Heising-Simons Foundation

Last updated
Heising-Simons Foundation
Formation2007
Type Private foundation
HeadquartersLos Altos, CA
President and CEO
Sushma Raman
Key people
Liz Simons, Mark Heising, Caitlin Heising, Sushma Raman
Disbursements$947.7 million (2007-2023)
Website https://www.hsfoundation.org/

The Heising-Simons Foundation is a private foundation established by philanthropists Elizabeth (Liz) Simons and Mark Heising in Los Altos, California in 2007. [1] [2] The Heising-Simons Foundation's board consists of Liz Simons, Mark Heising, their daughter Caitlin Heising, and Sushma Raman [3] . Liz Simons and Mark Heising signed the Giving Pledge in 2016. [4]

Contents

The Heising-Simons Foundation's main areas of work include early childhood education, science, climate and clean energy, community and opportunity, and human rights. [1] It also funds a science fellowship known as the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship, [5] and the American Mosaic Journalism Prize. [6] It does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. [7]

The Heising-Simons Foundation's President and CEO is Sushma Raman, who joined in 2023 from the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. [8] The previous President and CEO was Deanna Gomby, who joined from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. [1]

Areas of Funding

CEO Fund: Technology and Society

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s CEO Fund addresses the impact of technology on society. [9]

In 2023, the Heising-Simons Foundation partnered with other philanthropies to contribute more than $200 million in funding toward public interest efforts to mitigate artificial intelligence (AI) harms and promote responsible use and innovation. [10]

Climate and Clean Energy

The Heising-Simons Foundation's Climate and Clean Energy program funds work around energy policy analysis, public utility commissions, energy efficiency standards, and climate communications. [2] The Climate and Clean Energy program was named one of 25 mid-sized environmental grantmakers by Inside Philanthropy. [11] The Heising-Simons Foundation joined the Climate Funders Justice Pledge in 2022. [12]

In 2021, the Heising-Simons Foundation was one of the founding members of the Equitable Building Electrification Fund, a fund that seeks to advance an equitable transition to building electrification for communities most impacted by fossil fuels. [13]

Community and Opportunity

The Community and Opportunity program focuses on two areas: local community and organizational effectiveness for Foundation grantees. [14]

In 2022, the Local Community portfolio provided funding for the community-based nonprofit group Amigos de Guadalupe Center for Justice and Empowerment to purchase the childhood home of Cesar Chavez in San Jose, California. [15] The property is intended to become a community-centered space with a learning center, where residents can learn more about Chavez's mission of non-violent resistance and community organizing. [15]

In 2021, the Heising-Simons Foundation supported MIT Technology Review’s COVID-19 Inequality Fellows reporting on the systematic technological challenges COVID-19 brought to under-covered communities. [16]

As of 2024, the Community and Opportunity portfolio is no longer listed on the Foundation’s website.

Education

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Education program awards grants in early childhood education, including supporting early math education and dual language learners. [2]

In 2019, the Education program co-created the Early Educator Investment Collaborative, a group of early childhood funders that also includes the Ballmer Group, the Bezos Family Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Foundation for Child Development, and the Stranahan Foundation. [7]

Human Rights

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Human Rights program focuses on criminal justice reform, immigration grant rights work, [17] and supporting human rights for all. [18]

Caitlin Heising serves on the board of directors of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and is the vice chair of HRW’s U.S. Program Advisory Committee. [19]

In 2023, the Heising-Simons Foundation signed the California Black Freedom Fund’s Philanthropic Sign on Letter in response to police violence in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death. [20]

Journalism

The Heising-Simons Foundation’s Journalism portfolio recognizes and supports journalism as a critical element of a healthy and multicultural democracy, focusing in underrepresented groups and voices in media and investigative journalism. [21]

The Foundation's Journalism portfolio awards the American Mosaic Journalism Prize, which annually awards two freelance journalists with $100,000 each in unrestricted funds for "excellence in long-form, narrative or deep reporting about underrepresented and/or misrepresented groups in the American landscape". [6]

In September 2023, the Foundation’s Journalism portfolio was an investor in the Press Forward initiative. [22] [23]

Science

The Heising-Simons Foundation's Science program awards research grants in astronomy and cosmology, fundamental physics, paleoclimatology, climate science, and the search for axion dark matter. [2]

