Clif Bar Family Foundation

The Clif Family Foundation operates with an unusual combination of accessibility and depth. It is one of the few foundations at the $570 million asset level that maintains an open, public application process — most comparable family foundations operate exclusively by invitation. This makes it a high-priority target for grassroots nonprofits working in food systems, environmental justice, and equitable community health.

The foundation runs two distinct tracks. The Open Call program accepts applications twice yearly, with March 1 and August 1 deadlines. Grants range from $5,000 to $50,000 for one year. This track functions as a pipeline: organizations that receive Open Call grants and perform well become candidates for the By Invitation Only (BIO) program, where grants run $100,000 to $3 million and focus on systemic change in food systems transformation and climate justice.

The giving philosophy centers on trust-based philanthropy. In 2024, 77% of $23.4 million in grants was designated as general operating support — an unusually high proportion that signals the foundation trusts its grantees to deploy resources where needed most. First-time applicants should lean into this: framing a general support request is not only acceptable but preferred over tightly scoped project proposals.

The foundation's rapid asset growth (from under $2.3 million in 2020 to $570.8 million in 2024, fueled by Gary Erickson's proceeds from selling Clif Bar to Mondelez International in 2022 for $2.9 billion) has transformed it from a modest family foundation into a significant mid-market funder in just three years. Annual giving has climbed from $3.5 million pre-2022 to $24.1 million in FY2024.

For first-time applicants: eligibility centers on 501(c)3 status or fiscal sponsorship, annual operating budgets under $8 million, U.S.-based primary operations, and grassroots implementation — not just research or national advocacy. The foundation places explicit emphasis on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Work that centers communities directly experiencing food insecurity, environmental pollution, or climate disruption resonates most. California-based organizations have a clear advantage (637 of 1,842 grants in the grantee database went to CA), but the foundation actively funds in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, New York, and DC as well.

The Clif Family Foundation's financial trajectory is one of the most dramatic in modern philanthropy. Through 2021, total annual giving averaged $3.5 million on assets under $2.3 million — a modest operation funded by ongoing Clif Bar profits. The 2022 Mondelez acquisition injected $555.4 million in founder contributions, catapulting assets to $551 million. Annual giving has climbed sharply: $5.4 million (FY2022), $15.1 million (FY2023), $24.1 million (FY2024). The foundation's FY2024 payout rate is approximately 4.2% — just above the 5% minimum distribution requirement when measured against the prior year's asset base.

Grant size varies dramatically by track. Open Call grants range from $5,000 to $50,000, with most awards in the $25,000-$50,000 range for organizations at this foundation's scale. BIO grants span $100,000 to $3,000,000. The typical grant size reported in the database (median $4,500, avg $5,979, across 500 tracked grants) reflects historical data from the pre-2022 era when the foundation was operating at $3-4M annually — current Open Call grants are materially larger.

Top BIO-level recipients from grantee records: - County of Napa: $3,000,000 (1 grant, community health infrastructure) - Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs: $637,500 (3 grants, environment/community) - Breast Cancer Prevention Partners: $440,000 (5 grants, toxic materials, environment) - State Power Fund/We Make The Future: $400,000 (1 grant, climate/environment) - Scholarship America: $363,246 (4 grants, education/health) - Chisholm Legacy Project: $350,000 (1 grant, environment/climate) - Fair Food Network: $341,000 (4 grants, food systems)

Geographically, California dominates with 637 of 1,842 recorded grants (34.6%), followed by Colorado (110, 6.0%), New York (106, 5.8%), Oregon (71, 3.9%), Washington (67, 3.6%), and DC (64, 3.5%). The DC concentration reflects national advocacy and policy organizations.

By program purpose, 'Transform Food Systems' grants dominate the top 50 grantees, followed closely by 'Revitalize the Environment' and 'Safeguard the Environment and Natural Resources.' Community health grants are fewer in number but tend to be larger — the County of Napa's $3M outlier skews the distribution significantly.

Net investment income reached $25.3 million in FY2024 (up from effectively zero pre-2022), meaning the foundation now funds its grantmaking almost entirely from investment returns — a sustainable model that should support continued giving growth toward a $30-40M annual run rate in coming years.

