Mae Philanthropies

Mae Philanthropies is a preselection-only private foundation that does not accept unsolicited grant proposals under any circumstances. This is the single most important fact for any prospective grantee to internalize before spending time preparing materials. The foundation was established in 2017 by James J. Goetz (a general partner at Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley's premier venture firms) and Melanie M. Goetz, and reflects the deeply personal philanthropic vision of this family. Day-to-day operations are led by President Barbara Izzo, who maintains offices in both Los Gatos, CA and Miami, FL.

The foundation's stated mission — "creating a world where collaboration and continuous learning lead to enduring solutions" — encompasses mental health, community support, education, and research. In practice, the grantee list reveals a more specific and personal giving pattern. The University of Cincinnati Foundation has received $19.6M across three grants, representing a $25M cumulative commitment reportedly tied to a professor who influenced the Goetz family. This anchor relationship defines the foundation's giving profile more than any stated program area.

Beyond education, Mae Philanthropies funds Jewish community organizations (Greater Miami Jewish Fund, Birthright Israel Foundation, Temple Beth Fund), healthcare research (UCSF School of Pharmacy), social justice intermediaries (Tides Foundation, Hopewell Fund), and international causes (Brazil Foundation, Andrea Bocelli Foundation via Charities Aid Foundation America). Animal welfare is an emerging priority: Melanie Goetz personally runs Freedom Reigns Foundation for equine rescue, and in August 2025, Mae Philanthropies provided a $25,000 matching gift to Morris Animal Foundation.

For first-time applicants, the realistic path to consideration requires a genuine relational connection — not a cold contact form submission. Organizations should identify mutual foundations (Tides, Hopewell Fund), Bay Area nonprofit leaders, or University of Cincinnati alumni networks as potential introduction pathways. Jewish community organizations with Miami ties should focus on the East Coast office. Animal welfare and human-animal bond research organizations should engage directly with the Morris Animal Foundation relationship as a potential warm referral network. Any approach should emphasize long-term, systemic impact over programmatic outputs — the foundation uses the language of "enduring solutions," which reflects the founders' venture-capital mindset of backing transformative, scalable change.

Mae Philanthropies' grantmaking history reveals a highly concentrated anchor-institution model that distorts aggregate statistics significantly. Across 15 documented grants totaling $21.5M, the University of Cincinnati Foundation alone received $19.6M (91% of all documented giving). This anchor relationship must be understood separately from the rest of the portfolio.

Excluding the University of Cincinnati grants, the remaining 12 grants total approximately $1.94M, with a mean of $162,000 and a true median of approximately $75,000. The smallest documented grant was $15,000 (Brazil Foundation, 2023) and the largest non-Cincinnati award was $1.1M (Stanford University). For most non-anchor grantees, the effective range is $25,000–$200,000, with $50,000–$100,000 being the modal grant size.

Annual giving has been volatile, reflecting the timing of large anchor disbursements: - 2019: $2.2M total giving - 2020: $2.6M total giving - 2021: $19.3M total giving (anomalous spike — included a ~$13.8M University of Cincinnati disbursement) - 2022: $2.4M total giving - 2023: $2.1M total giving, $1.275M grants paid - 2024: $7.0M in charitable disbursements (ProPublica; likely another major Cincinnati installment)

The foundation's asset base has grown from $19.5M (2015) to $131.4M (2024) — a 573% increase — driven by $15M+ in annual Goetz family contributions. Net investment income reached $17.5M in 2023 alone from a $104M base, and total 2024 revenue was $28.3M. This endowment trajectory suggests sustainable grantmaking capacity well above baseline.

By geography, Ohio (University of Cincinnati) dominates by dollar volume at approximately 91%, while California (Stanford, UCSF) accounts for 27% of grant count. Florida (Miami Jewish organizations) and North Carolina (Wake Forest University) each represent 13% of grant count. By focus area (dollar-weighted): education represents approximately 93% of total giving, social justice/community 2%, healthcare research 0.5%, Jewish causes 0.4%, and international/other 0.3%.