The Heising-Simons Foundation partnered with the Simons Foundation to fund the $40 million Simons Observatory, an astronomy facility in the Chilean desert. [18] It also awarded $300,000 in funding for a major upgrade to the Kast Spectrograph at Lick Observatory in 2014. [24]

In 2017, the Science program launched the 51 Pegasi b Fellowship, intended to allow post-doctorate researchers the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy. [5] In its inaugural year, the Heising-Simons Foundation awarded four postdoc researchers $375,000 each to support their independent research over three years. [5]

In 2022, the Heising-Simons Foundation awarded a three-year grant to the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) at UC Santa Barbara for the launch of a fellowship that aims to address the underrepresentation of minorities in physics, including theoretical physics. [25] Funds cover a stipend for fellows, as well as travel and accommodations for six to eight weeks. [25]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Scutari, Mike (2021-11-02). "Seven Questions for Deanna Gomby, President and CEO of the Heising-Simons Foundation". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Williams, Tate (2017-08-21). "Inside the Heising-Simons Foundation: A Brainy Startup Finds its Way in 3 Major Arenas". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  3. ↑ Perkins, Madeleine (2023-09-12). "President and CEO Sushma Raman Joins Heising-Simons Foundation Board". Heising-Simons Foundation. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  4. ↑ Simons, Liz (2023-04-11). "Liz Simons and Mark Heising". The Giving Pledge. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  5. 1 2 3 Hill, Helen (2017-01-26). "Jason Dittmann named an inaugural Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow". MIT News. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  6. 1 2 Castillo, Amaris (2022-04-28). "Why this family foundation gives out $100,000 of unrestricted money to select freelance journalists". Poynter. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  7. 1 2 Chang, Audrey (2020-05-13). "Philanthropists step up in COVID fight: Los Altos foundation surpasses $500M in targeted giving". Los Altos Town Crier. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  8. ↑ Prest, M.J. (2023-01-20). "Heising-Simons Foundation Selects New CEO". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  9. ↑ "CEO Fund: Technology and Society". Heising-Simons Foundation. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  10. ↑ "Philanthropies launch new initiative to ensure AI advances the public interest". Ford Foundation. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  11. ↑ Kavate, Michael (2022-12-22). "Green Middleweights: 25 Prominent, Mid-Sized Environmental Grantmakers". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  12. ↑ Welch, Kaniqua (2022-04-07). "Climate Funders Justice Pledge announces new $100M funding baseline for BIPOC-led organizations created in one year". The Kresge Foundation. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  13. ↑ Mazur, Laurie (2022-10-17). "Electrify Equitably: Philanthropic Partnership Centers Frontline Communities in Decarbonization". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  14. ↑ "Community and Opportunity". Heising-Simons Foundation. 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  15. 1 2 Bay City News (2022-07-26). "Non-Profit Acquires the Family Home of Cesar Chavez". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  16. ↑ Johnson, Bobbie (2021-11-09). "Meet MIT Technology Review's covid inequality fellows". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  17. ↑ Simons, Liz (2022-08-09). "One Funder's Journey Toward Justice". Giving Compass. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  18. 1 2 Savchuk, Katia (2016-10-05). "Two Generations Of Givers: How The Simons Family Passed On The Philanthropy Gene". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  19. ↑ Human Rights Watch (2023-04-11). "Caitlin Heising". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  20. ↑ Philpart, Marc (2023-04-11). "California Black Freedom Fund: Philanthropic Sign-On Letter in Response to Police Violence". California Black Freedom Fund. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  21. ↑ "Initiatives: Journalism". Heising-Simons Foundation. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  22. ↑ Forward, Press (2023-09-08). "Press Forward Will Award More Than $500 Million to Revitalize Local News". Press Forward. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  23. ↑ "The state of local journalism and how it affects democracy". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  24. ↑ Lebow, Hilary (2014-12-03). "Lick Observatory plans major upgrade for Shane Telescope". UC Santa Cruz. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
  25. 1 2 Tasoff, Harrison (2022-07-21). "Enhancing Research: The KITP launches a fellowship for physics faculty at minority-serving institutions". The Current. Retrieved 2023-04-11.
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