Erik E And Edith H Bergstrom Foundation A Charitable Trust

The Erik E. and Edith H. Bergstrom Foundation operates as a tightly focused, invitation-only private foundation with a singular mission: expanding access to contraceptives and safe abortion services across East Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the United States. Founded by Erik and Edith Bergstrom in 1982 and incorporated as a charitable trust in 2002, the foundation has grown from an $80.9M asset base (2012) to approximately $256M (2024), enabling it to deploy $9.6M–$15.9M annually across 22–24 grants.

The foundation's philosophy rests on the belief that human wellbeing, economic development, environmental protection, and reproductive rights are inextricably linked. This intersectional view explains why the grantee roster includes not only reproductive health giants like MSI-US and IPPF Western Hemisphere but also solar cooker distributors (Solar Cookers International, Tanzania), conservation organizations (African Parks Foundation, Global Conservation), and education programs (University of Wyoming, Whitman College scholarships). The common thread is demonstrable impact on marginalized populations in specific geographies.

Critically, this is not a transactional funder. A review of 990-PF filings shows MSI-US receiving 3 separate grants totaling $5.82M, IPPF Western Hemisphere receiving 2 grants totaling $4.94M, and Pathfinder International, DKT International, and Population Services International each receiving 3 grants — all multi-year, repeat relationships. Co-founder Edith H. Bergstrom still serves as trustee (compensated $30K/year), lending the foundation a founder's personal commitment to its grantees. Family trustees Janet Greig and Wylie Greig round out the board alongside professional staff leadership.

First-time applicants face a fundamental challenge: the foundation's IRS 990 explicitly lists "preselected organizations only" as its application policy, and the website does not publish grant guidelines or solicitation windows. Entry into the portfolio requires building relationships within the existing grantee ecosystem — attending conferences, co-authoring research, or receiving peer referrals from MSI-US, Ipas, Population Media Center, or Pathfinder International. With only 22–24 awards per year and a 7-person professional staff now led by Executive Director Ann Rebecca Shulman (compensated $305,477), every grant reflects intentional due diligence and long-term partnership thinking. Organizations that have grown alongside the portfolio — demonstrating scalable impact over multiple grant cycles — are the clearest model for aspiring grantees.

The Bergstrom Foundation's financial growth over the past decade is remarkable. Total assets climbed from $80.9M (2012) to $225.3M (2020) and reached approximately $256M by FY2024, reflecting sustained investment returns that have averaged well above benchmark in recent years. Net investment income has ranged from $3.3M (2012) to a peak of $26.97M (2021), normalizing to $11.77M in the 2022-2023 period. Annual grantmaking has tracked these returns with a short lag: $1.64M (2012) → $8.39M (2019) → $15.92M (2022-2023) → approximately $9.61M (2024). The payout rate reached 7.8% of assets in 2022-2023, well above the legally required 5% minimum for private foundations.

Grant concentration is extreme. The top three grantees — MSI-US ($5.82M across 3 grants), IPPF Western Hemisphere ($4.94M across 2 grants), and Philanthropic Ventures Foundation ($3.73M across 2 grants) — account for approximately 49% of the $29.5M in documented grantee data. Single grants to anchor partners have reached as high as $2.75M (IPPFWHR, one cycle). Population Services International ($1.68M, Uganda), IPAS ($1.51M, Ethiopia/Mozambique/Mexico), and One World Children's Fund ($2.33M, Kenya/Uganda) occupy a middle tier at $500K–$2.5M per multi-year commitment.

The distribution is bimodal: a handful of large multi-year commitments at $1–3M, and a long tail of smaller mission-aligned grants at $21K–$85K. The latter tier includes Solar Cookers International ($85K for Tanzania), Global Conservation ($85K for Guatemala's Mirador basin), Wallowa Land Trust ($21.4K for a conservation easement in Oregon), and Planned Parenthood Greater Washington & North Idaho ($25K general support). Across 27 records in the typical grant size dataset, the median is $25,000 and the average is $285,847 — heavily skewed by the large anchors.

By geography: Uganda appears most frequently across grantees (MSI-US, PSI, Pathfinder, One World Children's Fund, King Baudouin Foundation, No Scalpel Vasectomy International), followed by Kenya, Tanzania, and Bolivia. US domestic grants are small and relationship-driven. By program area: reproductive health (contraception, family planning, safe abortion) represents approximately 80% of total documented giving, conservation roughly 10%, and education/scholarships approximately 5%.

