OVERVIEW: The Bia-Echo Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of Nicole Shanahan. The foundation focuses on women’s reproductive longevity and equality, criminal justice reform and the environment.
IP TAKE: The Bia-Echo Foundation’s grantmaking appears to have sputtered out after a substantial round of giving in 2021. Its website is still up, however, and it is unclear if the foundation has shifted to an impact investing model or remains on hiatus. Check back for updates.
PROFILE: Established in 2019, The Bia-Echo Foundation was created by Nicole Shanahan, a California-based attorney specializing in patent law and the legal issues surrounding artificial intelligence. Shanahan founded ClearAccessIP, a purpose-built solution for reducing the transaction costs associated with building, managing and distributing patents and patent rights. She is also a former fellow of CodeX, the Stanford Center of Legal Informatics, “where she launched the Smart Prosecution project, a multi-disciplinary effort applying data science to the prosecutorial process, involving partnerships with district attorneys and community organizations.” She is the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
The foundation’s mission is to “to create a multiplying effect across new frontiers in reproductive longevity & equality, criminal justice reform and a healthy & livable planet.” The foundation supports both organizations and individuals, and funding can take the form of either grants or impact investments.
Grants for Reproductive Health and Science Research
The Bia-Echo Foundation supports reproductive health and women’s reproductive longevity, a cause in which Shanahan has personal experience. It works to make “bold investments in medical advancements” to “extend women’s reproductive longevity, giving women greater freedom and choice in their reproductive health.”
- An early grantee of Bia-Echo is the Buck Institute’s Center for Reproductive Longevity and Equality.
- In 2021, the foundation invested $8 million in the new Bia-Echo Asia Centre for Reproductive Longevity and Equality, established at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS), which studies ways to advance female fertility, lifespan and health-span.
Grants for Criminal Justice Reform
Bia-Echo is also “committed to initiatives in support of an equal and fair justice system that is accessible to all, regardless of gender, race or socio-economic status.”
- The foundation has supported the Stanford Computational Policy Lab to drive social impact on criminal justice reform via data analysis and technical innovation.
- It has also given $5 million to Silicon Valley Community Foundation and $500,000 each to Edward Charles Foundation and Good Films Impact to support criminal justice reform and human rights initiatives.
Grants for the Environment and Climate Change
Bia-Echo’s environmental funding broadly focuses on climate change mitigation and disaster prevention, as well as conservation efforts that support it’s climate change goals.
- The foundation has supported the San Francisco-based Planet Labs, a for-profit company that creates information images related to disaster and climate response, crop yield predictions and urban planning.
Important Grant Details:
A significant portion of Bia-Echo’s grantmaking is conducted through the Vanguard Charitable giving platform, obscuring the range and amounts of its grants.
- Note that this funder does not appear to have made grants since 2021. It is unclear if the foundation’s work has shifted to impact investing, or if has taken a hiatus from its philanthropic work.
- Currently, the Bia-Echo Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding, and it does not provide grantseekers with a clear way to get in touch. An address and phone number are provided below.
PEOPLE:
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LINKS:
CONTACT:
1 Montgomery St, 3150
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 341-9300