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Bella Vista Foundation

Annual Giving
$4.2M
Grant Range
$10K - $0.1M

Bella Vista Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $4,242,041 (2022)
  • Total Assets: $87 million
  • Grant Range: Varies by program (grants awarded from under $10,000 to over $20,000)
  • Number of Grants: 99 awards (2022)
  • Geographic Focus: Pre-3 Support and GGS programs serve San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara counties); Watershed Restoration serves specific watersheds in California and Oregon
  • Application Method: Transitioning to invitation-only beginning 2026

Contact Details

Address: 1660 Bush Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: 415-561-6540
Website: www.bellavistafoundation.org
Email: info@pfs-llc.net

Pre-3 Support Program Contact: Araceli Ayala, Grants Manager, aayala@pfs-llc.net

Note: The foundation is administered by Pacific Foundation Services

Overview

The Bella Vista Foundation was founded in 1999 by Jean Gerlinger Kirkwood, initially as the Kirkwood Family Foundation. The foundation represents the legacy of sisters Georgiana Gerlinger Stevens and Jean Gerlinger Kirkwood, who gave generously throughout their lives in the Bay Area and beyond. In 2019, the boards of directors of both the Bella Vista Foundation and the GGS Foundation (started by Georgiana in 1992) decided to merge under the Bella Vista name. With approximately $87 million in assets, the foundation grants roughly $4 million annually to community-based nonprofit organizations. The foundation maintains a strategic focus on addressing fundamental causes of societal problems rather than remedying their effects, working through four distinct program areas that support early childhood development, youth literacy and mental health, and environmental restoration.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation operates four distinct grant programs:

Pre-3 Support: Focuses on building resiliency among families facing adversity or trauma by helping parents and caregivers cope with toxic stress. Serves pregnant women, mothers, fathers, and primary caregivers of children ages 0-3 from low-income communities in Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.

GGS Early Literacy: Promotes children's reading, writing, and comprehension skills in the Bay Area.

GGS Youth Mental Health: Supports culturally specific, trauma-informed youth mental health interventions.

Watershed Restoration: Focuses on restoration and revitalization of key watershed ecosystems in California (entire Klamath Watershed; in the Sierra Nevada, the Truckee River watershed, Yuba/Bear/American rivers, and the North Fork Feather River watershed) and Oregon (upper Deschutes Basin and upper John Day Basin). Priorities include promoting sustainable management of forest and agricultural land, revitalizing streams, and restoring riparian areas.

Priority Areas

Pre-3 Support Program Priorities:

  • Programs that help mothers, fathers, and caregivers of children (prenatal to age 3) cope with stresses that might result in depression
  • Organizations with leadership and program staff that reflect the communities they serve

Watershed Restoration Priorities:

  • Projects that are part of a cluster of projects in a given watershed involving one or more organizations over time
  • Projects that foster collaborative partnerships, even among groups with divergent interests
  • Activities that governmental agencies do not normally fund
  • Projects with broad-based community involvement (financial support, volunteer support, in-kind donations)

What They Don't Fund

  • Grants to individuals
  • Public or private schools or their affiliated foundations
  • Endowments, events, concerts, annual appeals, videos or films, medical research, or capital campaigns
  • Programs that are solely virtual (including software applications)
  • Only non-sectarian programs are supported
  • Land acquisition (for watershed restoration program)

Governance and Leadership

The foundation is governed by a board of directors composed of family members of the founders. The foundation's administration is handled by Pacific Foundation Services, with Araceli Ayala serving as Grants Manager since 2021.

The foundation was established as the legacy of Jean Gerlinger Kirkwood and her sister Georgiana Gerlinger Stevens, reflecting their commitment to giving generously throughout their lives in the Bay Area and beyond.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

IMPORTANT: The foundation's grantmaking is transitioning to an invitation-only process beginning in 2026. The first round of invitations will be issued in January 2026. The foundation is not accepting unsolicited proposals at this time.

Pre-3 Support Program Update: The Pre-3 Support Program has paused acceptance of applications from new grantees to deepen existing partnerships and ensure strategic focus with limited budget. Current grantees who have received funding within the past year may submit applications for subsequent funding.

For organizations invited to apply, specific guidance and application materials will be shared individually when invitations are issued.

Prior to 2026: Before the transition to invitation-only, applicants were asked to contact the foundation to discuss their organization's work before starting the application process.

Eligibility

The Bella Vista Foundation awards grants to:

  • Public charities operating under IRS 501(c)(3) status
  • Fiscally sponsored projects of 501(c)(3) organizations
  • Federally Recognized Tribes

Restrictions:

  • Only one request from an organization will be funded in a 12-month period
  • If an organization's last application was declined, they must contact the program officer for their grantmaking area before applying again

Decision Timeline

Specific decision timelines have not been publicly disclosed. Organizations should contact the foundation or Pacific Foundation Services for information about review timeframes.

Success Rates

Historical grant activity shows:

  • 2022: 99 grants awarded
  • 2021: 100 grants awarded
  • 2020: 84 grants awarded
  • 2019: 59 grants awarded
  • 2018: 59 grants awarded

The total number of applications received is not publicly disclosed, so success rates cannot be calculated.

Reapplication Policy

Organizations whose applications were declined must contact the program officer for their grantmaking area before applying again. Only one grant request per organization will be funded in a 12-month period.

Application Success Factors

While specific advice from the foundation is limited in public materials, the following factors appear important based on available information:

For Pre-3 Support Program:

  • Leadership and program staff that reflect the communities served
  • Focus on addressing toxic stress and building family resiliency
  • Service to low-income communities facing adversity or trauma in the five Bay Area counties

For Watershed Restoration Program:

  • Being part of collaborative, multi-stakeholder efforts
  • Demonstrating broad-based community involvement and support
  • Filling gaps in funding that governmental agencies don't typically cover
  • Taking a watershed-scale, ecosystem-based approach
  • Contacting the foundation to discuss work before applying

General Success Factors:

  • Alignment with the foundation's philosophy of addressing fundamental causes of problems rather than just effects
  • Clear demonstration of how the work serves the foundation's specific geographic priorities
  • Relationship building with foundation staff through preliminary discussions

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Invitation-only after 2025: The foundation will no longer accept unsolicited applications beginning in 2026; organizations must be invited to apply
  • Geographic specificity matters: Pre-3 and GGS programs serve only five Bay Area counties; Watershed Restoration serves specific watersheds in CA and OR
  • One grant per year maximum: Organizations can only receive one grant from the foundation per 12-month period
  • Relationship-driven approach: The foundation values preliminary discussions and relationship building before formal applications
  • Community reflection is key: For Pre-3 programs, having staff that reflect the communities served is a priority
  • Collaborative projects favored: For watershed work, being part of collaborative, multi-organization efforts is strongly preferred
  • Limited budget focus: The Pre-3 program has paused accepting new grantees to focus resources on deepening existing partnerships

References

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