Among asset-comparable peers in the $255–$257M range, the Bergstrom Foundation stands out in three important ways. First, it is one of the most transparent private foundations of its size — its IRS 990-PF filings detail specific grantee names, grant purposes, and amounts rather than using vague categorical descriptions, making it unusually legible to prospective grantees and researchers. Second, its thematic mandate is unusually specific: international reproductive health with a defined country list across two continents, contrasting sharply with most foundations of comparable size that maintain diversified domestic portfolios across education, health, arts, and community development. Third, its payout rate exceeded the 5% legal minimum in recent years (reaching 7.8% in 2022-2023), signaling active deployment of capital rather than passive endowment management. None of the four peer foundations have disclosed sufficient public data to permit a detailed payout-rate or program-focus comparison, but Bergstrom's explicit commitment to marginalized populations in specific international geographies makes it a highly differentiated funder within the broader Philanthropy & Grantmaking sector.

The most significant recent development is a formal leadership transition. IRS filings through 2022-2023 showed Julia R. Bolous serving as Trustee and Chief Operating Officer (compensated $270,654/year). By FY2024, ProPublica data indicates Ann Rebecca Shulman has been appointed Executive Director (compensated $305,477), with Bolous shifting to a Special Advisor role ($273,229). Co-founder Edith H. Bergstrom continues as Trustee ($30,000/year), alongside family trustees Janet Greig and Wylie Greig (each $30,000/year). The addition of a formal Executive Director title marks the foundation's institutional maturation beyond a founder-and-family governance model.

Grant volume in 2024 reached 24 awards totaling approximately $9.61M — a meaningful pullback from the $15.92M peak in 2022-2023. In 2023, the foundation made 22 awards. This normalization likely reflects investment income reverting from the exceptional 2021 level ($26.97M net investment income) that had temporarily expanded grantmaking. Future annual giving is expected to stabilize in the $9–12M range, consistent with the foundation's long-run investment income baseline of $10–12M annually.

Population Media Center publicly announced receipt of two separate funding awards from the Bergstrom Foundation for population-media education programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Guatemala, Uganda, Zambia, Burundi, and Kenya — consistent with the foundation's documented history of 3 grants to PMC totaling $557,328. No other grantees appear to have publicly announced Bergstrom Foundation awards in 2025-2026. The foundation maintains an exceptionally low public profile — no press releases, no social media presence, and no publicly available RFP documents.

Since the Bergstrom Foundation operates exclusively by invitation and does not accept unsolicited proposals, traditional application strategies do not apply. The path to funding runs entirely through relationship-building and sector positioning.

Work in the right geographies. The foundation funds work in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda, and South Sudan in East Africa, and Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Haiti, and Ecuador in Latin America. US-based programs serving marginalized populations in family planning are a tertiary priority. If your geography does not intersect with these countries, cultivation is unlikely to lead anywhere productive.

Lead with reproductive health credentials. Over 80% of documented grantmaking supports contraception access, safe abortion services, and family planning. Organizations with strong clinical delivery programs, measurable output data (clients served, commodities distributed, procedures completed), and existing partnerships with MSI, IPPF, or PSI are the most natural fit. The foundation's own language emphasizes "hard-to-reach populations" — rural, low-income, and marginalized communities.

Attend the right convenings. The International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP), Women Deliver, and Africa-focused sexual and reproductive health forums are where Bergstrom portfolio partners gather. Building relationships with staff from MSI-US, Ipas, Population Media Center, and DKT International over 12–24 months is the real application pipeline — not a proposal form.

Conservation is a secondary door, not a main entrance. Grants to African Parks Foundation, Global Conservation, and Wallowa Land Trust are small ($21K–$85K) and appear relationship-driven. These are not viable entry points for new organizations unless a network introduction is already in place.

Be ready for professional due diligence. With 7 staff, a $305K Executive Director, and a $256M+ asset base, the Bergstrom Foundation conducts serious review before extending any invitation. Ensure financial audits (last 2 years), organizational governance documents, and program evaluations with quantified outputs are current and readily accessible.

Mirror the foundation's vocabulary. Grant purpose statements in 990 filings consistently use terms like "reproductive health," "family planning," "safe abortion services," "contraceptives," and specific country names. When engaging with staff or current grantees, use this precise vocabulary — it signals genuine alignment rather than mission creep.