Tech Philanthropists

Learn more about top donors from tech below. Inside Philanthropy collects information on the top tech givers below. Members can also research funding opportunities using the search tool for GrantFinder. Become a member.

Funding trends in grantmaking made by tech philanthropists in the U.S.

Expected to grow in coming years, tech philanthropy is comprised of donors who obtained their wealth in technology. Tech philanthropists tend to give large dollar amounts, but to date, giving has been a relatively small portion of their over-all wealth, with a few exceptions like MacKenzie Scott, who often funds social justice and climate work, or Melinda French Gates, who has become a major funder of women, girls and reproductive health issues.

Tech donors are known for their interest in data-driven results and a desire for major impact. This may be why they are more likely than other industries’ mega-wealthy donors to give nationally and globally. However, it has taken concerted effort on the part of activists and advocates to get Silicon Valley philanthropists to give more locally, in regions where tech companies often displace local residents and apply pressure on local resources.

The philanthropic priorities of tech philanthropists can vary widely. To name just a few examples: The Gates Foundation prioritizes global health and efforts to reduce poverty and inequality. Jeff Bezos has given to climate change causes, among others, though giving has been so far a small portion of his wealth. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (established by an Intel cofounder) makes grants for the San Francisco Bay Area, patient care, science, and environmental conservation. The Omidyar Network supports a more democratic and equitable economic system in the United States, among other concerns, while the Gill Foundation is a leading LGBTQ+ funder.

Many tech philanthropists remain quiet about giving or give to highly personal causes, rather than strategic. The Musk Foundation gives largely to STEM education, while the Thiel Foundation continues to give to a small handful of issues that reflects the founder’s interests. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a prominent funder of education and science. The right-ward lurch of tech billionaires has increasingly changed the face of American democracy, forcing philanthropy to recalibrate its approach on a major scale as federal support for health, education, democracy, public safety, the arts, and science research are gutted.

Tech companies do some corporate giving, but it tends to be more opaque than the giving of private foundations. Few tech companies accept unsolicited grant proposals or provide a way to track awarded grants online. Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, founder of the Salesforce Foundation, pledged to donate 1% of his company’s equity, 1% of product, and 1% of employee time to philanthropic pursuits, and select other tech companies, including Google, have followed suit.

With tech billionaire’s fortunes changing daily, as the Bloomberg Billionaire Index tracks, so can their philanthropic giving. Whether they’re expanding current approaches to philanthropy or adopting them for the first time.

Tech Funders’ Giving & Foundations

BRIAN AND TEGAN ACTON

Brian and Tegan Acton support basic needs of low-income families with young children, education, youth, Bay Area community, human and civil rights, and more.

RICK AND DONNALYN ADAMS

Rick and Donnalyn Adams back digital rights and policy, and arts and culture.

LAURA ARRILLAGA-ANDREESSEN

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen doesn’t just practice philanthropy. She teaches classes on the subject at Stanford. She also founded the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2), where she continues as chairperson emeritus, and launched the Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen Foundation (LAAF), which helps philanthropists give more effectively.

MARC AND LAURA ARRILLAGA-ANDREESSEN

Laura Andreessen, a veteran philanthropist, and husband Marc, a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, oversee the foundation together. Grantmaking addresses helping philanthropists to give more effectively.

BRIAN ARMSTRONG

Brian Armstrong recently launched GiveCrypto, whose mission is to financially empower people by distributing cryptocurrency globally. He is a recent Giving Pledge signatory.

C. MICHAEL AND ANNE ARMSTRONG

Funding areas include education and youth, health and human services, and religious causes. Connecticut, Colorado, and Florida are focuses.

JAMES W. BAGLEY

Bagley and family support health and human services, and education and youth.

RICH AND SARAH BARTON

Philanthropic causes include education and youth, health, arts and culture, and the Seattle community.

GARY AND CYNTHIA BENGIER

Funding areas include education and youth.

JEFF BEZOS

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has engaged in limited philanthropy so far, although major gifts have supported education, arts & culture, immigrants, medical research, and climate change.

