The Grove Foundation

The Grove Foundation, established in 1986 by Intel co-CEO Andrew 'Andy' Grove and Eva Grove, operates from Los Altos, California, as a trust-based philanthropic spend-down entity with approximately $96.2 million in total assets and an annual grantmaking budget of $15M–$20M. Its giving philosophy is grounded in racial equity, community-led solutions, and five program areas: Civic Engagement, Black Led Power Building, Immigration, Reproductive Health/Rights/Justice, and Safety Net.

The single most critical fact for applicants: The Grove Foundation does not accept unsolicited applications. Staff proactively research and identify potential partners, and new entries come exclusively through recommendations from current grantee partners and the broader funder network. The foundation is also explicit that as it approaches its 2030 end date, it is 'not actively seeking new grantees' — the overwhelming majority of remaining resources will deepen multi-year support for current partners.

For the rare organizations in a position to seek first-time funding: entry requires a warm introduction through the existing grantee network. Reviewing the top 50 grantees provides the roadmap — organizations like Neo Philanthropy, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, New Venture Fund, Tides Foundation, and State Voices are natural referral bridges. Partnerships, co-applications on collaborative grants, or joint advocacy work with current grantees creates the organic referral context Grove relies on.

Since its 2021 grantee perception report, Grove pivoted to trust-based philanthropy, providing largely unrestricted multi-year general operating support. This means partners can expect minimal reporting burdens, staff responsiveness within 24–48 hours, and transparent communication about funding timelines — including honest conversations about the 2030 end date.

The organizational profile of funded grantees is consistent across the portfolio: led by people of color, with demonstrated community roots, racial justice centering, and work at the intersection of civic power, immigrant rights, reproductive autonomy, or economic justice. Southern US organizations — particularly Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama — hold particular priority under the Black Led Power Building initiative. The Safety Net focus embraces Bay Area local organizations in food access, legal services, workforce development, and housing.

No formal LOI, RFP, application portal, or grant cycle exists. The typical relationship progression for new grantees who receive invitations: referral from existing network → staff research and vetting → exploratory conversation → site visit if appropriate → invitation to submit materials in whatever format Grove requests.

Across 714 recorded grants totaling $100.4 million, The Grove Foundation's average grant stands at $140,614 — but this figure masks a highly stratified distribution. Individual relationship totals range from modest project grants to multi-million-dollar anchor investments: the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research received a single $5M project support grant, while Neo Philanthropy accumulated $4.785M across five grants funding voter registration and immigrant rights infrastructure.

Annual giving has ranged considerably over the past decade: $13.7M (2012) → $16.6M (2018) → $19.2M (2020) → $24.2M (2021, the peak year, driven by Eva Grove's additional contribution for Black Led Power Building) → $16.9M in FY2022-2023. Total assets have declined from a high of $125.1M (FY2019) to $96.2M by FY2022-2023, reflecting both market conditions and the intentional spend-down trajectory toward 2030.

By program area: - Immigration is the dominant cluster by volume: Immigrant Legal Resource Center ($3.3M/5 grants), International Rescue Committee ($2.8M/6 grants), Legal Aid Society of San Mateo ($1.1M/5 grants), Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto ($1.1M/5 grants), National Immigration Law Center ($705K/2 grants), and California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice ($900K/3 grants). - Civic Engagement / Power Building: One Arizona ($1.68M), Center for Civic Policy ($1.29M), National Urban Indian Family Coalition ($820K), Eyes Open Iowa ($830K), Trailhead Institute ($780K), State Voices ($760K). - Reproductive Health/Rights/Justice: Advocates for Youth ($2.6M/5 grants), Planned Parenthood Mar Monte ($2.2M/5 grants), Cardea Center ($1.16M/4 grants), IfWhenHow ($700K/4 grants), Groundswell Fund ($600K/3 grants). - Safety Net / Local: Second Harvest of Silicon Valley ($780K/3 grants), JobTrain ($625K/5 grants), Redwood City Elementary ($755K/5 grants), Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center ($601K/4 grants), Coastside Hope ($545K/5 grants). - Environmental Justice: Center on Race Poverty & Environment ($1M/3 grants), Communities for a Better Environment ($762K/4 grants), Grid Alternatives ($700K/3 grants), Central California Environmental Justice Network ($775K/3 grants).

Geographic distribution: California accounts for 343 of 714 grants (48%), with a strong national organization cluster in DC (55 grants) and NY (57 grants). Arizona (50), New Mexico (26), Nevada (24), Georgia (23), and Colorado (16) represent secondary geographies.

Relationship depth is the norm: the top 50 grantees each received 2–6 grants, with most multi-year relationships yielding $500K–$2.5M cumulative.

