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Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation

Annual Giving
$401.8M
Grant Range
$50K - $5.0M
Decision Time
3mo
Success Rate
2%

Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $401.8 million (2024)
  • Total Assets: $8.77 billion
  • Grant Range: $50,000 - $5,000,000
  • Geographic Focus: United States with international conservation work
  • Decision Time: Varies significantly (several months for major grants)
  • Application Method: Invitation only / No unsolicited proposals

Contact Details

Address: 1661 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304
Phone: 650-213-3000
Email: inquiry@moore.org (for brief 100-word inquiries only)
Website: https://www.moore.org
Media Inquiries: communications@moore.org
Grantee Portal: https://grantees.moore.org

Overview

Founded in September 2000 by Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore and his wife Betty I. Moore, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is one of America's largest philanthropies with assets exceeding $8.77 billion. In 2024, the foundation distributed $401.8 million across 952 grants, maintaining 85% of total expenses dedicated to programs. The foundation's mission, articulated by co-founder Gordon Moore, is to "tackle large, important issues at a scale where it can achieve significant and measurable impacts." The foundation operates with a strategic, long-term investment philosophy across three primary program areas: Environmental Conservation (with over $2.46 billion invested cumulatively), Science (supporting fundamental research and emerging technologies), and the San Francisco Bay Area (preserving regional character through conservation and informal science education). Both founders passed away in 2023, marking a significant transition as the foundation enters a new era under the leadership of incoming President Aileen Lee, who takes office in January 2026.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Environmental Conservation ($2.46 billion cumulative investment, 1,794 grants)

  • Andes-Amazon Initiative: Multi-year conservation commitment with over $800 million pledged through 2031; helped conserve over 400 million hectares in the Amazon since 2001
  • Arctic Ocean Initiative: Supporting productive ecosystems and sustainable fisheries
  • Wild Salmon Ecosystems: Since 2001, conserving wild salmon ecosystems across the North Pacific Rim, from British Columbia to Alaska to Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula
  • Conservation and Markets Initiative: Aligning market approaches with conservation goals
  • Wildfire Resilience Initiative: $110 million investment launched in 2023 to transform fire's role in Western North America
  • Recent award example: California Academy of Sciences received $3 million over five years (May 2024) for California biodiversity data collection
  • Marine conservation awards: $18 million (December 2023) to partnerships in the Pacific Ocean region for marine biodiversity protection

Science ($1+ billion invested historically, 665+ grants)

  • Moore Inventor Fellows: $825,000 over three years per fellow ($275,000/year including $50,000 institutional support). Five fellows selected annually from approximately 200 applications. Fellows develop groundbreaking tools and technologies for scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and patient care.
  • Data-Driven Discovery Investigators: $1.5 million per investigator over five years. Part of a $60 million, five-year initiative. Fourteen investigators selected from over 1,000 pre-proposals.
  • Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative: Anticipated grant range $500,000 - $2 million (application window expected April-July 2025)
  • Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative: Supporting experimental physics researchers
  • Green Chemistry Initiative: Developing sustainable chemical processes
  • Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative: Understanding relationships between organisms in water ecosystems
  • Thirty Meter Telescope: Major astronomical observation infrastructure
  • Curiosity-Driven Science Initiative: Supporting fundamental research without predetermined outcomes

Patient Care ($621.2 million invested, 577 grants)

  • Diagnostic Excellence Initiative: $30 million initiative to enhance diagnostic accuracy across major U.S. hospital systems; $15 million awarded to UCSF in 2023 for Center for Diagnostic Excellence
  • Serious Illness Care: Serving people with multiple chronic conditions
  • Family Caregiving Institute: Support for family caregivers
  • Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis: Major investment in nursing leadership and education
  • Note: The Patient Care program concluded its nursing initiative in December 2023, though diagnostic excellence work continues

San Francisco Bay Area

  • Local conservation initiatives
  • Informal science education (science and technology museums, public engagement)

Priority Areas

The foundation evaluates all grants through four critical filters (the "Four Filters"):

  1. Importance: Is the issue significant?
  2. Enduring Difference: Can the foundation create lasting impact?
  3. Measurable Results: Can outcomes be quantified?
  4. Portfolio Effect: Does it strengthen their overall funding strategy?