MICHAEL AND XOCHI BIRCH

Bebo founder Birch and his wife Xochi have given significant support for charity:water and other causes.

NATHAN AND ELIZABETH BLECHARCZYK

The Airbnb co-founder and wife Elizabeth, a physician, are Giving Pledge signatories, and have said they’re interested in funding education, scientific research, medicine, space exploration, conservation and governance.

CHRISTOPHER AND ANDREA BORCH

The founder of Micro-Mechanics and wife give to education and youth, human services/humanitarian, environmental and animal causes.

KEN AND CHERYL BRANSON

Funding areas include disaster relief, humanitarian aid, economic development and the environment.

LINDA BRENEMAN AND ERIC STRAND

Funding interests include the arts—particularly literature—education, social programs, and medical research. Seattle organizations have received numerous grants.

DANIEL AND CINDY BRETTLER

Daniel Brettler and his wife Cindy conduct their philanthropy through the Brettler Family Foundation, which focuses on helping others secure shelter, food and education.

SERGEY BRIN

Sergey Brin does his grantmaking through the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, which held more than $2.79 billion in assets in a recent year and gives away over $100 million annually. The foundation does not have a website.

JIM BREYER AND ANGELA CHAO

Jim Breyer and Angela Chao family move philanthropy through the Breyer Family Foundation, which gave away around $1.5 million in a recent year. The family support schools with which they have a personal connection. Angela has ties to the east coast.

PAUL AND APRIL BUCHHEIT

Early Google employee and founder of Friendfeed. Publicly solicited ideas for grantmaking and supports health, but otherwise keeps his giving private.

ANEEL AND ALLISON BHUSRI

Aneel and Allison Bhusri do not appear to yet have a formal family foundation. They’ve given gifts for youth and human services, with an eye towards the San Francisco area.

STEVE AND JEAN CASE

The founder of AOL and his wife are big believers in the power of entrepreneurship and are also keen to reinvent how philanthropy operates.

DEVINDRA AND MANISHA CHAINANI

The Chainani couple support global causes, particularly in India; also education and the arts. Devindra is a veteran engineering manager at Microsoft, and some giving has been in the Seattle area.

FUSEN CHEN

The tech executive gives to education and youth, religious, global and human services causes.

WINSTON H. CHEN AND PHYLLIS HUANG

The tech executive and investor and wife give to education and youth, community, global and religious causes.

BRIAN CHESKY

The Airbnb co-founder and CEO has funded humanitarian and disaster relief, and has said he wants to encourage young people to be entrepreneurs.

BEN AND TERESA CHESTNUT

Ben and Teresa Chestnut launched the Chestnut Family Foundation, which invests in the lives of children through access to the arts.

JAMES H. CLARK

Tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist James Clark gives to higher education, mostly at Stanford University, as well as nature, the environment, performing arts, and youth services programs.

RON CONWAY

The biggest gifts by this angel investor have been for healthcare, but Conway has also supported gun control and local causes in San Francisco.

SCOTT COOK AND SIGNE OSTBY

Founder of Intuit. The bulk of his giving has been in the field of education, although he also supports environmental and human services causes and programs that help the poor in Africa.

TIM COOK

While the Apple CEO’s record of public giving is pretty sparse so far, Cook has pledged that all his wealth will eventually go to charity. He has also dramatically increased Apple’s giving.

DICK AND BARBARA COUCH

Dick and Barbara Couch move philanthropy through the Couch Family Foundation.

MARK CUBAN

Mark Cuban has been an outspoken supporter of veterans and their families, and has also donated to causes such as cancer research and patent law reform.

JACK AND LAURA DANGERMOND

The mapping billionaire’s company provides in-kind services to K-12 schools, and the Dangermonds have given large sums to UC Santa Barbara.

DARWIN DEASON

Founder of Affiliated Computer Services, later sold to Xerox. The Deason family funds education, health and human services, and arts and culture. Son Doug is interested in criminal justice reform.

