OVERVIEW: The Grant and Dorrit Saviers Foundation primarily supports grantmaking related arts and culture in Washington.
IP TAKE: The foundation lacks transparency, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. It mainly gives to Seattle’s larger arts and culture organizations and schools with which family members have a connection. A few conservative and libertarian organizations have also been awarded smaller grants. This will be a tough funder to get to know without a connection to the Saviers family.
PROFILE: The Grant and Dorrit Saviers Foundation was founded in 1999 by tech mogul Grant Saviers and his wife, Dorrit, who was once a project manager for Cisco. Grant Saviers graduated with his B.S. and M.S. from Case Western Reserve University. He was with Digital Equipment Corporation from 1968 to 1992, where he built the Storage Systems organization and was later vice president of PC Systems and Peripherals. He joined Adaptec as COO, eventually retiring as CEO and chairman. Since leaving Adaptec he has been a director and angel investor in several startups.
The foundation does not maintain a website, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. According to tax records, the Grant and Dorrit Saviers Foundation primarily supports grantmaking related to arts and culture in Washington. The foundation also makes a few grants to schools with which the family has a connection, public libraries and conservative organizations.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Arts and culture constitute the foundations main giving area, with most grants serving organizations based in Seattle. Grantees include the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Seattle Art Museum and the Earshot Jazz Society of Seattle. Funding has also gone to California’s Computer History Museum, where Grant has served on the board.
Grants for Education
This funder’s education giving reaches other states but mainly goes to schools with which members of the Saviers family have connections. Recipients include Boston University, Hillsdale College in Michigan and the Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts.
Grants for Community Development
This funder has made grants to public libraries in Washington, including the Seattle Public Library and the King County Library System.
Grants for Civic and Democracy
It is worth mentioning that this funder has made grants to conservative organizations over the years. Grantees include Judicial Watch, the Cato Institute and the Pacific Legal Foundation.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range from $500 to approximately $25,000.
Seattle arts and culture organizations are the foundation’s main giving focus.
This funder tends to support its grantees for several years.
The Saviers Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding.
For information about the foundation’s past giving, see its tax filings.
This funder does not provide a way to get in touch, but its phone number is listed as 206-448-2703.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
CONTACT:
Grant and Dorrit Savers Foundation
1920 4th Avenue, Unit 2703
Seattle, WA 98101
206-448-2703
