McChord Foundation - Grant Information & Application Details

Quick Stats

Annual Giving: $4,405,000 (2023)
Total Assets: $174,212,938 (2023)
Decision Time: Not applicable (invitation/trustee discretion only)
Grant Range: $2,500 - $1,000,000
Geographic Focus: Primarily Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York; broader national reach
Number of Grants: 52 awards in 2023 (up from 4 in 2022)

Contact Details

Address: 50 Day Street, Norwalk, CT 06854-3170
EIN: 36-4969620
Status: 501(c)(3) Private Foundation

Note: The foundation does not have a public website or publicly listed contact information. It operates through trustee discretion.

Overview

The McChord Foundation was established in 2022 by Austin McChord, founder of Datto (a data backup and cybersecurity company acquired by Kaseya for $6.2 billion in 2022), along with his father Holt McChord and trustee Kendall Horch. With total assets of approximately $174 million, the foundation represents a significant portion of Austin McChord's commitment to put most of his proceeds from the Datto sale into philanthropy. In 2017, McChord was recognized by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of the nation's top 50 philanthropists following his $50 million gift to RIT. The foundation's approach reflects McChord's learn-by-doing philosophy, experimenting with gifts ranging from a few thousand dollars to multi-million dollar commitments. The foundation grew significantly in its second year, expanding from 4 awards in 2022 to 52 awards in 2023, demonstrating an evolving and increasingly active grantmaking strategy.

Funding Priorities

Focus Areas

The McChord Foundation supports five primary areas:

Education and STEM Initiatives: Including career readiness programs, educational equity organizations, and STEM education charities
Equal Opportunity: Support for programs that provide educational access and opportunity to underserved communities
Medical Debt Relief: Funding organizations like Undue Medical Debt that eliminate medical debt for financially vulnerable families
Open Space Preservation and Conservation: Including the McChords' flagship $100 million commitment to transform Manresa Island into a public park
Human Services: Multipurpose human service organizations addressing community needs

Known Grant Recipients

Norwalk Hospital Career Readiness Academy: $1.5 million over three years (fully funding the program's third year, accelerating hiring of an achievement coach, and sustaining the career navigator role)
A Better Chance of Wilton: Educational equity and access program for underrepresented students
Undue Medical Debt: National medical debt relief organization
RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology): $50 million in 2017 (prior to foundation establishment) to create the Global Cybersecurity Institute, contribute to The SHED entrepreneurship center, and establish the Gap Year Entrepreneurship Fellows Program
STEM charities through NHRL robotics: $1 million in 2022, plus $1 million to collegiate robotics teams in 2023

Geographic Distribution

While based in Connecticut with a focus on the Norwalk and Fairfield County area, the foundation made grants across 17 states in 2023, including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.

What They Don't Fund

Information about explicit exclusions is not publicly available. However, the foundation appears focused on specific strategic areas aligned with the trustees' values around education, equity, health, and conservation.

Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

Austin McChord (Director): Founder of Datto (2007-2018), recognized as one of nation's top 50 philanthropists in 2017. Born in 1985, Austin started Datto from his RIT dorm room and grew it into Connecticut's first unicorn company. Following Datto's $6.2 billion acquisition, he put most of his proceeds into a donor-advised fund and the McChord Foundation. Now focused on venture capital (Outsiders Fund) and philanthropy, Austin approaches giving with the same learn-by-doing philosophy he applied to building Datto.
Holt McChord (Director): Austin's father and President/Founder of McChord Engineering Associates, Inc., a civil engineering firm established in 1987. Holt stated about the Career Readiness Academy grant: "The Career Readiness Academy reflects the kind of forward-thinking, community-rooted initiatives the McChord Foundation is proud to support."
Kendall Horch (Director): Family trustee with connections to the McChord family trust structures.

Family Involvement: Austin has actively involved his extended family in philanthropy, challenging his parents, brother, and sister to collectively give away $250,000 as part of their philanthropic learning process.

Key Philanthropic Partners: Austin's wife, Allison McChord (an architect specializing in high-end residential design), is a key partner in major philanthropic projects, particularly the Manresa Island conservation initiative. The couple emphasizes long-term thinking: "Our hope is around changing the trajectory of Manresa Island, not for a few years, but for the next hundred years," Austin stated.

All trustees serve without compensation.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The McChord Foundation does not have a public application process. Grants are awarded through trustee discretion, meaning the trustees identify and approach organizations directly rather than accepting unsolicited proposals.

The foundation operates as a private family foundation where trustees make strategic decisions about which organizations to support based on their priorities and connections. Grants appear to be awarded through:

Direct trustee identification of worthy causes
Personal connections to organizations and community needs
Strategic partnerships with established institutions
Family involvement in philanthropic decision-making

Getting on Their Radar

The McChord Foundation has specific, documented approaches to identifying grantees:

Local Norwalk/Fairfield County Connection: The McChords have demonstrated a strong commitment to their local community in Norwalk and Fairfield County, Connecticut. They have a personal connection to Norwalk Hospital, with the family appreciating its GI department and ER staff. Organizations serving the greater Norwalk area appear to receive particular attention.