BHARAT DESAI AND NEERJA SETHI

Bharat Desai and his wife Neerja Sethi move philanthropy through the Ds Foundation. The couple direct millions annually to a donor advised fund, obscuring the full scope of their philanthropy. They also move philanthropy through the Desai Sethi Foundation (DSF), which focuses on underprivileged youth in Florida and Michigan.

GURURAJ “DESH” AND JAISHREE DESHPANDE

Funding interests include education and entrepreneurship. Their Deshpande Foundation works to build and accelerate the development of new enterprises.

JACK DORSEY

Dorsey’s record of charitable contributions is still brief, but he has used his social media power to raise funds for charity:water, and to auction time with himself to support entrepreneurship and education.

JOHN AND ELLEN DREW

The Drews fund health, human services and veterans, arts and media, education and youth causes.

DAVID AND CHERYL DUFFIELD

Founder of Peoplesoft that prioritizes toward animal rights issues and no-kill shelters.

BOB AND TRISH DUGGAN

The biotech billionaire supports higher education, as well as health causes, particularly around drug rehabilitation.

JERRY DUNIETZ AND LAURIE MINSK

Giving focuses on Jewish causes and human services. Dunietz is an engineer at Microsoft and some grantees are in the Seattle area.

KEVIN AND MOLLY EFRUSY

Founder of Corio and Accel Partners investor, Efrusy and wife Molly have given to youth leadership and education, public health, global development, and women’s empowerment.

PAUL AND JOANNE EGERMAN

Founder of IDX, Egerman and wife Joanne are interested in policy and civic action, education, health and Jewish causes.

LARRY ELLISON

Founder and CEO of Oracle. Was a strong supporter of cutting-edge medical research, but has recently shifted philanthropic priorities to animals and wildlife.

ALAN EUSTACE AND KATHY KWAN

Veteran microprocessor engineer and retired Google exec and wife Kathy Kwan direct their giving to educational equity at the K-12 level, jobs, and professional development.

NOEL AND SALLY FENTON

Fenton, a tech company founder and venture capitalist, focuses on the Bay Area. Causes include environment, education & youth, arts. Fenton’s son Peter, also a tech guy, is a trustee of the family foundation.

ARASH FERDOWSI

The Dropbox cofounder’s recently-launched Dropbox Foundation is concentrating initially on human rights, but Ferdowsi and the foundation may broaden their focus in coming years.

DAVID AND ANGELA FILO

Co-founder of Yahoo. Most of his giving goes to his alma maters, Stanford and Tulane, education reform, and environmental causes.

JESSE AND BETSY FINK

Jesse fink is the Founder of Priceline and MissionPoint Capital. Has backed sustainable food systems, and resilient habitats and communities, alongside his wife Betsy.

KEITH AND PAMELA FOX

The founder of Brandsoft and family fund children’s health, education and youth, human services, and religious causes.

ERNIE AND JOANNE GARCIA

The Garcias move their philanthropy through the Garcia Family Foundation, which centers on education, including parochial schools, and human services, with an eye towards Arizona.

BILL GATES

The Microsoft cofounder is among the world’s leading philanthropists. Much of his giving focuses on improving life in developing countries.

MELINDA FRENCH GATES

A major funder of women and girls, as well as health, human services, and early childhood, Gates is at the forefront of philanthropy.

JOE GEBBIA

The Airbnb co-founder is a Giving Pledge signatory (like his co-founders). Funding areas include education and humanitarian causes, as well as encouraging future creatives and entrepreneurs.

GREG AND SUSAN GIANFORTE

Founder of RightNow Technologies. Issues of the couple’s interest include jobs, education, family, Christian outreach, local arts and culture, and protecting the vulnerable.

STEPHEN AND MARGARET GILL

The Gills fund environmental and civil rights, arts and culture, global, education and youth causes.

TIM GILL

An early tech winner with Quark, Gill is a philanthropist of LBGTQ causes and founder of the Gill Foundation.

DAVID AND PATRICIA GIULIANI

The Giuliani family funds education and youth, health, human services, the environment, and community causes.

ROB GLASER

Founder of RealNetworks. Strong supporter of independent progressive media, global health, and animal rights causes.

