The Heising-Simons Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- The Heising-Simons Foundation funds across the United States with a stated priority for California, particularly San Francisco, so a strong fit depends on your work matching its themes of early childhood education, climate and clean energy, human rights, physical sciences, journalism or youth housing in San Francisco; within education it will not fund direct service supports, grants to individuals, curriculum development, or place-based activities that are not aligned with its major initiatives.
- Most grants to organisations fall between $30,000 and $475,000, with a median of $150,000, so pitching a request in that range is realistic, though the largest grant recorded was $4,000,000.
- The foundation discourages uninvited email enquiries and requests for proposals, and instead announces occasional open requests for proposals on its blog and the relevant programme webpage, so timing your approach to one of these windows is essential; how you apply varies by programme.
- A very high share of its grant dollars, 91%, went to organisations it had also funded in the two previous years it reported, suggesting this is a relationship-led funder where sustained partnerships matter more than one-off approaches.
- Those whose work falls under the stated education exclusions should not apply for that strand of funding.
Overview
The Heising-Simons Foundation is a US private foundation based in Los Altos, CA.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The Heising-Simons Foundation invests in leaders, organisations and ideas to improve early childhood education, climate and clean energy, science, domestic human rights, journalism and youth housing in San Francisco. Its Education programme supports durable and equitable education systems that give children from birth to age eight access to high-quality early care and education, and backs policy and practice through organisations working with policymakers, educators and families. In Science, it funds basic research and supporting activities in astronomy and cosmology, fundamental physics and climate change science, as well as efforts to broaden participation in those fields. It seeks leading-edge research where its support can make a difference, including work between disciplines, timely projects, critical funding gaps and high-impact ideas. Its other work aims to protect people and the planet from climate change and advance human rights and an informed society.
Themes
- Early childhood education
- Climate and clean energy
- Human rights
- Physical sciences
- Journalism
- Youth housing
Geographic Focus
United States. Priority: California; San Francisco.
What They Don't Fund
- Education only: direct service supports; grants to individuals; curriculum development; place-based activities that are not aligned with our major initiatives
How to apply
Uninvited email enquiries and requests for proposals are discouraged; occasional open requests for proposals are announced on the Foundation’s blog and the relevant programme webpage.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 91% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 2,036 grants to organisations were $150,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- The Foundation seeks leading-edge research where its support can make a difference, including interdisciplinary work, timely projects, critical funding gaps and high-impact ideas.
- Program staff source potential partnerships through internal research, field convenings and relationships aligned with programmatic strategies.
- The Education programme supports organisations partnering with policymakers, educators and families to create durable and equitable systems.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 10%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 10%
- The largest single recipient received 3% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 91% of grant dollars went to organisations The Heising-Simons Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- <1% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (United Kingdom, Canada, The Netherlands, Switzerland).
- 19% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 661 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $150k (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Environmental Defense Fund · To advance climate and clean energy policies$3,600,0002024 tax year
- Natural Resources Defense Council · To advance climate and clean energy policies$3,300,0002024 tax year
- Amalgamated Charitable Foundation · For the democracy frontlines fund$2,061,8562024 tax year
- Global Impact · For the emerging bilingual collaborative$2,000,0002024 tax year
- National Association for Family School and Community Engagement · For the center for family math$1,900,0002024 tax year
- California Education Partners · For the preschool to third grade coherence collaboration (p3cc)$1,500,0002024 tax year
- New Venture Fund · For the emerging bilingual collaborative$1,500,0002024 tax year
- Arizona State University Foundation for a New American University · For the children's equity project$1,313,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Judy Blumenstein — Treasurer (Thru 1/7/24), Finance Director
- Chelsey Scaffidi — Secretary
- Mark W Heising — Vice Chair Of The Board
- Caitlin Heising — Vice Chair Of The Board
- Elizabeth D Simons — Chair Of The Board
- Kevin Luu — Chief Financial Officer / Treasurer
- Jennifer Shipp — Secretary (Thru 7/8/24), Interim CEO & President
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $177,047,808 | $142,582,553 | $847,180,696 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $189,529,079 | $152,123,392 | $872,096,521 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $193,060,215 | $149,587,063 | $810,497,642 | 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
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to The Heising-Simons Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- sfhousing@hsfoundation.org
- Los Altos, CA
- hsfoundation.org
Applying to The Heising-Simons Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- sfhousing@hsfoundation.org
- Los Altos, CA
- hsfoundation.org