The five peer foundations in the database all sit in the $560-580 million asset range, making them rough asset peers, though their focus areas and geographic reach differ substantially.

Among these asset peers, Clif Family Foundation stands out decisively for its open, structured application process. All five comparables operate primarily through invitation, making Clif's twice-yearly open cycles a meaningful anomaly. Applicants who might never get a meeting at Gross, Och, or Maxwell Hanrahan can submit directly to Clif through a transparent, equal-access portal.

Compared to mission-aligned food-systems funders, Clif's $24M giving remains modest relative to W.K. Kellogg (~$8B assets, ~$180M giving) or McKnight (~$3B, ~$100M giving), but its grassroots-first philosophy gives smaller organizations better access odds than those larger foundations, which typically restrict their community-level funding to invited relationships.

The period from 2024 into 2026 has been one of significant operational evolution for the foundation. The most impactful recent change is the migration from Submittable to Temelio as the primary grants management platform, which went live January 2, 2026. Returning grantees must re-register; their Submittable history does not transfer automatically.

The foundation also undertook a formal rebranding from 'Clif Bar Family Foundation' to 'Clif Family Foundation,' separating its identity from the Clif Bar brand now owned by Mondelez. The primary contact email shifted to info@cliffamilyfoundation.org, and the physical address updated to 1334 B Vidovich Ave., St. Helena, CA 94574.

On the financial side, 2024 marked the foundation's largest giving year to date: $23.4 million distributed to 361 grantees, with 77% as unrestricted general support. This compares to $15.1 million in FY2023 — a 59% year-over-year increase. Officer compensation also changed materially in FY2024: board members Anne Jennings and Elysa Hammond each began receiving $36,000 in annual compensation, up from $0 in FY2023, suggesting a more professionalized governance structure.

Notable large grants from the tracked grantee database include: County of Napa ($3M, community health), Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs ($637.5K), Breast Cancer Prevention Partners ($440K), and Chisholm Legacy Project ($350K). Climate justice and indigenous-led organizations received increasing attention, including NDN Collective ($300K), Climate Justice Alliance ($200K), and First Nations Development Institute ($200K).

No leadership departures or major strategic pivots were announced publicly in 2025-2026 beyond the platform and branding changes noted above.

The following tips are specific to the Clif Family Foundation's application requirements and culture — not generic grant-writing advice.

Timing is binary. The two annual deadlines (March 1 and August 1, both at 11:59 PM PST) are hard cutoffs. The new Temelio portal opened January 2, 2026 for the March 1 cycle. Build in two to three weeks before the deadline to complete the eligibility quiz, create an account, and assemble required materials — Temelio is a new platform and early-cycle technical issues are common.

Lead with general support. With 77% of 2024 grants designated as unrestricted general operating support, proposing project-specific funding is an implicit disadvantage. Frame your ask around organizational capacity and mission delivery, not a discrete project with line-item budget detail.

Two-pillar minimum. Proposals that touch only one of the three pillars (food systems, environment, community health) score lower. Identify genuine connections between your primary work and at least one adjacent pillar. Farmworker organizations should note connections to environmental health; food access organizations should connect to climate resilience; environmental groups should articulate food system or human health outcomes.

Quantify community rootedness. The foundation looks for grassroots implementation, not advocacy from above. Include: percentage of board members from affected communities, years operating in target geography, number of community members directly served, and any co-design or participatory decision-making elements in your programs.

Budget discipline matters. The $8 million operating budget ceiling is a hard screen. If your organization is near the threshold, use your most recent audited financials (not projections) and present the figure clearly. Organizations with budgets between $3-8M should proactively note their grassroots character to counter any perception of scale.

JEDI framing is non-negotiable. Every competitive application explicitly names the communities most impacted, explains historical context for disparities, and describes how decision-making power is shared with those communities. This is not a checkbox — it is the evaluative lens through which all applications are read.

Use the contact. The foundation explicitly lists info@cliffamilyfoundation.org and (510) 596-6383. A brief pre-application email confirming eligibility fit — not asking staff to review your proposal — signals engagement and surfaces any disqualifying factors early.

Plan for a four-month gap. Announcements come approximately June 15 (for March 1 submissions) and November 15 (for August 1 submissions). Do not plan programming that depends on confirmed funding before those dates.