Gerbode Foundation

The Gerbode Foundation — formally the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation — is a Berkeley-based family foundation established in 1955 and governed by the Gerbode family: Chair Sharon Gerbode, Vice Chairs Frank A. Gerbode (Treasurer) and Colin Gerbode (Secretary), and Director Ian Gerbode. Professional leadership rests with President/Assistant Secretary Stacie Maa (compensated $185,090 in the most recent year on record) and Executive Director Aimee Sueko Eng. The foundation holds approximately $37.4 million in assets as of FY2024 and operates two structurally distinct grantmaking tracks.

The general grantmaking track has historically favored organizations working on policy advocacy, civic participation, narrative change, and systems reform — explicitly not direct service delivery — within the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties) and Hawaii. The foundation's institutional mission — "empower courageous leaders and visionary artists who make a positive impact in their communities and inspire others to change the world" — sets a high bar for leadership quality and organizational distinctiveness. Staff look for evidence that grantees are "fiscally sound" and positioned to leverage Gerbode's investment with resources from other funders.

Grantee relationships tend to be durable and multi-year. Fresh Approach has received 5 grants totaling $500,000 in general support. Intersection for the Arts received 15 grants totaling $395,000 spanning both arts commissions and general support. Maplight accumulated $300,000 across 4 grants for its Digital Deception Solutions project and general operations. These patterns signal that Gerbode is a relationship funder — once you are in the portfolio, consistent performance sustains and deepens the partnership.

As of 2025–2026, the general LOI process is paused with no announced reopening date. The foundation has adopted JustFund as its grantmaking platform, reflecting a philosophical shift toward trust-based philanthropy that reduces applicant burden and prioritizes organizational values alignment. New applicants pursuing general grantmaking should sign up for the announcement list at gerbode.org and focus near-term energy on the arts program if eligible. First-time applicants in any program area should enter as established, credentialed organizations with demonstrated community impact — this is not a foundation for emerging nonprofits without a track record.

The Gerbode Foundation is entirely endowment-funded, with investment returns — not contributions — driving its grantmaking capacity. Net investment income in FY2023 was $976,209, down from $2.34 million in FY2022 and $1.98 million in FY2020, directly explaining the decline in annual giving over the same period. Total giving fell from $3.23 million in FY2020 to $2.24 million in FY2022 to $1.77 million in FY2023. The asset base has contracted 43% from its $63–66 million peak in 2013–2015 to $37.4 million in FY2024, and FY2024 grants paid figures were not yet available in the most recent 990 filing.

Typical grant sizes range from $2,500 to $100,000 per the foundation's own published guidelines, with a median of $25,000 and a database average of approximately $35,100 across 249 documented grants totaling $8.74 million. The arts commissioning program delivers the largest single-grant amounts — $50,000 per award in the 2025 theater round — while general support grants for justice and environment grantees typically run $25,000–$75,000 per cycle. The largest single-purpose grant identified is $100,000 to Mount Tamalpais College.

Geographically, 87% of grants (217 of 249) go to California organizations. Hawaii represents the foundation's only explicitly named secondary geography (14 grants, 6%), with organizations like Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law ($80,000 over 2 grants), Hawaii Alliance of Progressive Action ($100,000 over 4 grants), and FoodCorps ($160,000 for work in Hawaii and San Francisco) demonstrating the Pacific focus.

By program area, the arts cluster is the largest single group of grantees: Intersection for the Arts, Magic Theatre, Bindlestiff Studio, Brava Theater Center, Golden Thread Productions, Dancers' Group, Community Music Center, Women's Audio Mission, and Zaccho SF receive commissioning grants of $25,000–$75,000 per award. Justice grantees (Transgender Law Center $225,000, Ella Baker Center $300,000, Root Rebound $400,000, Alliance for Girls $160,000) receive larger multi-year general support. Environment grantees (Baykeeper $120,000, Watershed Project $100,000, Sonoma Ecology Center $80,000, People for Open Space $200,000) typically receive $25,000–$40,000 per grant, with occasional larger project-specific awards.

The Gerbode Foundation occupies a mid-sized niche among Bay Area progressive and arts funders. The table below compares it against four regional peers with overlapping program priorities.