Funding emphasizes:

  • Long-term investment with multi-year commitments
  • Transformational change through strong governance and engaged communities
  • Collaboration across disciplines and sectors
  • Innovation combined with measurable impact
  • Partnership with communities, businesses, governments, and NGOs
  • Indigenous stewardship and community-led conservation
  • "In between" projects that bridge fundamental research and commercial development

What They Don't Fund

The foundation operates with "tightly-defined grantmaking strategies," meaning most external inquiries fall outside their funding scope. Specific exclusions are not publicly detailed, but the foundation:

  • Does not accept unsolicited proposals
  • Does not fund projects outside their three core program areas (Environmental Conservation, Science, San Francisco Bay Area)
  • Does not fund projects that cannot demonstrate measurable outcomes
  • For the Moore Inventor Fellows program specifically: not interested in supporting fundamental research projects or projects already at a stage where significant venture capital is available

Governance and Leadership

Board of Trustees

  • Ken Moore, Chairman of the Board
  • John Hennessy, Ph.D., Vice Chairman (former Stanford University President)
  • Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D., President and Trustee (serving until December 2025)
  • Rosina M. Bierbaum, Ph.D.
  • John Dabiri, Ph.D.
  • Kathleen Justice-Moore
  • Hilary Krane
  • Jonathan Levin, Ph.D.
  • Steven E. Moore
  • Kristen L. Moore
  • Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D. (former NASA astronaut)
  • Pardis Sabeti, M.D., DPhil (distinguished geneticist, appointed November 2024)

Key Senior Leadership

  • Aileen Lee, Chief of Programs and Incoming President (effective January 1, 2026). Lee is currently responsible for more than $500 million in annual outcomes-driven grantmaking.
  • Marybeth Sharpe, Ph.D., Chief Administrative Officer
  • Sasha Abrams, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board
  • Denise Strack, Chief Investment Officer
  • Holly Potter, Chief Communications Officer
  • Richard Margoluis, Chief Adaptive Management and Evaluation Officer

Leadership Quotes

Gordon Moore (Founder): "We want the Foundation to tackle large, important issues at a scale where it can achieve significant and measurable impacts" and "give good people the opportunity, and they go out and do the innovations."

Harvey V. Fineberg (President): "I have been fortunate to work with many talented, dedicated, and principled people at the Moore Foundation and elsewhere."

Ken Moore (Board Chair) on Aileen Lee's appointment: "Her deep understanding of our culture and history, strategic insight, and record of impact make her the ideal leader for the foundation's next chapter."

Pardis Sabeti on joining the board: "I am deeply inspired by their vision to drive meaningful change in science, the environment, and local communities, and by their commitment to shaping a better future for all."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation does not have a public application process. The foundation takes a proactive approach to grantmaking and does not accept unsolicited proposals.

Limited Inquiry Option: Organizations whose mission aligns with an active portfolio may submit a brief email inquiry (maximum 100 words) to inquiry@moore.org introducing their organization and work. Due to volume limitations and tightly-defined funding strategies, only inquiries closely aligned with current priorities receive responses. The foundation emphasizes that interested parties must strictly adhere to the 100-word limit to receive consideration.

How Grants Are Awarded: The foundation operates with invitation-only grantmaking, identifying potential grantees through:

  • Program officers actively sourcing projects aligned with strategic priorities
  • Recommendations from existing grantees and sector experts
  • Identification of organizations already doing work in foundation priority areas
  • Moore Inventor Fellows and similar named programs: Institutional nominations through limited submission processes at universities

Getting on Their Radar

Moore Inventor Fellows Program: This program operates through a limited submission process where universities nominate candidates. Researchers interested in this opportunity should:

  • Contact their institution's research development or limited submissions office
  • The nomination process typically occurs annually with internal campus deadlines several months before the external foundation deadline
  • Ensure proposed projects align with foundation interest areas: science, environmental conservation, or patient care
  • Focus on translational projects that bridge the gap between fundamental research and commercialization

For Conservation Work: The foundation emphasizes working "with grantees, communities, businesses, governments, and NGOs" and values organizations that:

  • Demonstrate deep community connections and indigenous partnerships
  • Have established track records in their regions
  • Can show measurable conservation outcomes
  • Operate collaboratively across sectors

General Approach: The foundation values that "the Foundation must become deeply informed by the ideas, knowledge, and aspirations of those communities closest to the work." Organizations already working in foundation priority areas with strong community ties and measurable impact are most likely to be identified by program officers.

Decision Timeline

Decision timelines vary significantly by program and grant size:

  • Multi-year, multi-million dollar commitments: Typically involve several months of dialogue and development
  • Average grant term: 24 months
  • The foundation emphasizes thorough, interactive processes over rapid decisions
  • No specific timeline guarantees are provided

Success Rates

Moore Inventor Fellows: Approximately 2.5% success rate (5 fellows selected from nearly 200 applications annually)

Data-Driven Discovery Investigators: Highly competitive with approximately 1.4% success rate (14 investigators selected from over 1,000 pre-proposals, with roughly 100 invited to submit full proposals and 28 invited to a workshop)

Overall foundation: In 2024, the foundation made 952 grant awards out of $401.8 million distributed. However, overall success rates are not publicly available as the foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals and most opportunities are invitation-only.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the foundation operates on an invitation-only basis without a public application process. For the limited 100-word inquiry option, no specific restrictions on resubmission are documented, though organizations should only reach out when they have genuinely new information aligned with current foundation priorities.

