Amar Foundation

The Amar Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1987 by Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and founder of Khosla Ventures, and his wife Neeru Khosla, co-founder of the CK-12 Foundation. Based in San Jose, California, the foundation operates exclusively on an invitation-only basis and does not accept unsolicited grant applications. Organizations seeking support from the Amar Foundation must be identified by the trustees as strategically aligned with the foundation's core mission of leveraging technology for educational equity and economic empowerment. The most effective approach for potential grantees is to build visibility within the Khosla family's professional and philanthropic networks, particularly through participation in education technology conferences, open educational resource communities, and Silicon Valley nonprofit ecosystems. The foundation favors organizations that demonstrate scalable, technology-enabled impact—exemplified by its flagship grantee CK-12, which delivers free customizable K-12 Flexbooks to over 200 million students worldwide. Applicants working in K-12 education innovation, STEM curriculum development, microfinance, or India-focused development programs are most likely to align with the foundation's established giving patterns. Building a relationship through intermediaries such as Khosla Ventures portfolio companies, Stanford University networks, or CK-12 partner organizations may provide the most viable pathway to the trustees' attention.

The Amar Foundation's grantmaking is concentrated in several strategic program areas with significant year-to-year variation in both volume and total disbursement. In 2024, the foundation distributed $1.754 million across just 4 grants, while in 2023 it gave $5.775 million, and in 2020 it disbursed an extraordinary $10.9 million. Individual grant sizes range from approximately $69,600 to $9 million, with the largest single grant being $9 million to the CK-12 Foundation in 2015. The foundation's primary funding patterns reveal deep commitment to K-12 open educational resources through CK-12, higher education scholarships through the IIT Delhi Excellence Foundation ($2.7 million in 2014), computer science education through Code.org, health research innovation through the Open Medicine Institute ($300,000 in 2015 and $500,000 in 2018), and university capital projects at Stanford. The foundation also has a historical pattern of supporting microfinance organizations including SKS Microfinance in India and Vittana for childhood poverty education loans. Geographically, giving is concentrated in California, with additional grants flowing to Nevada, Maryland, and India. The foundation carries zero liabilities, both officers receive no compensation, and approximately 97% of total expenses flow directly to charitable purposes, making it highly efficient. Peak assets reached $33.4 million in 2011 but have settled to approximately $11 million by 2024, reflecting substantial cumulative disbursements over the past decade.

The Amar Foundation operates within a landscape of Silicon Valley family foundations focused on K-12 education and technology-enabled learning. Below is a comparison with peer funders active in similar domains:

Compared to its mega-foundation peers, the Amar Foundation operates on a significantly smaller scale but achieves outsized impact through highly targeted investments in transformative organizations like CK-12. Its invitation-only model is consistent with other family foundations in the venture capital community, including the Emerson Collective (Laurene Powell Jobs). The foundation's unique strength lies in its deep operational connection to CK-12—unlike most funders that write checks from arm's length, the Amar Foundation's co-founder Neeru Khosla directly built and leads one of its primary grantees, creating an unusually tight feedback loop between philanthropic capital and programmatic execution. Organizations seeking education funding with open application processes should consider the Silicon Valley Education Foundation or the Hewlett Foundation's OER program as more accessible alternatives.

The Amar Foundation's recent activity reflects a moderation in giving after several high-disbursement years. In fiscal year 2024, the foundation made 4 grants totaling $1.754 million, a significant decrease from the $5.775 million distributed in 2023 and the $10.9 million in 2020. Total assets stood at approximately $11 million with revenue of $1.45 million, suggesting the foundation may be entering a period of more sustainable, steady-state grantmaking rather than the large episodic gifts that characterized earlier years. The CK-12 Foundation continues to be the primary beneficiary and has grown to serve over 200 million students globally with free, customizable K-12 Flexbooks in STEM subjects, with materials formally adopted by Washington, Utah, and California school systems. The foundation's investment in Code.org aligns with the growing national emphasis on computer science education, and its support for the Open Medicine Institute reflects an emerging interest in health data innovation. Both Vinod and Neeru Khosla remain active as the foundation's sole officers (President and Secretary respectively), taking no compensation. The foundation's website at amarfoundation.org is live but contains minimal public-facing content, consistent with its invitation-only operating model. As Giving Pledge signatories, the Khoslas have committed to donating the majority of their wealth, suggesting that future capital infusions to the Amar Foundation or new philanthropic vehicles remain likely.

The Amar Foundation explicitly states that it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds." This means there is no public application process, no published deadlines, and no grant portal. However, organizations that strongly align with the foundation's priorities can improve their chances of being identified by the trustees through several strategies. First, build visibility in the education technology and open educational resource communities where Neeru Khosla is active—CK-12 partner networks, OER conferences, and STEM education collaborations are natural touchpoints. Second, organizations working in K-12 education innovation, particularly those creating free or open-source learning tools, represent the strongest mission alignment. Third, India-focused development organizations, especially those connected to IIT Delhi or working in microfinance and economic empowerment, fit the foundation's international giving patterns. Fourth, leverage professional connections to Khosla Ventures, Stanford University, or the broader Silicon Valley philanthropy ecosystem where Vinod Khosla is well-connected. Fifth, organizations should be able to demonstrate technology-enabled scalability—the foundation's giving philosophy, as articulated by Neeru Khosla, emphasizes providing "tools to grow" rather than creating dependency, favoring capacity-building models over direct service delivery. Contact the foundation at 408-977-7090 or visit their office at 1760 The Alameda Suite 300, San Jose, CA 95126, though direct outreach without a warm introduction is unlikely to be productive.