The Grove Foundation's peer foundations in the ~$100M asset tier share the Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE classification but differ substantially in focus, grantmaking model, and public profile:

The Grove Foundation stands apart from its asset-tier peers in three meaningful ways. First, its giving-to-assets ratio (~17% annually at the $16-17M level against $96M in assets) is dramatically higher than the standard 5% payout minimum, reflecting the deliberate spend-down strategy that will extinguish the foundation by 2030. Second, its explicit trust-based philanthropy philosophy — multi-year unrestricted general operating support, minimized reporting, rapid staff responsiveness — positions it as a grantee-centric outlier relative to more transactional peer foundations. Third, its concentrated focus on progressive policy work (immigration rights, reproductive justice, civic engagement for BIPOC communities) gives it a distinctive ideological identity that most comparably sized family foundations do not publicly adopt. The Gerber Foundation is the most structurally comparable peer with a known open application process and defined issue focus, though its programmatic orientation toward infant/child health is entirely distinct. Among California peers, no similarly sized foundation has Grove's combination of social justice focus and trust-based operating model.

The most consequential recent announcement is The Grove Foundation's confirmed spend-down commitment: all assets will be distributed and grantmaking will cease by 2030, consistent with the founders' original intent. This has directly triggered a policy of not seeking new grantees as of 2024-2025, with the foundation redirecting focus toward deepening multi-year support for existing partners through the wind-down period.

On the leadership front, a notable transition occurred in 2023: Eva K. Grove stepped down as Secretary effective May 31, 2023. She was replaced by Blanch Vance, appointed Secretary from August 8, 2023. Karen Grove remains Board Chair and Leslie Dorosin continues as Co-Executive Director/CFO. All officers report $0 compensation, consistent with the lean family foundation structure Grove has always maintained.

In FY2021, annual giving peaked at $24.2 million — the highest in the foundation's recorded history — driven by a special contribution from Eva Grove to accelerate the Black Led Power Building initiative launched in 2020. This initiative committed five years of concentrated funding to Black-led advocacy organizations in Louisiana, Georgia, and Alabama, a geographic expansion beyond Grove's traditional California and national org focus.

In 2016, Grove formalized its racial justice grantmaking philosophy and realigned an estimated $150 million in assets to mission-aligned investments — including Amalgamated Bank, BloomLife, Calvert Impact, Grid Alternatives, and Housing Trust Silicon Valley — extending the foundation's equity values into its investment portfolio.

Web searches for 2025-2026 yielded no specific press releases or grant announcements from The Grove Foundation beyond the confirmed spend-down trajectory. The foundation maintains a deliberately low public profile consistent with its invitation-only, relationship-driven model.

Given the invitation-only model and the explicit wind-down toward 2030, securing funding from The Grove Foundation requires an unconventional approach that prioritizes relationship-building over proposal-writing.

The Referral Path Is the Only Path Grove identifies partners 'through their own research, recommendations from current grantee partners, and their funder network' — no open application process exists. The practical first step is mapping existing grantees whose work intersects yours: Neo Philanthropy, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Tides Foundation, New Venture Fund, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Social Good Fund, Cardea Center, State Voices, and Amalgamated Charitable Foundation all represent potential referral bridges. Co-application on collaborative grants, joint advocacy coalitions, or shared capacity-building initiatives with current grantees creates the organic referral context Grove relies on.

Act on the Spend-Down Timeline With a 2030 end date confirmed, organizations realistically have a 2–3 year window (through approximately 2027-2028) where new relationship investment could yield 2–4 grant cycles before the spend-down contraction. Waiting will narrow this window substantially — internal focus on current partners is already the stated priority.

Alignment Language and Organizational Fit Grove is explicit about its identity: trust-based philanthropy, racial equity, community-led solutions. Introductions and conversations should reflect this vocabulary authentically. Key phrases from Grove's own materials: 'communities most impacted by systemic injustice,' 'trust-based collaboration,' 'people of color-led,' 'community-controlled governance.' Organizations that can demonstrate these values in internal governance and leadership demographics — not just programmatic framing — will resonate most.

Strong vs. Weak Alignment Strong fit: immigration legal services; civic/voter engagement in AZ, NV, NM, CA; reproductive rights movement work; Black-led organizing in GA, LA, AL; environmental justice in California communities of color; Bay Area direct services with systems change orientation. Weak fit: policy research without advocacy, service delivery without power-building, non-BIPOC-led organizations applying in contested program areas.

Contact Approach The foundation actively encourages use of its website contact form (grovefoundation.org/contact/) to surface new ideas. A concise 2–3 paragraph introduction — who you are, what you do, why you align with Grove's values, and who referred you — is appropriate. Avoid attachments; prioritize narrative over data at the outreach stage.

Common Mistakes Treating Grove as a standard open grant program; submitting project-specific asks without general operating context; approaching without a referral; failing to acknowledge the 2030 spend-down in conversations (demonstrating awareness signals sophistication and builds trust).