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Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Charitable Foundation

Annual Giving
$6.8M
Grant Range
$10K - $5.0M

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Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Charitable Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $6.8 million (2023, per 990 filing)
  • Success Rate: N/A (invitation only)
  • Decision Time: Not applicable
  • Grant Range: $10,000 - $5,000,000
  • Geographic Focus: Primarily California and New York, with national reach
  • Total Assets: $211 million (per 2023 990 filing)

Contact Details

Foundation Name: Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Charitable Foundation
Location: New York, NY (operations in San Francisco, CA)
EIN: 83-2713007
Website: https://sgb.org

Note: This foundation does not accept unsolicited applications.

Overview

The Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Charitable Foundation (also known as Sandberg Goldberg Charitable Support Fund) was established in 2019 as a private grantmaking foundation. According to its most recent 990-PF filing (2023), the foundation held $211 million in total assets and distributed $6.8 million in grants. Founded by Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta, the foundation focuses on building a more equal and resilient world through strategic grantmaking in areas including humanitarian disaster relief, food security, education for low-income students, reproductive health, social justice, and children's support programmes. The foundation operates alongside the Sandberg Goldberg Bernthal Family Foundation (a separate operating foundation that runs LeanIn.org, OptionB.org, and the Dave Goldberg Scholarship Program). Sheryl Sandberg and Dave Goldberg are signatories to The Giving Pledge.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programmes

The foundation makes grants through trustee discretion with no fixed application cycles. Recent grants have ranged from $10,000 to $5 million (per secondary sources and press releases), with a median grant of $50,000.

Priority Areas

Humanitarian & Emergency Relief

  • International disaster response and refugee support
  • Emergency medical services
  • Crisis intervention

Food Security

  • Food banks and distribution programmes
  • Hunger relief initiatives

Education

  • Access to higher education for low-income students
  • Programmes removing financial barriers to college completion
  • Educational equity initiatives

Social Justice

  • Advocacy and civil rights organisations
  • Racial and economic justice
  • Community empowerment

Health

  • Reproductive health services
  • Healthcare access

Children & Youth

  • Support programmes for vulnerable children
  • Youth development initiatives

Selected Recent Grant Recipients

  • American Jewish Committee: $1.9 million
  • International Rescue Committee: $2.1 million
  • Friends of United Hatzalah: $1 million
  • Second Harvest of Silicon Valley: $1 million
  • Teach for All: $1 million
  • Marshall University (Marshall For All programme): $5 million

Governance and Leadership

Board of Directors:

  • Sheryl K. Sandberg - Chair of Audit Committee, Founder
  • Rachel Thomas - CEO
  • Thomas Bernthal - Director
  • Lori Goler - Director
  • Adam Grant - Director, Secretary

Sheryl Sandberg has stated: "Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence." She emphasises that true leadership is "the expectation that you can use your voice for good. That you can make the world a better place."

Rachel Thomas, the foundation's CEO, has emphasised the importance of lifting others up: "If you don't believe in equality and you don't believe in lifting our girls up, you know, this program won't resonate with you."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

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

Grants are made at the discretion of the board of directors to organisations they have identified through their networks, strategic priorities, and existing relationships.

Getting on Their Radar

Based on the foundation's documented grantmaking patterns, organisations that align with the following characteristics may be of interest:

Focus Area Alignment: The foundation has demonstrated clear giving patterns in humanitarian relief, food security, education access for low-income students, reproductive health, and social justice. Organisations with strong track records in these areas, particularly those addressing urgent needs, appear to receive support.

Geographic Connection: While the foundation gives nationally, there is notable concentration in California and New York. Organisations with operations or impact in these regions appear more frequently in their grantmaking.

Scale and Impact: Grant recipients include both large, established organisations (International Rescue Committee, Teach for All) and regional organisations making significant local impact (Second Harvest of Silicon Valley). The foundation supports organisations across the size spectrum that demonstrate measurable impact.

Board Connections: Given that grants are made through trustee discretion, organisations may benefit from connections to board members' professional networks in technology, business leadership, women's empowerment, and social justice sectors.

Application Success Factors

Since this foundation makes grants through trustee discretion to pre-selected organisations, traditional application success factors do not apply. However, analysing their grantmaking patterns reveals what attracts their support:

Mission Alignment with Equity and Resilience: The foundation's stated mission is to "build a more equal and resilient world." Organisations that explicitly address systemic inequality, remove barriers to opportunity, or help communities recover from crisis align with their core values.

Focus on Removing Barriers: Multiple grant recipients work specifically on removing obstacles to success—Marshall For All removes debt barriers to college completion, Second Harvest addresses food insecurity, and the International Rescue Committee helps refugees rebuild lives. The pattern suggests preference for organisations that don't just provide services but eliminate systemic barriers.

Evidence of Urgency or Crisis Response: Significant grants have gone to humanitarian emergency response and organisations addressing immediate community needs. The foundation appears responsive to urgent situations requiring swift action.

Education as Pathway to Opportunity: The grant to Marshall University's Marshall For All programme, which allows students to graduate debt-free, exemplifies their belief in education as an equaliser. Dave Goldberg believed education is "a right, not a privilege," and this philosophy appears to guide grantmaking.

Established Track Record: Grant recipients are predominantly well-established organisations with proven impact and strong operational capacity. The foundation appears to favour organisations that can demonstrate effectiveness and financial stability.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public applications accepted - This foundation only makes grants to pre-selected organisations, not through competitive application processes
  • Focus on systemic change - Grants support organisations removing barriers and addressing root causes of inequality, not just treating symptoms
  • Large, strategic grants - With a median grant of $50,000 and top grants exceeding $1 million, this foundation makes substantial commitments to aligned organisations
  • Education and economic opportunity - The debt-free college initiative and scholarship programmes indicate strong interest in removing financial barriers to education
  • Humanitarian and crisis response - Significant funding goes to emergency relief, refugee support, and organisations addressing urgent community needs
  • Geographic concentration - While giving nationally, there's notable activity in California and New York
  • Relationship-driven - Getting on their radar likely requires connections to board members or visibility in sectors where trustees are active (technology, business leadership, women's empowerment, social justice)

References

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