The following table compares Mae Philanthropies to four asset-equivalent peer foundations identified by proximity in total asset size (all between $131M–$132M). All are private, non-operating foundations classified under NTEE Philanthropy & Grantmaking.

Among these comparably sized foundations, Mae Philanthropies is distinctive in its Silicon Valley origins and venture-capital-influenced giving philosophy. The Wood-Claeyssens Foundation (Santa Barbara, CA) is the closest geographic peer but focuses on Catholic philanthropy, arts, and environment rather than education. The Edward Lowe Foundation is notable as the only peer with limited open-application programs, making it a better first target for organizations that haven't yet cultivated a relationship with Mae. Mae Philanthropies' giving volume is more volatile than its peers due to the periodic large anchor-institution disbursements, but its rapidly growing asset base ($131.4M in 2024, up from $79.8M in 2022) positions it for significantly increased annual grantmaking within the next five years.

The most significant recent activity from Mae Philanthropies is an August 2025 partnership with Morris Animal Foundation, in which the foundation provided a $25,000 matching gift in honor of National Dog Day (August 26, 2025), with the match window running through August 31. President Barbara Izzo publicly stated the grant reflects the foundation's interest in the therapeutic potential of service dogs and improving outcomes "for both animals and the people who rely on them." This is notable as the first publicly announced grant tied to animal health rather than the foundation's usual education and social justice categories, signaling a possible programmatic expansion.

The 2024 fiscal year data (from ProPublica) shows $7M in charitable disbursements, substantially above the $1.3M–$2.4M baseline of 2022–2023. This elevated giving likely reflects a major installment toward the confirmed $25M cumulative commitment to the University of Cincinnati Foundation, where a campus building has been renamed to honor a professor connected to the Goetz family.

No new executive leadership changes have been publicly announced. Barbara Izzo continues as President, and James J. and Melanie M. Goetz remain as board chair and secretary-treasurer respectively, all with no reported change since at least fiscal year 2022. The foundation has not published a press release or annual report page on its website, consistent with its historically low public profile for a $131M foundation.

Because Mae Philanthropies explicitly makes "contributions to preselected charitable organizations only" and does not accept unsolicited requests, conventional grant-writing advice is largely irrelevant. What follows is guidance specific to positioning your organization for eventual consideration.

Understand the relationship model first. The Goetz family's giving centers on institutions and causes with genuine personal meaning — a professor at University of Cincinnati, equine rescue, service dogs, Jewish community institutions in Miami. Cold outreach premised on mission alignment alone will not succeed. Demonstrating a pre-existing connection or building a genuine relationship is the prerequisite.

Use the contact form strategically, not as an application portal. The connect page at maephilanthropies.org accepts name, email, organization, and message. If you use it, frame your message as an introduction, not a funding request — mention specific alignment with their stated priorities (mental health, community support, education, research) and request a brief conversation, not a grant.

Identify warm introduction pathways. Tides Foundation and Hopewell Fund have received Mae grants and operate as fiscal sponsors or intermediary funders for hundreds of organizations. If your organization works with either, ask program staff whether they can facilitate an introduction. Bay Area nonprofit networks connected to Sequoia Capital's portfolio companies are another pathway to the Goetz family.

Target the Miami East Coast office for Jewish community causes. Organizations aligned with Jewish community development, Israel engagement, or social justice in the Miami metro area should direct outreach toward the East Coast office, where the Greater Miami Jewish Fund and Birthright Israel Foundation grants suggest an active giving relationship.

Emphasize systems-level impact language. The foundation uses "enduring solutions," "collaborative efforts," and "continuous learning" in its mission language. Proposals (if invited) should frame impact in terms of long-term systemic change, not single-year program metrics — mirroring the venture-capital mindset of the founders.

Timing: No public grant cycle or deadline exists. The foundation operates on its own calendar based on anchor-institution disbursement schedules and opportunistic giving. Budget 12–18 months for relationship cultivation before any funding discussion.