JAMES GOODNIGHT

Co-founder of the SAS Institute. Most of his giving goes toward improving education and reforming the current educational system.

ANDREW GROVE

The late Intel co-founder’s legacy continues to grow with contributions through the Grove Foundation to several health causes, including prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease research, to which he’s given millions.

RAMANATHAN AND ASHA GUHA

Funding areas include education and youth, and the Indian community.

DAVID AND CATHY HABIB

Funding areas include Jewish causes, education and youth, human services, and the environment. Regular grants have gone to University of Washington among other Seattle-area organizations.

KEVIN HAFER

Hafer is a steady supporter of Hopelink, a community action agency in Seattle. The Hafer family has given to other causes as well as human services but keeps a low profile in philanthropy.

OMAR HAMOUI

Funding interests include the Muslim community, and education.

NICK AND LESLIE HANAUER

Seattle-based tech investor and venture capitalist and wife Leslie support environmental, education and gun control causes.

MIKE AND MOLLY HANLON

The Hanlons conduct their philanthropy through the Hanlon Foundation, which funds organizations that add value to the communities to which they belong.

ERIC HARSLEM AND RANI CLASQUIN

Funding focuses on education and community development.

REED HASTINGS AND PATTY QUILLIN

Netflix founder is active in education and immigration reform. Hastings and Patty Quillin are Giving Pledge signatories.

GARDNER C. HENDRIE

Cofounder of Stratus Computer and venture capitalist with Sigma + Partners. Funding areas include education, health and science research, arts and culture, and the Boston community.

ROBERT HERJAVEC

Not much is known about his philanthropy, except that he supports several charities dedicated to funding cancer research and other health-related causes.

PETE AND LESLIE MAGID HIGGINS

Funding areas for the Microsoft veteran and tech investor include education and youth, health, and the environment.

DAVE HITZ

Hitz and family support the arts, environment, science, education and community.

JAY AND MICHAELA HOAG

The venture capitalist and wife fund education and youth, Bay Area community causes, and health, particularly Alzheimer’s research.

JEFFREY DEAN AND HEIDI HOPPER

Dean, a Google senior fellow, and wife Heidi Hopper are developing philanthropic interests in education, including STEM diversity and global health, among other areas.

DREW HOUSTON

The Dropbox cofounder’s funding interests include human rights, criminal justice reform, and immigration. He recently launched Dropbox Foundation with Dropbox cofounder Arash Ferdowsi, which will focus initially on human rights.

JEN-HSUN AND LORI HUANG

The founder of Nvidia and his wife support education and youth and STEM education. They support Stanford University, and efforts to boost diversity in artificial intelligence.

MING HSIEH

Funding interests include higher education, health and science research, and the Chinese community. Tens of millions have gone to his alma mater, USC.

CHRIS HUGHES

Cofounder of Facebook and current publisher and executive chairman of the New Republic. Hughes prioritizes economic development, LGBTQ rights and global health in his giving.

MUHAMMAD RAGHIB HUSSAIN

The cofounder of Cavium supports the Pakistani community, and global, education and youth causes.

NAVEEN AND ANU JAIN

Naveen and Anu Jain conduct philanthropy through the Naveen and Anu Jain Foundation, which gave away around $221,000 in a recent year. They are strongly involved with the XPrize Foundation, interested in finding entrepreneurial solutions to address the global challenges. Other interests include Indian causes and human services.

RAJESH JHA AND SUDHA MISHRA

Funding interests include Indian and global causes, health and human services, and education.

LAURENE POWELL JOBS

Steve Jobs’s widow has strong interests in education, immigration and the environment.

JEFF AND KAREN JORDAN

The Jordans support health, education and youth, animals and the environment, human services and humanitarian causes. Jeff Jordan is a tech executive and venture capitalist.

DAVID AND ANNETTE JORGENSEN

Funding interests include education, social improvement, arts, public media, and medical causes.

BREWSTER KAHLE & MARY K. AUSTIN

Internet technology innovator and wife Mary K. Austin are big supporters of the Internet Archive online library, and have interests in arts, education and affordable housing.