Application Success Factors

Since the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation operates primarily through invitation-only grantmaking, "success factors" relate more to being identified as a potential grantee than to crafting successful applications. However, the foundation has articulated what it values:

Foundation Philosophy and Approach

Risk-Taking and Ambition: The foundation operates with "a willingness to inquire and experiment," accepting that not every initiative will succeed as evidence of sufficiently ambitious goal-setting. They favor organizations willing to pursue transformational rather than incremental change.

Long-Term Investment: Gordon Moore's philosophy was to "give good people the opportunity, and they go out and do the innovations." The foundation makes substantial, multi-year commitments rather than small, short-term grants.

Measurable Impact: All grants must pass the "measurable results" filter - organizations must demonstrate how outcomes will be quantified and assessed.

Community Connection: The foundation emphasizes that it "must become deeply informed by the ideas, knowledge, and aspirations of those communities closest to the work." Organizations with deep community roots and indigenous partnerships are valued in conservation work.

Collaboration Over Competition: The foundation seeks organizations that work collaboratively "with grantees, communities, businesses, governments, and NGOs to ensure that fisheries, forests and other ecosystems remain healthy, resilient and productive."

Program-Specific Guidance

For Moore Inventor Fellows:

  • Translational Focus: The foundation looks for "a technique or an instrumental advance that would be used by other people (new hardware, or novel application of existing hardware)"
  • The "In Between": The foundation is interested in "in between" projects - beyond fundamental research but before venture capital stage. They want to "help propel the innovation out of the lab and into the next stage of development"
  • Diversity of Backgrounds: "The Foundation recognizes that inventors and innovators come from a diversity of backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences and will look for creativity across a broad array of academic programs and research departments"
  • Frugal Innovation Examples: One 2024 fellow, Saad Bhamla, Ph.D., was recognized for "frugal inventions could bring point-of-care diagnostics and modern medical tests to billions of people in remote and under-resourced areas"

For Science Grants:

  • Data-Driven Discovery: The initiative aims to "reverse the trend of data-rich but discovery-poor science" by supporting researchers who can "harness the unprecedented diversity of scientific data now available and answer new kinds of questions"
  • Unrestricted Awards: Science programs often provide unrestricted funding to enable researchers to pivot and adapt their work
  • Interdisciplinary Approach: The foundation values research that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries

For Environmental Conservation:

  • Scale and Durability: Recent awards demonstrate preference for landscape-scale conservation (e.g., over 400 million hectares conserved in Amazon)
  • Market-Based Solutions: The Conservation and Markets Initiative shows interest in approaches that align economic incentives with conservation
  • Indigenous Leadership: Emphasis on partnerships that support indigenous stewardship

For Patient Care:

  • Systems-Level Change: The diagnostic excellence initiative focuses on institutional transformation rather than individual clinical improvements
  • Nursing Leadership: Historical investment in nursing education and leadership development shows interest in strengthening healthcare professions

Strategic Approach

"Going Narrow but Deep": The foundation "favors going narrow but deep, backing major groups with big gifts to pursue measurable goals on its chosen topics" rather than making many small grants across diverse areas.

Portfolio Effect: Every grant must strengthen the foundation's overall funding strategy, contributing to cumulative impact rather than standing alone.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Invitation-only model: The foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals. Building relationships and track record in foundation priority areas is essential to being identified as a potential grantee. The 100-word inquiry option exists but has low response rates.

  • Scale matters: With assets of $8.77 billion and average grants in the hundreds of thousands to millions, the foundation seeks transformational projects with measurable, large-scale impact. Small projects are unlikely to fit their strategic approach.

  • Long-term thinking: Average grant term is 24 months with many multi-year commitments. The foundation values sustained engagement over quick wins. The Andes-Amazon Initiative alone has $800 million committed through 2031.

  • Measurability is critical: All grants must pass the "measurable results" filter. Organizations must articulate clear, quantifiable outcomes and demonstrate capacity for adaptive management and evaluation.

  • Community connection trumps outside expertise: Especially for conservation work, the foundation values organizations with deep community roots, indigenous partnerships, and local knowledge over external "experts" parachuting in.

  • For researchers: Focus on limited submission programs like Moore Inventor Fellows. Work with your institution's research office early. Emphasize translational potential and the gap your work fills between fundamental research and commercialization.

  • Strategic alignment is non-negotiable: With "tightly-defined grantmaking strategies," projects must fit precisely within one of the foundation's three program areas (Environmental Conservation, Science, or San Francisco Bay Area) and current initiative priorities. Review their website's active initiatives before any contact.

References

Information accessed December 2024

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