The Grove Foundation

What The Grove Foundation does

The Grove Foundation is a private family-led philanthropic foundation established in 1986 by Andy Grove, co-founder and former CEO of Intel, and his wife Eva Grove, a social worker. Headquartered in Los Altos, California, and registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the foundation was designed from inception as a spend-down entity with the intent to distribute all assets within a generation rather than exist in perpetuity. Following Andy Grove's passing in 2016 and Eva Grove's passing in 2023, their daughter Karen Grove now leads the foundation as board chair. The foundation is in active spenddown, with all remaining assets planned for distribution by 2030 and most program funds allocated by October 2026.

The foundation's operations consist entirely of grantmaking through five distinct program areas: Civic Engagement, Black Led Power Building, Immigration, Reproductive Health, Rights & Justice, and Safety Net. It funds national, state, and local organizations, providing general operating support, multi-year grants, and trust-based, relational engagement rather than compliance-heavy reporting. Annual grantmaking ranges from $15 million to $20 million, distributed to a broad base of nonprofit grantees including the National Immigration Law Center, IRC, Black Futures Lab, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, and many others. The foundation is not currently accepting unsolicited grant requests and is focused on supporting existing grantees through the closeout of operations, with several staff members transitioning off by early 2027.

Complementing its grantmaking, the foundation operates a mission-aligned investment portfolio. In 2016, the board transitioned approximately $150 million from traditional investments to mission-aligned vehicles supporting cooperatively owned land and real estate, community-controlled institutions, community-led loans and funds, and renewable energy — with investments directed toward reproductive health, immigration, economic inclusion, and climate justice, particularly in Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities. The foundation does not develop or sell technology products, does not pursue AI/ML capabilities, and has no commercial revenue streams; its only distribution channel is direct grants to aligned nonprofit organizations. Marketing and communications are limited to a LinkedIn business page and a quarterly Mailchimp newsletter.

Name

The Grove Foundation

Legal name

The Grove Foundation

Website

https://grovefoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Grove Foundation is a private spend-down philanthropic foundation that distributes $15–20M annually through five program areas — Civic Engagement, Black Led Power Building, Immigration, Reproductive Health, and Safety Net — serving national, state, and local nonprofit organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Trust-based philanthropy
• Mission-aligned investing
• Civic engagement grants
• Spend-down foundation

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

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Grantmaking: The Grove Foundation operates as a spend-down foundation that distributes grants to aligned organizations rather than generating revenue. Annual grantmaking budget ranges from $15M to $20M. The foundation was established with assets intended to be distributed within a generation, with all remaining assets planned for distribution by 2030.
2. Mission-Aligned Investing: In 2017, the foundation board allocated a carveout for mission-aligned investments utilizing a hybrid approach focused on private and public investments such as cooperatively owned and stewarded land and real estate projects, community-controlled institutions, and investments in community-led loans, funds, and renewable energy. Grove invested in companies and helped launch funds to support reproductive health, immigration, economic inclusion, and climate justice, with a focus on Black, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Grove Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) spend-down philanthropic foundation that distributes grants and mission-aligned investments to nonprofit organizations working in five program areas: Civic Engagement, Black Led Power Building, Immigration, Reproductive Health Rights & Justice, and Safety Net. It provides general operating support and multi-year grants on a trust-based, non-application-driven basis, while managing an approximately $150 million mission-aligned investment portfolio. The foundation plans to distribute all remaining assets and cease operations by 2030.

