Gilead Sciences Foundation

The Gilead Sciences Foundation is one of the most rapidly scaled corporate foundations in health philanthropy. Re-launched in 2021 with an initial $211.9 million infusion from Gilead Sciences, Inc., it grew from near-dormancy ($31,000 in giving in 2020) to a $25 million-per-year grantmaker within two years. That trajectory is central to understanding how to approach this funder: they are building their identity and strategic priorities in real time, which creates both opportunity and asymmetry for applicants.

The foundation channels funding through three distinct programs. The Creating Possible Fund provides multi-year, high-touch partnerships with organizations building organizational capacity for education equity and health equity work — these relationships are largely cohort-based and require invitation or proximity to existing grantee networks. The Building Community Donations program funds local nonprofits addressing social determinants of health across three areas: Science and Innovation, Access and Health Equity, and People and Culture — this is where unsolicited LOIs are reviewed and where first-time applicants should direct their attention. The Giving Together Program matches employee donations to approved nonprofits but is not accessible to unsolicited applicants.

The foundation's core thesis is that education equity drives health equity — that closing opportunity gaps in schools leads to better long-term health outcomes. Organizations that can articulate their work within this framework, even if their primary identity is educational or community-focused rather than clinical, are well positioned. First-time applicants should enter through the Building Community Donations portal, submit a concise LOI, and demonstrate organizational embeddedness in communities the foundation already prioritizes: Bay Area (San Mateo County, Oakland, San Francisco), Los Angeles, Compton, and — increasingly — cities across the South and Midwest affected by the HIV epidemic.

Relationship progression typically runs from LOI to funded community grant ($50,000–$500,000) to multi-year renewal to potential consideration for the Creating Possible Fund. Virtually all top grantees in the 990 data received 2–3 grants across multiple years, indicating that sustained relationships are how the foundation operates in practice, even if policy language states that previous funding does not guarantee future support. Building a measurable track record across one grant cycle before seeking larger, multi-year support is the most reliable path.

The Gilead Sciences Foundation's grant distribution reveals a bimodal structure. The largest single transaction recorded — $18 million to America Online Giving Foundation for the 2022–23 Giving Together employee matching program — is an internal pass-through mechanism, not a competitive grant. Excluding this, community-facing grants across 130 relationships average approximately $204,000 per grantee relationship.

Operational grant ranges for direct community organizations run from $50,000 (general operating support for smaller CBOs like Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland, Ayudando Latinos A Sonar, and Children of Shelters) to $2 million (strategic multi-year partnerships with Xavier University of Louisiana, St. Johns Well Child and Family Center, Yellow Work Inc., and Oakland Fund for Public Innovation). Mid-tier grants of $150,000–$500,000 are the most common, representing roughly 60% of the grantee population. Capital project grants represent a newer, higher ceiling: the $5 million gift to San Francisco State University in 2025 for the Science and Engineering Innovation Center is the largest known single institutional grant in the foundation's history.

Total annual giving grew sharply: $7.35 million in 2021 → $20.27 million in 2022 → $25.18 million in 2023, with 2024 estimated at approximately $21.5 million. The foundation's total assets held relatively stable at $161.9–$164.8 million across 2022–2024, as corporate contributions have slowed while investment income sustains distributions. The 2026 $12 million CHW HIV initiative — a two-year commitment across 33 organizations — implies average per-organization grants of roughly $363,000, consistent with the mid-tier norm.

Geographic concentration is pronounced: California accounts for 88 of 114 catalogued grants (77%), with San Mateo County, Oakland, and San Francisco representing the largest cluster. North Carolina and New York each account for 6 grants; Louisiana, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Alabama, and D.C. account for 2 each. Program area split: approximately 60% of community grants address education equity (STEM programs, school-based services, scholarship funds, college access), 25% health equity (community health, mental health, food security), and 15% community resilience (violence prevention, legal services, housing stability).

