OVERVIEW: Sobrato Philanthropies supports K-12 education, programs for English learners, economic opportunity, climate and and environmental giving, sustainable agriculture, housing & homelessness, and a range of other issue areas. Sobrato supports organizations across the U.S., along with a program focused on education and economic advancement in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley.
IP TAKE: Sobrato Philanthropies is an umbrella organization comprised of several Sobrato charities and funds, including the Sobrato Family Foundation, the Sobrato Foundation at the Silicon Family Community Foundation, and various other family funds and programs, including several DAFs (donor-advised funds). Sobrata is very much a family charity in both spirit and administration, with three generations of family members closely collaborating. Inside Philanthropy has exclusively reported on Sobrato’s recent goals and trajectories. While family members remain active in Sobrato Philanthropies and serve on the Sobrato Family Foundation’s board, the philanthropy has undergone an “evolution of sorts,” bringing non-family members onto the board and into executive leadership positions. A champion of place-based funding, Sobrato remains committed to Silicon Valley, but in recent years—driven by members of the real estate family’s second and third generations—the philanthropy has added various national and international causes to the agenda, with an increased focus on climate change, democracy giving, conservation, and other issues. In addition to grantmaking, Sobrato embraces less traditional approaches, including philanthropic collaboratives, impact investing, and funding for 501(c)(4) organizations.
This funder does not accept unsolicited grant applications, but grantseekers who feel their organization may be a fit for Sobrato should reach out via email to introduce themselves and their work. Sobrato’s Silicon Valley grantmaking is the most accessible among its programs, with details about grantmaking priorities outlined at the Sobrato website.
PROFILE: The Sobrato family’s real estate wealth traces back to the 1950s, when clan patriarch John A. Sobrato sold homes in Palo Alto, California, and launched Midtown Realty, selling residential properties in the burgeoning suburbs. In 1974, he sold his interest in the company, moved to Cupertino, and concentrated on developing industrial properties for the emerging high tech industry. Today, John A. Sobrato is chairman emeritus of the organization, while his son, John M. Sobrato, serves as chairman. The Sobrato Family Foundation, meanwhile, was launched back in 1996. Family giving has since grown under the umbrella of Sobrato Philanthropies—which includes the Sobrato Family Foundation, as well as other entities—holding over $1 billion in assets in recent fiscal years. The Sobrato family’s net worth is estimated to be $6 billion.
Family members most active in the philanthropy include John A. Sobrato and Susan Sobrato, and John M. Sobrato (the son of John A. and Susan) and his spouse Timi Sobrato. Both couples are Giving Pledge signatories. Also involved are John M. and Timi Sobrato’s two sons, John Matthew and Jeff Sobrato, among the third generation of Sobrato philanthropists. John A. Sobrato’s daughter, Lisa Sobrato Sonsini, was instrumental in getting the family foundation off the ground, in collaboration with her sister, Sheri Sobrato. Both remain actively involved.
Sobrato Philanthropy’s mission is “to partner with communities to meet immediate needs, address systemic barriers, and pursue social justice to build a more equitable and sustainable world.” This funder names Silicon Valley, English Learners and Sustainability as its main areas of giving. Grants, affiliated funds, and impact investments also support a range of other causes aligned with the interests of individual family members.
Grants for Housing, Work and Opportunity
Sobrato’s grantmaking for Silicon Valley is its largest giving area and prioritizes initiatives that help low-income and vulnerable people of Silicon Valley increase their financial stability and “craft their future.”
- Grantmaking focuses on dismantling systemic barriers to economic mobility through educational, vocational and other social services.
- A portion of this giving supports “community infrastructure” and “nonprofit ecosystems” in the regions “most disinvested communities.”
- Geographic priorities include San Jose, North Fair Oaks, Hayward, Unincorporated Southern Alameda County, South San Francisco, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, Shoreview, Half Moon Bay, Pescadero and Gilroy.
- Grantees include Year Up Bay Area, Destination Home of San Jose, Adobe Services of Fremont and the United Way of the Bay Area.
Grants for K-12 Education
Sobrato maintains a strong commitment to supporting K-12 English language learners in the Silicon Valley Region. The English Learners program names three main approaches to its grantmaking.
- Grants for Statewide Impact fund state-level policy and advocacy to help English language learners thrive and succeed.
- Grants for Regional Opportunities focus on the implementation of state-level policies and interventions for bilingual education.
- EL Ecosystem grants “seek to increase public and private investment” in EL anywhere in the state, including research, evaluation and “narrative change.”
Past grantees of this program include San Jose’s Foundation for Hispanic Education, the California Association for Bilingual Education, Loyola Marymount University and the Campaign for College Opportunity.
Grants for Climate Change and Marine Conservation
Sobrato Philanthropies’ Sustainability initiative names two priority grantmaking areas.
- The philanthropies’ launched the Oceans program in 2020, with a $25 million commitment to “protect the ocean” through grants and impact investments. Grantee partners include Oceana Mexico, Oceana Philippines and UNICEF, which received funding for a project “to recycle plastic pollution into bricks to build schools.”
- Launched in 2021, the Climate program is a $23 million commitment over three years to reduce domestic carbon emissions, support transition to a just clean energy infrastructure and support Indigenous stewardship of tropical forests. This grantmaking appears to be conducted through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, obscuring the end destination of grants.
Other Grantmaking Opportunities
Sobrato Philanthropies offers affordable office space and conference facilities to Silicon Valley nonprofits via four locations of its Sobrato Centers for Nonprofits.
Important Grant Details:
Sobrato’s grants range from $50,000 to several million, although the vast majority of grants remains below $500,000.
- This funder makes hundreds of grants a year to organizations of every size; small organizations are well represented among its Silicon Valley grantees.
- A portion of Sobrato’s giving is conducted through DAFs at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, obscuring details about grantees and grant ranges.
- While this funder does not accept unsolicited grant proposals or LOIs, inquiries may be sent to Sobrato Philanthropies via email at grants@sobrato.org.
- For additional information about past giving, see Sobrato’s financial reports or its tax filings.
For general inquiries, email the foundation at info@sobrato.org. Inquiries about grants should be addressed to grants@sobrato.org. The foundation’s phone number is (650) 876-7010.
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