TRAVIS KALANICK

Travis Kalanick recently launched 10100fund, which engages in nonprofit and for-profit work. Its initial nonprofit work will work on education and the future of cities.

SHEL KAPHAN

Amazon’s first employee. His low-profile foundation supports policy and civic action, education and youth, digital rights, and health and human services.

JIM AND DIANE KAVANAUGH

Jim and Diane Kavanaugh do not appear to have a formal family foundation. Kavanaugh has supported his alma mater St. Louis University. St. Louis serves as an important region of giving.

MITCH KAPOR AND FREADA KAPOR KLEIN

Lotus co-founder mainly focuses his philanthropy on social and racial equity, STEM education and the environment.

RICHARD A. KARP

Karp’s recent giving has focused on schools and education causes with which he has a personal connection, including Cal Tech, Stanford, and University of the Philippines Alumni in Minnesota.

VINOD AND NEERU KHOSLA

Co-founder of Sun Microsystems. His giving is concentrated on microloans to entrepreneurs, primarily in his native India, and on supporting his wife Neeru’s education nonprofit.

JAMES AND AGNES KIM

James and Agnes Kim move philanthropy through the James and Agnes Kim Foundation.

KARL AND LISA KLEISSNER

Exec at Ariba, RightPoint, NeXT, DEC, HP. An impact investor with wife Lisa through their KL Felicitas Foundation.

CHASE KOCH

Chase Koch recently launched the Chase and Annie Koch Foundation with Annie Breitenbach. Koch funds a private school located on the Wichita State University campus.

JOSH AND RENA KOPELMAN

Founder of online retailer Half.com; with wife Rena has given to education and youth, cancer and celiac disease, and Jewish causes.

JAN KOUM

Koum is still relatively new to philanthropy, but has given, so far, to technology, Jewish causes, community development, health and women’s causes.

MICHAEL AND JANET KRASNY

The founder of Computer Discount Warehouse and his wife support education, the Jewish community, medical research, and community services.

BILL AND GAY KRAUSE

The Krauses fund education and youth, health, and arts and culture. Much of their giving involves the Bay Area.

FLOYD AND JEAN KVAMME

The co-founder of National Semiconductor and his wife fund work in religious, policy, education, medical and social improvement causes.

FIROZ AND NAJMA LALJI

The couple funds education, the Seattle community, and global development—particularly work relating to Africa.

PIERRE AND CHRISTINE LAMOND

This family funds health, arts and culture, and education and youth.

JEFF AND ERICA LAWSON

Jeff and Erica Lawson do not appear to yet have a charitable vehicle. They are recent Giving Pledge signatories. Human services and aiding the poor appears to be an interest.

SANDY LERNER

Along with her ex-husband and Cisco co-founder, Lerner has donated more than 70 percent of the wealth she made at Cisco to charitable causes, focusing mainly on animal welfare.

KENNETH AND GLORIA LEVY

Kenneth and Gloria Levy support various Jewish causes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other funding has gone to education and youth, art and health.

CHRIS AND MELODY MALACHOWSKY

NVIDIA Corp. co-founder. Funding areas include environment and animals, education and youth, human services, and humanitarian causes.

PAUL AND YAFFA MARITZ

Funding areas include Jewish causes and child mental health. Paul worked at Microsoft and Dell; Yaffa is a trained social worker with a particular interest in infant mental health.

CRAIG AND SUSAN MCCAW

Education, global economic development, and the environment are top causes for Craig McCaw, who made his fortune in the cell phone industry, and his wife, Susan.

ROGER AND ANN MCNAMEE

Funding interests include animals and the arts. The McNamees are developing a sanctuary for retired zoo elephants in Northern California.

SCOTT AND SUSAN MCNEALY

McNealy has used the open source philosophy he embraced at Sun Microsystems to tackle education through a nonprofit he founded called Curriki. His family foundation also supports health and a variety of Bay Area organizations.

JEFF AND KAREN MILLER

The entrepreneur and investor has given big to support social entrepreneurship, and for environmental and local Bay Area causes.

