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Sergey Brin Family Foundation

Annual Giving
$376.6M
Grant Range
$25K - $55.4M

Sergey Brin Family Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $376,611,140 (2023) / $900 million (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not applicable (invitation only)
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed
  • Grant Range: $25,000 - $55,400,000
  • Median Grant: $500,000 (2023)
  • Geographic Focus: National and international, with 70% in California

Contact Details

Sergey Brin Family Foundation c/o Pacific Foundation Services 1660 Bush Street, Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94109 Phone: (415) 561-6540

Alternative Contact: Bayshore Global Management (Brin Family Office) 229 Forest Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 Phone: (650) 812-2600

Note: The foundation does not have a website or public communications presence.

Overview

Established in 2015, the Sergey Brin Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle for Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who has a personal genetic predisposition to Parkinson's disease. With over $4 billion in assets as of 2023, this is one of the nation's largest private foundations, having grown exponentially in recent years. In 2024, Forbes reported that the foundation made $900 million in grants, contributing to Brin's lifetime philanthropic giving of $3.9 billion. The foundation operates with exceptional discretion, maintaining no website or public funding strategy. Its grantmaking has positioned Brin as one of the world's largest backers of climate action, rivaling megadonors like Mike Bloomberg and legacy funders such as the Rockefeller Foundation. The foundation focuses primarily on Parkinson's disease research (representing nearly half of annual grants), climate change mitigation, and scientific research, with additional support for education, Jewish causes, arts and culture, disaster relief, economic opportunity, and Bay Area organizations.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation does not operate formal grant programs with application cycles. Instead, funding is directed through:

  • Major Research Partnerships: $50M - $55M+ for flagship partnerships with organizations like the Michael J. Fox Foundation and Climate Imperative
  • Strategic Climate Grants: $5M - $40M for clean energy and climate mitigation organizations
  • University Research Grants: $10M - $25M for research institutions focusing on Parkinson's, autism, bipolar disorder, and related fields
  • Regrantor Partnerships: $5M - $40M to organizations that redistribute funds (e.g., Tides Foundation, Sixteen Thirty Fund)
  • Mid-Size Institutional Grants: $500,000 - $5M for established nonprofits in priority areas
  • Smaller Strategic Grants: $25,000 - $500,000 for targeted initiatives

Priority Areas

Health and Disease Research (approximately 50% of annual giving):

  • Parkinson's disease research and treatment development
  • Autism spectrum disorder research
  • Bipolar disorder and mental health research
  • Central nervous system neurological diseases/disorders
  • Wastewater surveillance and pandemic response

Climate Change and Environment (growing focus - over $300M in 2023-2024):

  • Clean energy markets and policy
  • Carbon capture technology
  • Environmental advocacy and policy change
  • Climate change mitigation and reversal
  • Ocean conservation

Science and Technology Research:

  • Nanoparticles research
  • Artificial intelligence applications
  • Scientific breakthroughs in multiple disciplines

Education:

  • K-12 education initiatives
  • Higher education institutions
  • STEM education programs

Social Justice and Equity:

  • Jewish causes and organizations addressing antisemitism
  • Economic development and anti-poverty programs
  • Refugee support and immigration advocacy
  • Disaster relief

Geographic Priority: Bay Area and California organizations (approximately 70% of grants), with additional focus on New York, Florida, Maryland, and Massachusetts

What They Don't Fund

While not explicitly stated, the foundation's closed application process and focus on large, established organizations means they typically do not fund:

  • Individual applicants
  • Organizations outside their strategic priority areas
  • Small grassroots organizations (unless through regrantors)
  • General operating support for organizations outside their network
  • Unsolicited requests from any organization

Governance and Leadership

Sergey Brin - Director & President (2 hours/week, $0 compensation) Google co-founder with a personal commitment to Parkinson's research due to carrying the LRRK2 genetic mutation that increases risk of developing the disease.

Tara Farnsworth - Treasurer (2 hours/week, $0 compensation)

Robert Brown - Secretary (2 hours/week, $0 compensation)

The foundation is administered through Bayshore Global Management, Brin's family office based in Palo Alto with an additional office in Singapore. Bayshore is described as very secretive about its activities and investments, maintaining the low-profile approach that characterizes all of Brin's philanthropic operations.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This foundation does not have a public application process. The foundation has explicitly stated that it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds."

Grants are awarded through:

  • Pre-existing relationships with major research institutions and nonprofits
  • Trustee discretion and strategic initiatives identified by foundation leadership
  • Intermediary organizations (regrantors like Climate Imperative, Tides Foundation, and Sixteen Thirty Fund)
  • Direct outreach from the foundation to organizations aligned with priority areas

The foundation operates with remarkable opacity, maintaining no website and providing no public outline of its funding strategy, which significantly limits the ability of potential partners and grantees to engage with the foundation.

