What Koret Foundation does

The Koret Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation headquartered in San Francisco, California, established in 1979 (with the Koret Food Program beginning in 1981). Guided by Jewish values, the foundation is dedicated to creating a vibrant Bay Area and a thriving Jewish community, and it operates exclusively through strategic grantmaking rather than product or service delivery. The foundation's funding flows from an endowment and donor contributions into a portfolio of program areas: the Koret Food Program (over $11 million distributed to 24 Bay Area nonprofits since 1981), the Koret Scholars higher-education initiative across nine Bay Area colleges and universities (1,900 scholarships awarded to date), the Veterans Initiative launched in 2019, K-12 education, arts and culture, civic projects, Jewish peoplehood, and U.S.–Israel bridge-building. Major grant partners include St. Anthony Foundation, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, Swords to Plowshares, SF Opera, SF Symphony's Music and Mentors, the University of San Francisco Innovation Hive, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, USC Shoah Foundation, and the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco.

The foundation is led by Board President Dr. Anita Friedman (also Executive Director of Jewish Family and Children's Services) and President Michael Boskin, supported by a small staff of 1–10 employees. It distributes grants through established relationships with Bay Area nonprofits and global Jewish-heritage institutions, with no technology product, AI capabilities, or commercial revenue streams. Recent recognition includes the AJC Light Unto the Nations Award (2022), an AIASF Citation Award for a grantee-funded facility (2025), and a Robert and Ethel Kennedy Journalism Award connected to board-led film production (2026). Operating geographies span the San Francisco Bay Area domestically and select international Jewish-heritage and Holocaust-education institutions globally.

Name

Koret Foundation

Legal name

Koret Foundation

Website

https://koret.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Private foundation grantmaking
• Philanthropic funding programs
• Bay Area nonprofits
• Jewish community grants
• Charitable giving programs

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment and Donations: The Koret Foundation operates as a private philanthropic foundation. The foundation receives donations and manages an endowment, using investment returns and contributions to fund grants to Bay Area nonprofits and Jewish community organizations. Joseph Koret founded the foundation with a personal commitment to alleviating hunger based on his childhood experiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Koret Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that distributes grants to Bay Area nonprofit organizations and Jewish community institutions. Its giving covers food security programs, higher education scholarships, K-12 education, veterans support, Jewish peoplehood, arts and culture, civic projects, and U.S.-Israel bridge building initiatives. The foundation is funded through an endowment established by founder Joseph Koret and manages a small staff executing strategic grantmaking.

Product overview

Koret Foundation is a private philanthropy organization dedicated to creating a vibrant Bay Area and a thriving Jewish community. The Foundation operates through grantmaking initiatives rather than a unified product platform. Its major programs include the Koret Food Program addressing food insecurity, Koret Scholars providing needs-based college scholarships, the Creating Citizens civic education initiative, a Veterans Initiative supporting veteran reintegration, the Careers in Science internship program, and Music and Mentors supporting music education. The Foundation guides its work by Jewish values, committing to improve quality of life for Bay Area residents and ensure vitality of the global Jewish community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Koret Food Program Grantmaking initiative providing funding to Bay Area nonprofit organizations addressing food insecurity, including St. Anthony Foundation, JFCS food programs, and Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.
• Koret Scholars Program Needs-based scholarship program providing financial support to low-income, underrepresented minority, and first-generation college students across nine Bay Area higher education institutions.
• Veterans Initiative Grantmaking initiative supporting military veterans returning to civilian life in the Bay Area, addressing VA benefits, housing, job retraining, and community building.
• Creating Citizens