Personal Values Alignment: The trustees look for "forward-thinking, community-rooted initiatives" (Holt McChord) and partnerships "rooted in shared values and a shared vision" (from Norwalk Hospital partnership description). Their approach emphasizes permanence and multi-generational impact.

Experimental Approach: Austin McChord has stated he's applying a "learn-by-doing approach to his philanthropy," testing different scales of giving from small experimental grants to major institutional commitments. This suggests openness to various types of projects.

Family Network Approach: Austin challenged his parents, brother, and sister to collectively give away $250,000, suggesting that family members may identify causes independently. Building relationships with any trustee or family member could potentially lead to consideration.

Focus on Measurable Impact: The foundation's support for healthcare career readiness and STEM education suggests preference for programs with clear outcomes and pathways to impact.

Decision Timeline

Not applicable, as there is no formal application process. Grants appear to be made on an ongoing basis as trustees identify opportunities throughout the year.

Success Rates

Not applicable due to invitation-only nature of grantmaking.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable, as there is no public application process. However, the multi-year commitment to Norwalk Hospital ($1.5 million over three years) suggests the foundation is open to sustained relationships with grantees over time.

Application Success Factors

Since the McChord Foundation awards grants through trustee discretion without a public application process, traditional application success factors don't apply. However, based on their documented giving patterns, the following factors appear important:

Geographic and Personal Connection: Organizations in Norwalk and Fairfield County, Connecticut, appear to receive priority consideration, particularly those with which the McChord family has personal experience or connection. As Peter Cordeau, Norwalk Hospital president, noted, the grant was "more than a gift" but "a partnership rooted in shared values."

Long-term Impact and Permanence: Austin McChord has emphasized his interest in projects with lasting impact, stating "It's a chance to do something with a lot of permanence." The foundation favors initiatives that will create change "not for a few years, but for the next hundred years."

Educational Equity and Opportunity: The foundation has consistently supported programs that expand access to education and opportunity for underserved communities, including A Better Chance of Wilton and the Career Readiness Academy.

Community-Rooted and Forward-Thinking: Holt McChord specifically highlighted these characteristics when describing their priorities. Projects should be innovative while deeply connected to community needs.

Specific Programmatic Focus: Recent grants show preference for initiatives with clear structures—the Career Readiness Academy grant specifically funded an achievement coach position and career navigator role, demonstrating appreciation for well-defined program components.

Alignment with Trustee Expertise: With trustees' backgrounds in technology (Austin's cybersecurity company), engineering (Holt's civil engineering firm), and architecture (Allison's design work), projects involving STEM education, infrastructure, or built environment may resonate.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

This foundation does not accept unsolicited applications—there is no application process to access, no letters of inquiry to submit, and no publicly available contact information for grant inquiries
Local Norwalk/Fairfield County connection is significant: Organizations serving the greater Norwalk area or with which the family has personal experience appear more likely to receive support
Multi-year commitments indicate relationship-building approach: The three-year grant to Norwalk Hospital suggests that once the foundation commits to an organization, they may provide sustained support
Think multi-generational impact: The McChords emphasize permanence and long-term change, favoring projects with lasting legacy over short-term fixes
Education, equity, and opportunity are core values: Consistent support for educational access programs, STEM initiatives, and opportunity-building programs like career readiness
Foundation is young and evolving: Established in 2022, the foundation grew from 4 grants to 52 grants by 2023, suggesting an expanding and maturing grantmaking strategy
Experimental approach creates unpredictability: Austin McChord's "learn-by-doing" philosophy means the foundation may explore diverse causes and scales of giving, from $2,500 to $1 million grants

References

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer - McChord Foundation (EIN 36-4969620), IRS Form 990 filings for 2023 and 2024. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/364969620
Cause IQ - McChord Foundation Profile, organizational and financial data. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/mcchord-foundation,364969620/
Instrumentl - McChord Foundation 990 Report, grant activity and priorities. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.instrumentl.com/990-report/mcchord-foundation
Westfair Communications, "McChord Foundation commits $1.5M to Norwalk Hospital's Career Readiness Academy," press release. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://westfaironline.com/fairfield/mcchord-foundation-commits-1-5m-to-norwalk-hospitals-career-readiness-academy/
CNBC, "Tech CEO Austin McChord barely finished college—then donated $50 million to his alma mater," February 13, 2018. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/13/why-tech-ceo-austin-mcchord-donated-50-million-to-his-alma-mater.html
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, "Entrepreneur Gave $50 Million to His Alma Mater. Now He's Looking to Broaden His Giving," article on Austin McChord's philanthropic approach. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/entrepreneur-gave-50-million-to-his-alma-mater-now-hes-looking-to-broaden-his-giving
Austin McChord Wikipedia entry, biographical information and career history. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_McChord
The Hour, "Meet the McChords: philanthropists revitalizing Manresa Island," article on Manresa Island project and philanthropic values. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.thehour.com/news/article/norwalk-manresa-island-austin-allison-mcchord-20063520.php
WSHU Connecticut Public Radio, "Norwalk couple purchases abandoned power plant to create public park," October 2, 2024. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.wshu.org/connecticut-news/2024-10-02/ct-norwalk-manresa-island-public-park
Outsiders Fund - Austin McChord team biography. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://www.outsidersfund.com/team/austin-mcchord