The Adobe Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- The foundation works by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so a cold application is unlikely to get a hearing; the more sensible first step is to seek an introduction through someone who already knows it.
- Its stated purposes are creative and digital literacy, social equity and opportunity, and community engagement, and its grants have covered museums and arts, human-rights and disability-rights groups, emergency relief, homelessness and food security, and education and STEM, so your work should clearly sit within those themes.
- The typical grant falls between $150,000 and $1,000,000, with a median of $250,000 and half of its grants at $250,000 or less, so a request near the lower end of that range fits its usual giving, though its largest grant was about $2,100,000 and the band is not a ceiling.
- Repeat funding is substantial: 53% of its grant dollars in the filing went to organisations it had also funded in an earlier filing, so new applicants should expect to be measured against an established pattern of returning grantees.
Overview
The Adobe Foundation is a US private foundation based in Wilmington, DE.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Adobe Foundation describes its purpose as creating positive change through support for creative and digital literacy, social equity and opportunity, and active engagement in communities where its people live and work. Its grants have supported museums and arts institutions, human-rights and disability-rights organisations, emergency-relief, homelessness and food-security charities, and educational institutions and STEM learning. Giving includes general and unrestricted support as well as grants for collaborative or programme work. Its stated approach connects creative and digital opportunity with wider social equity and community engagement; its grant record shows support for a varied range of charitable organisations and community services.
Themes
- Creative and digital literacy
- Social equity and opportunity
- Community engagement
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in California, New York, Virginia, United Kingdom and the United States.
How to apply
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 53% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022 and TY2024 filings, half of its 59 grants to organisations were $250,000 or less.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
5 other states: 10%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 17%
- The largest single recipient received 15% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 53% of grant dollars went to organisations The Adobe Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- 17% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (United Kingdom, Japan, Switzerland).
- 4% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 29 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $300k (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Victoria and Albert Museum · Adobe Creative Residency Program$2,112,2202024 tax year
- Museum of Modern Art · Adobe x MoMA program$2,000,0002024 tax year
- Human Rights Watch · General & Unrestricted$1,000,0002024 tax year
- American National Red Cross · General & Unrestricted$750,0002024 tax year
- Actors Fund of America · General & Unrestricted$500,0002024 tax year
- Disability Rights Fund · General & Unrestricted$500,0002024 tax year
- Equal Justice Initiative · General & Unrestricted$500,0002024 tax year
- Equality Now · General & Unrestricted$500,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Amy White — Executive Director
- Karen Robinson — Director
- Stacy Martinet — Director, Secretary
- Hannah Elsakr — Director, President
- Rosemary Arrida-Keiper — Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
2 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $15,155,623 | $15,009,001 | $30,089,367 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $14,029,600 | $13,864,375 | $14,754,179 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
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At a glance
Applying to The Adobe Foundation?
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Applying to The Adobe Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required