The Larry L Hillblom Foundation, Inc

What The Larry L Hillblom Foundation, Inc does

The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation, Inc. (LLHF) is a California non-profit public benefit corporation established in 1996 following the death of Larry L. Hillblom, co-founder of DHL Worldwide Express. The Foundation is funded through an endowment derived from Hillblom's bequest and operates exclusively as a grant-making entity; it does not sell products or services and generates no commercial revenue. By the terms of Hillblom's will, substantially all of the Foundation's funding must support medical research within the State of California, with particular attention to University of California programs.

LLHF operates three grant programs. Network Grants (up to $600,000 per year for up to four years) fund multidisciplinary teams pursuing research deemed too risky for initial NIH funding. Start-Up Grants (up to $120,000 per year for up to three years) support early-career investigators establishing independent labs in diabetes or aging research. Fellowship Grants (up to $75,000 per year for up to three years) fund post-doctoral training. Indirect costs are capped at 10%, which is more favorable than typical federal funding. Grant applications and progress reports are processed through an online grant management system, and grantees are required to present at the Foundation's Annual Scientific Meeting. The Foundation excludes cancer, cardiovascular, and joint/bone degenerative disease research, focusing instead on diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and chronic/degenerative diseases of aging with emphasis on brain and vision disorders.

Since inception, LLHF has awarded approximately $150 million across 317 grants—132 in diabetes research and 185 in aging-related disease research—to institutions including UCSF (91 projects), Stanford (28), UCSD (26), UCLA (24), Buck Institute for Research on Aging (13), and Salk Institute (13). The Foundation maintains headquarters in Sonoma, California and a satellite office in Kingsburg, California, with governance provided by a Board of Directors chaired by Joseph W. Waechter, with Dave Pier as Executive Director.

Name

The Larry L Hillblom Foundation, Inc

Legal name

The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://llhf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation is a California non-profit foundation established in 1996 that funds medical research on diabetes mellitus and age-related brain and vision disorders at California institutions, with particular emphasis on University of California programs, through Network, Start-Up, and Fellowship grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Research Grants

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Chronic Disease & Health Promotion Program Funding (HLAJALAJ)

Keywords

• Medical research grants
• Nonprofit foundation funding
• Diabetes research grants
• Aging disease research
• Philanthropic health research

Headquarters

HQ city

Sonoma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Endowment Investment Returns: The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation is funded through a bequest from Larry L. Hillblom, co-founder of DHL Worldwide Express. The foundation distributes grants from its endowment to fund medical research, rather than generating revenue through products or services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation is a California non-profit public benefit corporation that awards medical research grants to qualified researchers and institutions within California. The foundation funds research toward curing, treating, and managing diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome, as well as chronic and degenerative diseases associated with aging, with a primary focus on brain and vision disorders. Substantially all funding is restricted to medical research conducted within the State of California, with particular attention to University of California programs.

Product overview

The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation is a medical research funding organization, not a technology product company. It operates three grant programs (Network Grant, Start-Up Grant, and Fellowship Grant) to support diabetes mellitus and aging research within California. The Foundation provides an online grant management system for applicants and grantees to submit applications and progress reports, and hosts an Annual Scientific Meeting for funded researchers to present their findings. The organization does not develop or sell commercial technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Network Grant A grant mechanism providing up to $600,000 per year for up to 4 years to multidisciplinary teams of independently funded researchers in diabetes or aging research, funding work deemed too risky for NIH funding.
• Start-Up Grant A grant providing up to $120,000 per year for up to 3 years to qualified researchers seeking to initiate independent research careers in diabetes or aging at California institutions.
• Fellowship Grant A post-doctoral research fellowship training grant providing up to $75,000 per year for up to 3 years in diabetes or aging research for qualified applicants at qualified institutions in California.
• Annual Scientific Meeting An annual forum held at Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa that brings LLHF grant recipients together to present their research findings, network, and collaborate. The 2026 meeting is scheduled for October 18-20, 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• 317 total medical research grants awarded to major universities and institutions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM): California-focused, state-level medical research grantmaking entity. CIRM is the closest analog: California-based, multi-institution, multi-tier grant programs (training, early-career, translational), and a similarly specialized disease focus (stem cell/regenerative medicine vs. diabetes/aging).
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF): Leading nonprofit funder of type 1 diabetes research with multi-tier grant mechanisms, international researcher network, and dedicated research funding — directly comparable in mission focus (diabetes cure/treatment/management) and grantmaking structure.
• Alzheimer's Association: Major nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's and dementia research. Highly comparable on the aging/brain-disorders research side of LLHF's portfolio, with similar multi-tier grant programs (post-doc fellowships, new-to-field awards, network grants).
• The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust: Large private foundation with significant diabetes research funding and a track record of major multi-year, multi-institution biomedical grants. Highly comparable in operating model and scale of individual grants.
• American Diabetes Association: National nonprofit funding diabetes research with a research portfolio and grant programs overlapping LLHF's 132 diabetes grants. Comparable funding cadence, PI relationships, and disease-specific grantmaking posture.

Broad incumbents

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI): Largest private biomedical research organization in the U.S. Comparable in supporting investigator-driven basic research, but operates at much greater scale and across all geographies — a broader incumbent in the same private medical research funding space.
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (Medical Research): Endowed private foundation supporting clinical research through investigator-initiated grants, comparable in operating model and emphasis on early-career clinical investigators. Broader portfolio (multiple disease areas, arts, environment).
• Pew Charitable Trusts (Biomedical Programs): National philanthropy funding biomedical research including the Pew Scholars program in biomedical sciences. Comparable in career-stage-targeted grantmaking, broader portfolio across multiple program areas.
• Simons Foundation (Autism & Neuroscience): Large private foundation funding neuroscience and brain-disease research. Comparable on the brain-disorders/aging research side of LLHF's portfolio; broader scope and far larger endowment.

Regional players

• California Health Care Foundation: California-focused health foundation, though more oriented toward health policy and access than biomedical research. Comparable geographic scope and California-elite-institution footprint; useful reference for California philanthropy operating scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/larry-l-hillblom-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Larry L Hillblom Foundation, Inc