William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a major American philanthropic institution established in 1966 by William Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, and his wife Flora Hewlett. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the foundation is dedicated to solving social and environmental problems at home and around the world. It operates through a series of distinct grantmaking programs, focusing on areas such as education reform, climate change, reproductive health, and support for the performing arts.

History

The foundation was created with an initial gift of Hewlett-Packard company stock, reflecting the Silicon Valley origins of its founders. For its first decades, guided by the Hewlett family, its giving was broad, supporting local Bay Area institutions like the San Francisco Symphony and Stanford University. A significant evolution occurred in the late 1990s under the leadership of Paul Brest, who shifted the foundation toward a more strategic, outcome-oriented philanthropy model. This period saw the establishment of formal programs targeting specific issues like global development and U.S. democracy. The foundation's endowment grew substantially following the Compaq merger and subsequent distributions of HP stock, enabling a significant expansion in its grantmaking scale and ambition.

Governance and leadership

The foundation is governed by a board of directors that includes members of the Hewlett family and independent experts from various fields. Day-to-day operations are led by a president, a role held since 2012 by legal scholar and former dean of the Stanford Law School, Larry Kramer. Key leadership has also included former presidents Paul Brest and Walter Hewlett. The board and executive team work with program directors who oversee specific initiatives, such as those in environmental policy or education economics. This structure is designed to blend the founding family's values with professional philanthropic management and deep subject-matter expertise.

Programs and focus areas

The foundation organizes its work into several core programs. Its Education Program aims to improve educational outcomes, supporting research on deeper learning and advocacy for open educational resources. The Environment Program focuses on combating climate change, promoting clean energy policies in regions like the American West and China, and protecting ecological integrity. The Global Development and Population Program supports women's reproductive health and rights, as well as transparent governance in developing nations. A dedicated Performing Arts Program provides grants to nonprofit arts organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and for folk culture preservation. Additional initiatives address challenges in U.S. democracy reform and the field of philanthropy itself.

Financials and grantmaking

With an endowment of approximately $13 billion, the foundation is among the largest in the United States. It typically awards between $400-$500 million in grants annually to a wide array of non-governmental organizations, academic institutions like the University of California, and think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Resources for the Future. Grantmaking is strategic, often funding multi-year initiatives that combine research, advocacy, and direct service. Financial operations and investment strategies are managed to ensure long-term sustainability, with annual reports detailing allocations across programs and adherence to the IRS rules for private foundations.

Impact and recognition

The foundation is recognized for its influential role in shaping policy and supporting innovation in its focus areas. Its early and sustained funding was instrumental in the growth of the open educational resources movement, notably supporting MIT OpenCourseWare. In environmental policy, its support for organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund has advanced climate solutions in key economies. The foundation's Madison Initiative has contributed to national debates on political reform and civic engagement. While private foundations typically avoid direct publicity, the Hewlett Foundation's work is frequently cited in studies on effective philanthropy and has earned recognition from peers in the sector.