Among these peers, Gerbode is the smallest by assets and total giving but distinguishes itself through its long-running structured arts commissioning program — a relatively rare mechanism that funds the creation of original new works, not just organizational operations. While the Walter & Elise Haas Fund and Akonadi Foundation operate exclusively by invitation, Gerbode's arts program remains publicly competitive with published deadlines and an accessible program office. The San Francisco Foundation offers the largest pool for general applicants but functions as a community foundation at a fundamentally different scale. For organizations at the intersection of arts and justice with Bay Area roots, Gerbode represents a high-value relationship target despite its smaller giving volume — multi-year general support relationships here can total $150,000–$500,000 over a grantee's tenure.

The most consequential recent development is the March 25, 2026 announcement of the 2026 Music & Sound Design Awards — the latest iteration in the annually rotating Special Awards in the Arts program. This cycle funds original music composition and sound design commissions through Bay Area nonprofit arts organizations, with a deadline of July 21, 2026 at 4:00 pm PT. Applications are submitted by email to special.awards@gerbode.org. Program Director Olivia Malabuyo Tablante is available for one-on-one consultations through July 7, 2026 and has hosted application workshops and drop-in sessions beginning March 24, 2026.

In 2025, the foundation ran a Theater Production Awards round — a $400,000 fund offering 8 grants of $50,000 each to Bay Area nonprofit theater organizations with annual budgets of $60,000–$3 million. Applications closed June 18, 2025, with notifications scheduled for September 2025. Organizations had to commit to minimum artist fees of $12,500 (single lead artist) or $25,000 (collaborative projects), and completed works must be presented in Bay Area counties between June 2026 and December 2028.

The foundation is marking a major institutional milestone: 2026–2027 represents the 40th anniversary of the Special Awards in the Arts program, originally launched in 1987. A celebration gathering all lead artists and supported organizations across the program's history is planned.

On the general grantmaking side, the LOI process has been paused — the most significant operational change in recent memory. President Stacie Maa's compensation has risen to $185,090 from $155,000 in prior years, suggesting active internal work on strategy and administration even as external grantmaking has contracted.

Timing: The most time-sensitive action for any applicant right now is registering for the 2026 Music & Sound Design Awards if your organization works in music commissioning — the deadline is July 21, 2026, and one-on-one consultation slots with Program Director Olivia Malabuyo Tablante close July 7, 2026. For general grantmaking, join the announcement list at gerbode.org immediately; no LOI can be submitted until the pause lifts.

Use free program office resources: The arts program explicitly offers workshops, drop-in hours, and individual consultations at no cost. Grantees who take advantage of these sessions arrive at submission with proposals that are structurally aligned with what the review panel expects. Treat these as mandatory preparation, not optional extras.

Lead with leadership, not programs: Gerbode's published mission prioritizes "courageous leaders" and "visionary artists" — not impressive programs. The board wants to feel that the person running the organization is irreplaceable and taking meaningful risk. Your executive director's background, approach, and community relationships belong in the narrative, not buried in a bio.

Policy and systems, not service delivery: Gerbode's restrictions explicitly exclude direct services, and its top grantees (Maplight for digital deception, Common Cause for media democracy policy, Transgender Law Center for legal advocacy and policy) are uniformly advocacy-oriented. Any mention of case management, hotlines, housing placement, or individual counseling without a strong policy or narrative frame will raise flags.

Show leverage: Gerbode explicitly seeks organizations that can "leverage our investment with other resources." Include a list of current funders and amounts in your budget narrative — co-investment by peer foundations (Haas Fund, Hellman, Rainin) signals that your organization has already passed scrutiny by sophisticated evaluators.

Hawaii-specific applicants: The foundation names Hawaii explicitly in its geographic priority, but Hawaii represents only 6% of historical grants. This is an underserved priority — organizations doing justice, environment, or arts work in Hawaii should apply with confidence and explicitly frame their work in relation to Gerbode's stated Hawaii commitment.

LOI format: Keep the initial LOI concise — the foundation describes it as a "short description of the project." Do not send videos, USB drives, or printed supplementary materials unless you include a SASE for return.