The Gilead Sciences Foundation stands out among similarly-sized education funders in several dimensions. Its annual giving ($25.2 million in 2023) far exceeds what comparably-endowed peers like Teagle or Cameron distribute, reflecting ongoing corporate parent support rather than endowment returns alone. Unlike the Teagle Foundation — which focuses narrowly on liberal arts higher education at accredited colleges — Gilead takes a K-through-college continuum approach with an explicit health equity overlay, opening doors for health-adjacent nonprofits that would find Teagle out of scope. Capital One Foundation is the closest analog in giving volume but concentrates on financial literacy and workforce development rather than STEM and education equity, making the two foundations largely non-competitive for the same grantees. Organizations already in the Capital One portfolio may find Gilead a natural parallel funder. The key strategic difference from all peers: Gilead's corporate foundation structure means its priorities can shift quickly with parent company strategy — the 2026 pivot toward HIV prevention is a leading indicator of where the foundation is heading.

March 2026: The Gilead Foundation announced a $12 million, two-year commitment to 33 community-based organizations across 14 states and Washington, D.C., under its Community Health Worker (CHW) Comprehensive HIV Prevention Initiative. Board Chair Keeley Wettan stated that 'community health workers are often the first and most trusted point of connection for people seeking information, support and care.' This is the foundation's largest single health equity commitment and represents a meaningful strategic expansion beyond education. Priority populations include Black and Latino men who have sex with men, cisgender and transgender women, people who inject drugs, and youth.

September 2025: The foundation committed $6.5 million in STEM education grants — a $5 million gift to San Francisco State University for its new Science and Engineering Innovation Center (the largest known institutional grant in foundation history), $1 million to Boys and Girls Clubs of America across eight sites in California, Maryland, D.C., and North Carolina, and $500,000 to San Mateo Foster City Education Foundation.

Early 2025: The foundation committed over $3 million to food insecurity solutions including mobile pantries, produce recovery efforts, urban farming, and school-centered food distribution.

Leadership remains stable and tightly integrated with the Gilead Sciences executive team: Keeley Wettan (Board Chair), Teri Wielenga (Secretary and Treasurer), and directors including Jyoti Mehra, Andrew Dickinson, Joydeep Ganguly, and Merdad Parsey — all current or former Gilead Sciences senior executives. All officer compensation is reported as $0, consistent with the foundation's lean staffing model and reliance on parent company infrastructure.

Use the LOI portal as your entry point — no exceptions. The Gilead Foundation's online portal (accessible via the How to Apply section at gilead.com) is the required first step. A brief questionnaire guides you to create an account and submit your LOI. Do not email a full proposal, do not call the office as an opener. Use GileadFoundation@gilead.com only for program-specific questions after reviewing available guidance; use grants@gilead.com for technical application questions.

The six-week rule is a hard cutoff. All requests must be submitted at least six weeks before the activity's start date. Gilead explicitly will not fund retroactive activities. Build a full 6-12 week review window into your planning calendar — do not attempt to submit for programs beginning within the next four weeks.

Frame proposals in the foundation's exact language. Write 'health equity,' 'education equity,' 'social determinants of health,' 'systems change,' and 'community resilience' — not as buzzwords but as organizing concepts that match the evaluation rubric. The Creating Possible Fund and Building Community Donations both assess how well proposals articulate the link between educational access and long-term health outcomes. If your program addresses STEM access, school-based health services, food security, mental health supports for students, or workforce pipelines for health careers, lead with that intersectional framing.

Name demographics and zip codes, not abstractions. The foundation prioritizes Black- and Brown-led organizations with lived experience in the communities served. Two-thirds of Creating Possible Fund grantees meet this criterion. State explicitly in your LOI: what percentage of leadership and program staff share the lived experience of program participants, which specific ZIP codes or census tracts you serve, and what community governance structures keep programming accountable to residents.

Submit a project-specific budget, not an annual operating budget. This is an explicit stated requirement that screens out otherwise competitive applications. Break down how every Gilead dollar will be used — staffing, materials, evaluation, and overhead — for the specific proposed program. Do not attach your organization's full Form 990 as a substitute.

Apply once per project per year. The foundation will not review the same project twice within 12 months. If declined, contact grants@gilead.com for feedback before reapplying. Targeting multiple distinct programs within the same organization is permissible if each application is separate and clearly scoped.

California applicants have a structural advantage. With 88 of 114 known grants concentrated in California, Bay Area-based organizations in San Mateo County, Oakland, San Francisco, Compton, and Los Angeles are disproportionately represented. Organizations outside California should explicitly cite their connection to Gilead's operational footprint (North Carolina Research Triangle, New York offices) or to communities with documented HIV/AIDS burden.