BENJAMIN AND CAROL TURCHIN MONDERER

Funding areas include efforts to expand opportunities for people with disabilities, health, education and youth.

JAMES C. AND BECKY MORGAN

Former CEO and chairman of Applied Materials. Funding interests include youth and children, education, environment, and community stewardship.

MICHAEL MORITZ AND HARRIET HEYMAN

Tech venture capitalist. Much of his giving is focused on education, especially his alma mater, Oxford University, and supporting the San Francisco community.

KEN AND LINDA MORRIS

PeopleSoft co-founder, Workday executive. Morris and wife Linda have long supported his alma mater SMU. Interests include animals, education and youth, human services.

DUSTIN MOSKOVITZ AND CARI TUNA

Facebook co-founder has pledged to give away his entire fortune during his lifetime. The couple has a foundation making grants for global health, among other issues.

BOBBY MURPHY

The Snapchat co-founder has committed millions of dollars of the company’s shares to philanthropy, with youth as one focus. But Murphy is only just starting out in philanthropy, so his interests will probably come into greater focus in coming years.

ELON MUSK

Tech serial entrepreneur, co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors. His giving is focused on renewable energy, science and engineering education, and pediatric health.

HARVEY NAJIM

Founder of IT systems integrator and wife Nancy are big supporters of San Antonio-area charities, with a focus on children’s needs and health in the region and throughout Texas.

STEVE NASIRI

The InvenSense founder focuses giving on education, poverty, healthcare, non-violence and diplomacy.

WILLIAM NEUKOM

Microsoft’s longtime principal legal counsel, former managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants baseball team ownership group. Gives to advanced science, higher education and world justice by advancing the rule of law.

CRAIG NEWMARK

Much of Newmark’s philanthropy backs using the Internet to leverage his donations. He gives towards veterans and military causes, journalism and digital media, women in technology, civic and democracy and cybersecurity.

HENRY T. NICHOLAS III

Co-founder of Broadcom. Gives mostly to education and causes related to the Episcopal Church.

EILEEN HARRIS NORTON

Eileen Harris Norton launched the Eileen Harris Norton Foundation, which seeks to achieve social and environmental justice through supporting organizations dedicated to education, families, and the environment. She also helped found Art + Practice.

ADAM AND REBEKAH NEUMANN

Adam and Rebekah Neumann do not appear to have a formal family foundation. They’ve given sums to health and have shown an interest in the environment. Prior to a rescinded IPO, the couple pledged to give at least $1 billion to charity over the next decade.

ALEXIS OHANIAN

Co-founder of Reddit. Interested in digital rights, community funding. Ohanian is in his 30s, so giving may evolve and expand in the future.

KEVIN O’LEARY

O’Leary has supported causes including education and climate change, but his work has been almost entirely about what he can do through capitalism and entrepreneurship.

PIERRE AND PAM OMIDYAR

Founder of eBay has a longstanding focus on global issues, such as health, education, and economic development, but he also supports property rights, government transparency, and technology alongside his wife, Pam. He has committed $250 million to advance stronger media.

LARRY AND LUCINDA SOUTHWORTH

Google co-founder Page and his wife, Lucinda Southworth, seem to channel most of their philanthropic interests through the company’s giving.

SEAN AND ALEXANDRA PARKER

Sean, the first president of Facebook, has given big for science, global health, civic engagement, and allergy and cancer research, alongside his wife, Alexandra.

BOB AND RENEE PARSONS

Bob, founder of GoDaddy, and his wife, Renee, give to traditional causes, mostly veterans and the poor, and mostly in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

SUJAL AND MEERA PATEL

Grantmaking focuses on education and youth, and health, including cancer research.

CURTIS PRIEM

The co-founder of Nvidia Corp. funds education and youth, health, and Bay Area community causes.

PHILLIP AND SUSAN RAGON

Aside from a major donation for AIDS research, Ragon and his wife Susan have mainly given small gifts to organizations in the Boston area, many to faith-based groups.

SURI AND MALA RAMAN

Suri is a former VP and distinguished engineer at Amazon, and is currently a corporate VP at Microsoft. The Ramans support education and youth, human services, arts and culture, the environment, and education. Some of their funding goes to work in India.