Product overview

The Grove Foundation operates as a trust-based philanthropic spend-down entity that provides grantmaking support through five distinct program areas: Civic Engagement, Black Led Power Building, Immigration, Reproductive Health Rights & Justice, and Safety Net. Founded in 1986 by Andy and Eva Grove (Intel co-founder and social worker), the foundation distributes grants to national, state, and local organizations aligned with its vision of all people having resources, respect, and belonging to live fully as themselves. The foundation is planning to distribute all remaining assets by 2030, with several programs allocating funds by October 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civic Engagement Program A grantmaking program focused on engaging historically under-represented populations (people of color, youth, and low-income people) in civic processes, ensuring opportunities for these communities to design and shape decisions that impact their lives. Supports progressive organizations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada through general operating and multi-year grants.
• Black Led Power Building Initiative A five-year initiative providing general operating support to Black-led organizations doing advocacy work focused specifically on Black communities, with an emphasis on civic engagement and liberation. The U.S.-based initiative focuses on the South, including Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama.
• Immigration Program Funds a broad range of legal services, policy advocacy, organizing, and coalition building to protect and advance immigrant rights. Primarily funds local San Mateo County-based legal services with some state, regional, and national policy advocacy and impact litigation support.
• Reproductive Health, Rights & Justice Program Works toward a future in which all people have the education, resources, and power to determine their sexual and reproductive lives. Supports comprehensive sex education, birth justice, abortion access, and movement organizations. U.S.-based, prioritizing local, regional, and state-based organizations.
• Safety Net Program Builds on a longstanding commitment to fund organizations that support individuals and families with resources, respect, a sense of belonging, and the opportunity to live and contribute fully in their communities. Focuses on San Mateo County communities including East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, Redwood City, Daly City, and the San Mateo County Coast, addressing poverty, food insecurity, legal access, and unemployment.

Quantifiable outcome

• In 2021, The Grove Foundation transitioned many of their previous Environment Program grantees to the Civic Engagement fund.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Four Freedoms Fund at Neo PhilanthropycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Four Freedoms Fund is a collaborative fund at Neo Philanthropy that Grove supports as a partner in immigrant rights funding. Grove has backed the fund for 18 years as part of its immigration program, supporting coalition-based immigrant rights work.
• Stanford Social Innovation ReviewminorOthersStanford Social Innovation Review published an analysis by Grove Foundation in February 2026 on sustainable grantmaking benchmarks, examining how foundations can assess equity-aligned practices.
• Schott FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrove participated in the Schott Foundation's inaugural Sustainable Grantmaking Benchmark in February 2026, an evaluation of funders' long-term support of grantees, flexible funding, and use of innovative tools.
• Center for Effective PhilanthropycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrove partnered with the Center for Effective Philanthropy on multiple initiatives including 'Reimagining Reporting' reports (November 2025) exploring how grant reporting can better support learning, trust, and effectiveness. Also collaborated on 'Before and After 2020' field report on simplifying grantmaking processes.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: One of the largest U.S. private foundations, with extensive grantmaking in social justice, civic engagement, immigration, and economic inequality — directly overlapping Grove's program areas but operating at vastly larger scale and in perpetuity mode rather than spend-down.
• Kresge Foundation: Large U.S. private foundation with explicit focus on racial equity, economic opportunity, and civic engagement — comparable mission alignment with Grove's Safety Net and Civic Engagement programs, though operating as a perpetual foundation.
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation: Major family-founded U.S. foundation prioritizing racial equity, community leadership, and children/families — strongly comparable to Grove's Black Led Power Building and Safety Net work but with a much larger perpetual endowment.
• Open Society Foundations: Major progressive grantmaker with significant focus on immigration rights, democratic participation, and racial equity — closely aligned with Grove's Civic Engagement and Immigration programs though operating globally and at much greater scale.

Direct peers

• Heron Foundation: Private foundation notable for 100% mission-aligned investing and a stated spend-down trajectory — directly comparable to Grove's $150M mission-aligned investment carveout and distribution-of-assets philosophy.
• Arcus Foundation: Private foundation funding social justice, including LBTQ rights and Great Lakes conservation — shares Grove's progressive social-justice grantmaking orientation and private-family-foundation structure at comparable scale.
• NoVo Foundation: Family-led progressive foundation funding racial justice, gender equity, and movement building — overlaps with Grove's Black-led, immigrant, and reproductive justice portfolios at similar grantmaking scale.
• Marguerite Casey Foundation: Family-led spend-down foundation focused on social, economic, and racial justice through grassroots organizing — closely mirrors Grove's spend-down model, multi-year general support, and emphasis on building power in communities of color.
• Schott Foundation for Public Education: Progressive education and racial-justice funder that partnered with Grove on the Sustainable Grantmaking Benchmark — directly comparable on grantmaking practice philosophy and overlapping grantee ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Four Freedoms Fund at Neo Philanthropy: Collaborative immigrant-rights fund at Neo Philanthropy that Grove has backed for 18 years — operates as a pooled fund model in the same immigration-rights space Grove's Immigration Program targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-grove-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Grove Foundation