Getting on Their Radar

The Sergey Brin Family Office (Bayshore Global Management) can be contacted directly, though success is not guaranteed:

Bayshore Global Management 229 Forest Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 Phone: (650) 812-2600

Strategic Approaches Specific to This Funder:

  • The foundation tends to prioritize mid-sized and larger organizations or regrantors, suggesting smaller organizations may have better success approaching one of their regrantor partners (such as Tides Foundation, Climate Imperative, or the Sixteen Thirty Fund) rather than the foundation directly
  • Given the foundation's focus on research institutions, universities and medical centers with strong research programs in Parkinson's disease, autism, bipolar disorder, or climate science may be natural partners
  • Organizations that have received previous funding from Brin's separate 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, Catalyst4 Inc., may have established relationships that could facilitate foundation contact

Decision Timeline

Not publicly disclosed. The foundation operates on its own timeline for identifying and funding organizations aligned with its strategic priorities.

Success Rates

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept applications, so there is no success rate for submitted proposals. All grants are made through invitation or pre-existing relationships.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable given the invitation-only model. Organizations seeking to build ongoing relationships with the foundation would need to maintain strong performance and reporting on initial grants.

Application Success Factors

Since this foundation operates on an invitation-only model, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, based on the foundation's actual grantmaking patterns, organizations that receive funding share these characteristics:

Institutional Scale and Credibility: The foundation strongly favors established, large-scale organizations. The median grant of $500,000 and concentration of funding among major universities, national foundations, and regrantors indicates a preference for institutions with proven track records and significant operational capacity.

Alignment with Sergey Brin's Personal Interests: Parkinson's research receives the foundation's largest grants (including $50M+ to the Michael J. Fox Foundation), reflecting Brin's genetic predisposition to the disease. Organizations conducting research or providing services in this area appear to be priority partners.

Climate and Clean Energy Focus: The foundation's climate giving increased 64% from 2023 to 2024, reaching nearly $243 million in climate-related awards in 2024. Organizations working on clean energy policy, carbon capture technology, and climate advocacy are increasingly central to the foundation's portfolio.

Research and Innovation Orientation: Grants heavily favor organizations conducting scientific research, developing new technologies, or supporting innovation. University-affiliated research programs, particularly at Stanford and UCSF, receive substantial multi-million dollar grants.

Regrantor and Intermediary Model: Significant funding flows through intermediary organizations (Climate Imperative: $40M, United States Energy Foundation: $29M, Tides Foundation: multiple grants). Organizations may find access through these regrantors rather than direct foundation contact.

Geographic Connection: Approximately 70% of grants go to California organizations, with additional concentration in the Bay Area. Physical proximity to the foundation's San Francisco headquarters or Brin's Palo Alto family office may facilitate relationship development.

Recent Major Grant Recipients (2023) as Examples:

  • Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research: $55.4M
  • Climate Imperative Foundation: $40M
  • United States Energy Foundation: $29M
  • Stanford University: $25M (wastewater surveillance)
  • UCSF Foundation: $23.4M (Parkinson's research)
  • Resource Legacy Fund: Climate initiatives
  • Pacific Environment and Resources Center: Environmental work
  • RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute): Clean energy
  • Climate Jobs National Resource Center: Climate workforce development
  • Federation of American Scientists: Science policy

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No Public Application Process: Do not submit unsolicited proposals to this foundation - they will not be reviewed. The foundation only funds pre-selected organizations.

  • Leverage Regrantor Relationships: Organizations seeking funding should consider applying to the foundation's major regrantor partners (Climate Imperative, Tides Foundation, United States Energy Foundation, Sixteen Thirty Fund) rather than approaching the foundation directly.

  • Focus on Scale and Research: This foundation funds large, established organizations and research institutions, not small grassroots nonprofits. The median grant is $500,000 and top grants exceed $40M.

  • Align with Personal Mission: Parkinson's disease research receives the largest share of funding, followed by climate change mitigation - these are Sergey Brin's primary philanthropic interests driven by personal experience and values.

  • Build Indirect Connections: Given Bayshore Global Management's secretive nature and the foundation's lack of public presence, networking within the Bay Area philanthropic community, particularly around Stanford, UCSF, and major climate organizations, may be the only viable path to foundation awareness.

  • Understand the Growth Trajectory: The foundation has grown exponentially, from $376M in grants in 2023 to $900M in 2024, suggesting expanded capacity but not expanded accessibility - growth appears focused on scaling up existing partnerships rather than broadening the partner base.

  • Consider Catalyst4 as Alternative: For organizations focused on climate advocacy and policy work, Brin's separate 501(c)(4) organization Catalyst4 Inc. (with nearly $1.1 billion in assets) may offer an alternative funding path for advocacy-focused work that cannot be supported by the 501(c)(3) foundation.

References

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