Waverley Street Foundation
At a glance
This funder does not accept unsolicited applications. The foundation chooses the organisations it funds itself.
Key takeaways
- Work on clean energy, healthy food or land stewardship that reduces pollution and benefits people and communities fits the foundation's stated focus, and the filing says it weighs urgency, the strength of the approach, the leadership behind the work and whether benefits will last beyond its funding.
- The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests, so a cold proposal is not how it takes on grantees, and a first step should be building a relationship that could lead to an invitation.
- About 8 in 10 of its grants to organisations fall between $150,000 and $5,000,000, the median is $1,000,000, and half of those grants across its three most recent filings were $1,000,000 or less, so a request near $1,000,000 sits well within what it usually gives, though its largest grant was $36,000,000.
- Its most recent filing shows that 78% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in earlier filings, so it leans towards organisations it already knows.
- No geographic focus is stated, so the pattern of grants in California, District of Columbia, New York, The Netherlands and Europe should not be read as a limit on who may apply.
Overview
Waverley Street Foundation is a US private foundation based in Palo Alto, 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
Waverley Street Foundation invests in climate solutions focused on clean energy, healthy food and land stewardship. It supports efforts that reduce pollution, improve the health of the land and create lasting benefits for people and communities. The foundation highlights clean energy and healthy land as focus areas for reducing pollution and supporting the wellbeing of people and communities. Its grants have gone to nonprofit organisations and universities, including groups working on climate and conservation. It seeks solutions with potential to make a meaningful difference for people and the planet. In considering grantees, it weighs the urgency of the challenge, the strength of the proposed approach, the leadership behind the work and whether benefits will last beyond its funding.
Themes
- Clean energy
- Healthy food
- Land stewardship
Geographic Focus
No geographic focus is stated; the filings show grants mainly in California, District of Columbia, New York, The Netherlands and Europe.
How to apply
The foundation states that it does not accept unsolicited requests.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 78% 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 311 grants to organisations were $1,000,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- It considers the urgency of the challenge.
- It considers the strength of the proposed approach.
- It considers the leadership behind the work.
- It considers whether benefits will last beyond its funding.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 6%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 18%
- The largest single recipient received 16% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 78% of grant dollars went to organisations Waverley Street Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- 9% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (The Netherlands, India, Germany, Australia).
- 47% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 144 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $1M (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Thousand Currents · General Operating Support$20,000,0002024 tax year
- Climate Imperative Foundation · General Operating Support$18,000,0002024 tax year
- Climate Imperative Foundation · General Operating Support$18,000,0002024 tax year
- Tides Foundation · California ambitions program$10,000,0002024 tax year
- European Climate Foundation · ReNew 2030 Project$10,000,0002024 tax year
- Foundation for International Law · Capacity strengthening$8,333,3342024 tax year
- Grid Alternatives · Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund$8,000,0002024 tax year
- Conservation International Foundation · Broadleaf Initiative$7,500,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- Radhika Fox — Director
- Rafael Reif — Director
- Darren Walker — Director
- Jagadha Sivan — Chief Operating Officer
- Jared Blumenfeld — President
- Lisa Jackson — Chair of the Board / Director
- Michael Klein — Director
- Mona Simpson — Director
- Reed Jobs — Director
- J Bradley Powell — Director
- Anne Marie Burgoyne — Treasurer / Secretary / Director
- Laurene Powell Jobs — Vice Chair / Director
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $193,913,087 | $164,094,172 | $2,874,455,704 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $270,382,133 | $225,507,334 | $3,124,247,495 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $335,907,395 | $282,093,983 | $3,338,124,885 | 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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Applying to Waverley Street Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required