Clifford Family Foundation
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| Clifford Family Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Clifford Family Foundation |
| Type | Private foundation |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Margaret Clifford |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Area served | United States, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Focus | Philanthropy in health, arts, conservation, social justice |
| Endowment | ~$250 million (2024 estimate) |
Clifford Family Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in 1998 to support initiatives in public health, arts, conservation, and social justice. The foundation has funded projects across the United States and internationally, collaborating with universities, cultural institutions, medical centers, and non-governmental organizations. Its work spans grantmaking, program-related investments, and catalytic convenings that engage academic, artistic, and policy communities.
History
The foundation was launched following a bequest from Margaret Clifford and early trustees included figures connected to Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Stanford University, and Columbia University. In its first decade the foundation prioritized partnerships with Johns Hopkins University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai Health System, Broad Institute, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. During the 2008 financial crisis it adjusted allocations after discussions with leaders from Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Gates Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation. In the 2010s the foundation expanded into arts funding with grants to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, and support for performance work at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Royal Opera House, and Sydney Opera House. Recent years saw increased engagement with public health partners including World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Médecins Sans Frontières, Partners In Health, and Clinton Health Access Initiative.
Mission and Activities
The foundation describes its mission as advancing health, culture, conservation, and equity through strategic philanthropy and evidence-based partnerships with institutions such as National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Natural History, and Natural History Museum, London. Activities include grants to hospital systems like Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, funding research at Scripps Research, University of California, San Francisco, University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University, and arts commissioning with organizations like Bang on a Can, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Shakespeare Company, and English National Ballet. Conservation programs have been implemented with World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, and African Parks. The foundation also supports legal and advocacy work through partnerships with ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Southern Poverty Law Center, and The Innocence Project.
Governance and Leadership
The board has included philanthropic leaders, former academics, and executives with ties to Princeton University, Brown University, Cornell University, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. Past chairs have connections to McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Bain & Company. Program officers have come from institutions such as Guggenheim Museum, National Endowment for the Arts, Smith Group, and Commonwealth Fund. Advisory councils have convened experts from National Academy of Sciences, Royal Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, World Economic Forum, and United Nations Development Programme. The foundation has periodically invited external auditors including KPMG, Deloitte, PwC, and Ernst & Young to review operations.
Major Grants and Partnerships
Major grants have funded initiatives at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, Karolinska Institutet, and Imperial College London. Arts grants supported projects at Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Centre Pompidou, Frick Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Walker Art Center. Conservation and biodiversity grants involved collaborations with Jane Goodall Institute, WildCRU, IUCN, BirdLife International, and TRAFFIC. Global health partnerships included joint efforts with UNICEF, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Gavi, PATH, and CLASP. Social justice and civic projects partnered with Rock the Vote, Urban Institute, Brookings Institution, Center for American Progress, and Brennan Center for Justice.
Financials and Endowment
Financial management has emphasized long-term endowment stewardship with investment advice from firms like BlackRock, Vanguard Group, Bridgewater Associates, and State Street Corporation. Annual Form 990-PF filings reflect diversified assets across equities, fixed income, and alternative investments including commitments to impact funds managed by Acumen Fund, Omidyar Network, BlueOrchard Finance, and Toniic. The foundation has used program-related investments alongside grants to support mission-aligned enterprises similar to models used by Omidyar Network and Kresge Foundation. During market volatility the board adjusted spending policies informed by guidance from Council on Foundations, National Center for Family Philanthropy, and Council of Foundations benchmarks.
Impact and Recognition
The foundation's support has been cited in publications from The Lancet, Nature, Science, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Journal of the American Medical Association for contributions to infectious disease research, cancer studies, and public health interventions. Arts and culture funding earned recognition in reviews by The New York Times, The Guardian, Artforum, Financial Times, and The Washington Post. Conservation projects reported outcomes in reports by WWF, IUCN Red List, BirdLife International, and UN Environment Programme. Awards and honors to grantees include MacArthur Fellowship, Pulitzer Prize, Turner Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Heineman Prize-related recognitions. The foundation has been featured in philanthropic analyses by Chronicle of Philanthropy, Philanthropy News Digest, Inside Philanthropy, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and The Economist.