HP Foundation

• HP Foundation, based in Palo Alto, CA, funds programmes that build understanding of science, engineering, technology and medicine, and also supports academic organisations in the arts and human services where a creative bridge to the sciences can be shown; a grant writer whose work sits outside these areas is unlikely to find a fit.
• Its geographic focus is the United States, and any organisation applying must be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3).
• Most grants to organisations fall between $16,000 and $1,950,000, with about 8 in 10 of its 15 grants in that band and a median of about $335,000, so a modest request in that range is realistic, though it made one much larger grant of about $5,650,000 to American Online Giving Foundation, an organisation that regrants to others.
• The foundation operates by invitation only and does not accept unsolicited requests, so a small charity should not simply write in cold but should look for a connection or wait to be approached; when a request is invited, it should set out the organisation's history and purpose, the specific need and amount sought, with financial statements, a detailed budget and information about other funding.
• It does not fund organisations that are not tax-exempt, individuals, sectarian or denominational groups, agencies that practise or promote discriminatory or partisan policies, political activities, causes that offer specific direct benefits to grantors, or individuals' research projects, so organisations or requests of these kinds should not apply.

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

• American Online Giving Foundation · Charitable
  $5,659,5402022 tax year
• Aspen Institute · Charitable
  $1,947,6962022 tax year
• Charities Aid Foundation of America · Charitable
  $1,581,0932022 tax year
• NABU · Charitable
  $1,140,0002022 tax year
• Girl Rising · Charitable
  $1,000,0002022 tax year
• Global Impact · Charitable
  $450,0002022 tax year
• American Red Cross · Charitable
  $350,0002022 tax year
• Junior Achievement Worldwide · Charitable
  $334,0802022 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

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.