfolio of grant programs, fellowship programs, and initiatives. Its Science Program includes the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship and Astronova Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers in planetary astronomy and astronomical instrumentation. The Education Program encompasses the California Child Care Justice Network and supports early math learning, preschool quality, and early childhood workforce development. The Foundation also operates initiatives in Climate and Clean Energy, Human Rights, Youth Housing (San Francisco), and Journalism. Research collaborations supported include DESI (dark energy mapping) and the Pacific Coastal Fog Research project. Total giving exceeds $250 million since founding, with $416 million to education alone and $50 million in annual early education funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 51 Pegasi b Fellowship: Postdoctoral fellowship in planetary astronomy providing three-year grants of up to $450,000 to early-career scientists.
• Astronova Fellowship
• California Child Care Justice Network (CCJN)

Products and services

• 51 Pegasi b Fellowship Postdoctoral fellowship in planetary astronomy providing three-year grants of up to $450,000 for early-career scientists to conduct independent research in exoplanets, solar system science, planet formation, planetary atmospheres, and related fields at host institutions.
• Astronova Fellowship (Astronomical Innovation Fellowship) Fellowship supporting promising postdoctoral scientists working to revolutionize astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and planetary science through development of cutting-edge astronomical instrumentation, placed at host institutions for mentorship and instrumentation resources.
• Science Events and Gatherings Grants Open-call funding program supporting meetings, workshops, conferences, summer schools, and research collaboration gatherings in astronomy, planetary science, cosmology, fundamental physics, climate change science, and diversity initiatives, with individual grants ranging from $20,000 to $80,000 and up to $800,000 available per cycle.
• California Child Care Justice Network (CCJN) Coordinated five-year initiative launched in 2025 to advance child care justice in California through grants to member organizations working on increasing public investment, expanding access, improving affordability, and enhancing compensation for the early childhood workforce via community organizing, policy advocacy, and applied research.
• Climate and Clean Energy Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 66 postdoctoral fellows supported in planetary astronomy since 2017
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• UC Santa CruzcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025UC Santa Cruz is a partner institution in the Pacific Coastal Fog Research (PCFR) project, a $3.65 million five-year research initiative studying coastal fog chemistry, ecosystem impacts, and climate change effects along the California coast.
• San Francisco State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025San Francisco State University is a partner institution in the Pacific Coastal Fog Research project, collaborating on fog research along California's coast with UC Santa Cruz, Notre Dame, and Indiana University Bloomington.
• Notre DamecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025University of Notre Dame researchers are part of the Pacific Coastal Fog Research team studying fog's importance for ecosystems including redwood forests and agricultural regions.
• Indiana University BloomingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Indiana University Bloomington researchers collaborate on the Pacific Coastal Fog Research project, contributing to the multi-institutional study of fog dynamics and climate impacts.
• Early Educator Investment CollaborativemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Heising-Simons helped create this partnership of more than a half-dozen foundations that pooled money to fund innovation in early childhood education at the state level. Dr. Rebecca Gomez served as co-chair for its first seven years.
• Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (UC Berkeley)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025For six years, Heising-Simons has been the primary funder of CSCCE, which produces a regular childhood workforce index including quantitative and qualitative measures capturing difficulties ECE teachers face.
• PBS SoCal - Family MathmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Since 2018, PBS SoCal has worked with Foundation support to create bilingual materials for parents. Family Math operates in more than 50 organizations nationwide including school districts, libraries, and over 20 local PBS affiliates.
• MathTalk / Boston College Walsh CentermajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Foundation supports MathTalk, which creates playful learning landscapes in places where families spend time (zoos, clinics, nature trails) to foster early math skills through storytelling and art.
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (DESI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017The Foundation supports the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) operated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. DESI creates the largest 3D map of the universe and is supported in part by Heising-Simons Foundation's Science program.
• Stanford University - DREME NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011The Development and Research in Early Math Education (DREME) Network at Stanford University was founded by Heising-Simons Foundation in 2011. The Foundation linked 12 members from 12 universities to develop applied research programs for early math education.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kavli Foundation: Private foundation focused on astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics, with a comparable institute-and-fellowship strategy. Most directly comparable on the Science side because of its astrophysics, instrumentation, and early-career scientist support.
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: Private foundation funding fundamental scientific research (physics, astronomy, mathematics) and STEM education. Direct peer in scale, science focus, and fellowship-driven grantmaking model.
• Simons Foundation: The directly comparable 'sister' private foundation of Heising-Simons. Co-funds large-scale fundamental science (math, physics, cosmology) including the FASER experiment at CERN alongside Heising-Simons, and shares founder lineage through the Simons/Heising family relationship.
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: Large private foundation with overlapping program areas in science (especially astronomy and cosmology, including the Thirty Meter Telescope) and environmental/climate work, making it a direct peer across Heising-Simons' Science and Climate programs.

Broad incumbents

• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: Large private foundation with significant overlap in K-12 education, climate, and open science funding. Broad incumbent with a comparable California/Bay Area footprint and similar large-grant strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@heisingsimonsfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hsfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/heisingsimonsfdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments2 records

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Frequently asked questions about Heising-Simons Foundation