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $11 million distributed to food programs since 1981
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Among Neighbors FilmcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026Koret Board President Dr. Anita Friedman served as executive producer on the film 'Among Neighbors,' which won a Robert and Ethel Kennedy Journalism Award for its coverage of the Holocaust's aftermath in a Polish town.
• Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation supports the school's ambitious renovation adding state-of-the-art facilities to enhance curriculum and foster Jewish community.
• San Francisco OperacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKoret supports SF Opera's new works and audience development, including The Monkey King world premiere.
• Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICC educates and trains student leaders to become advocates on campus. Koret supports this Jewish peoplehood initiative.
• Swords to PlowsharescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner50-year partnership supporting comprehensive veterans services including VA benefits, housing, job training, and community support in the Bay Area.
• Second Harvest of Silicon ValleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNation's fourth largest food bank addressing food insecurity. Foundation supports expansion and new centralized headquarters.
• Jewish Film InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with JCCSF to curate year-round film programming at Kanbar Hall, including San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
• University of San FranciscocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver $6 million in gifts funded the Innovation Hive, supporting interdisciplinary collaboration and R&D for students.
• San Francisco SymphonycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time support for Music and Mentors program providing music education in SF public schools with 22 mentors serving 1,500+ students.
• POLIN Museum of the History of Polish JewscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive-year grant supporting Core Exhibition upgrades and the new Bonds gallery exploring legacies of Polish Jewish diaspora.
• Jewish Family and Children's Services (JFCS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner170-year-old organization serving as backbone of social support for Jewish community, providing food, medical care, and social services.
• St. Anthony FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerServing nearly 800,000 meals annually without government funding, providing comprehensive support services in SF Tenderloin.
• UC BerkeleycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKoret Discovery Scholars Program and research stipends supporting low-income and underrepresented minority students.
• UC DaviscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAvenueE program supporting transfer students in engineering and computer science with mentorship and community.
• Sonoma State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFaculty-mentored research scholarships paired with $750 stipends for undergraduate research opportunities.
• Gladstone InstitutesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institution pivoting COVID-19 efforts; supported for innovative pandemic response including diagnostic tools and treatments.
• KQEDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational programming support for at-home learning during pandemic, expanding access to K-12 educational content.
• The Tech InteractiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience and technology center providing STEM education resources and design challenge learning for students.
• Commonwealth Club World AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 40 years of support for Creating Citizens civics education initiative, youth programs, and community dialogues.
• California Academy of SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareers in Science internship program fostering STEM education and diversity in scientific workforce.
• Jewish Story PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFilm funding organization that has supported 100+ films with $3 million since 2021, telling diverse Jewish stories.
• USC Shoah FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep investment in preserving Holocaust testimony and developing educational programs including the Willesden Project.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: One of the largest Bay Area private foundations; while much larger and broader in scope than Koret, it operates in the same regional philanthropy ecosystem and frequently partners with overlapping grantees.
• David and Lucile Packard Foundation: A major Bay Area private foundation with overlapping program areas (education, conservation, community) and a similar operating geography, though at significantly greater scale than Koret.
• Combined Jewish Philanthropies: A large North American Jewish federation supporting Jewish peoplehood, education, and community vitality—overlapping directly with Koret's Jewish Peoplehood and U.S.-Israel bridge-building priorities.
• UJA-Federation of New York: The largest Jewish federation in North America and a comparable peer in mission scope (Jewish community, education, social services, Israel engagement), though operating in a different region than Koret.

Direct peers

• Silicon Valley Community Foundation: A large Bay Area community foundation operating in the same geography and engaging many of the same nonprofit partners (e.g., Second Harvest of Silicon Valley), with shared priorities around food security, education, and community resilience.
• San Francisco Foundation: A leading Bay Area community foundation serving the same nine-county region with comparable focus on civic vitality, education, and equity—making it the closest geographic community-foundation peer to Koret's Bay Area programs.
• Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund: The Bay Area's largest Jewish federation and a direct peer to Koret Foundation: both are San Francisco-based grantmaking bodies focused on Jewish community vitality, education, and social services in the same geographic market with overlapping grantees such as JCCSF and JFCS.
• Walter & Elise Haas Fund: A San Francisco-based private foundation with deep Bay Area roots and a parallel focus on Jewish community, education, and the arts—making it a closely comparable peer to Koret's mission and footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/koretfoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/KoretFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/koret-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/koretfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Koret Foundation