RAO AND SATYA REMALA

Funding areas include human services and health, Indian causes and global health, education, the environment, and arts and culture. The couple’s daughters, Srilata and Srilakshmi, have important and growing roles.

ARTHUR ROCK AND TONI REMBE ROCK

Key Silicon Valley venture capitalist. Giving areas include education, legal rights, arts and culture, San Francisco community.

LOU AND MAURA ROSSO

Lou and Maura Rosso move philanthropy through the Rosso Family Foundation, which gave away around $500,000 in a recent year. Grantmaking focuses on San Diego county.

GARY AND JENNIFER RUBENS

Tech entrepreneur and angel investor runs a foundation with his wife that has focused heavily on youth and education. Animals are another interest.

JOHN AND NANCY SABOL

The Sabols conduct their philanthropy through the John and Nancy Sabol Foundation, which works to foster empathy, especially from an early age. The foundation also prioritizes the Northwest in its giving.

CHRIS AND CRYSTAL SACCA

Chris and Crystal Sacca recently signed the Giving Pledge. They don’t yet appear to have a formal charitable vehicle but state in their letter that they have an interest in “bold and ambitious efforts to ensure health, justice, and opportunity for all of humanity and the planet we share.”

BRUCE AND KIM SACHS

The Sachs move philanthropy through Water Cove Foundation, which largely focuses on the Boston area.

JOHN AND GINGER SALL

Co-founder of SAS Institute. Gives a lot of money and support to education, but is also a strong supporter of conservation and the environment.

JOSEPH N. SANBERG

The investor and entrepreneur funds work for economic opportunity in California, education, and more.

SHERYL SANDBERG

Executive with Facebook, bestselling author and co-founder of Lean In. Has thus far been private with her personal philanthropy, but is a strong supporter of women’s issues.

GRANT AND DORRIT SAVIERS

Funding interests for the veteran computer industry executive include education and youth, arts and culture, and policy.

MICHAEL SAYLOR

Founder of MicroStrategy enterprise software company. His Saylor.org nonprofit provides free online courses. Philanthropy goes to education and youth, arts and culture, health and human services.

ED SCOTT

Co-founder BEA Systems. Funding areas include global poverty and health, health, especially autism.

MACKENZIE SCOTT

Scott signed the Giving Pledge in May of 2019, just months after news of her divorce from the world’s richest person became known. Signs suggest that this progressive funder is only warming up.

VICTOR F. SELLIER

Funding areas include education and youth, health, and religious causes.

NICOLE SHANAHAN

Nicole Shanahan does her grantmaking through the Bia-Echo Foundation.

KAVITARK “RAM” AND VIJAY SHRIRAM

Ram and Vijay Shriram conduct their grantmaking through the education-focused Dhanam Foundation. Ram was an early investor in Google and former exec at Netscape and Amazon; major focus on education, both in the U.S. and in India, where he grew up.

THOMAS AND STACEY SIEBEL

Business software entrepreneur, founder of Siebel Systems. Engages in what he calls “catalytic philanthropy.” Gives to energy research, education, fighting drug abuse, and stem cell research with wife Stacey.

BRAD AND JANICE SILVERBERG

Funding interests include education and youth, health, the environment, and Jewish causes. Brad is a former Microsoft executive and some of the couple’s giving goes to Seattle organizations.

CRAIG SILVERSTEIN AND MARY OBELNICKI

Google’s “first employee,” now at the Khan Academy, is focusing most of his giving on global development and women’s education with his wife through Echidna Giving Fund.

JAMES LEE AND KRISTA SORENSON

James Lee Sorenson, founder of Sorenson Media and co-founder Sorenson Capital does grantmaking through the Sorenson Impact Foundation with his wife. Funding areas are social impact, education and entrepreneurial training, global health and development.

EVAN SPIEGEL

The Snapchat co-founder has committed millions worth of the company’s shares to the Snap Foundation, created with co-founder Bobby Murphy. They say Snap will benefit primarily youth, education and nonprofit arts programs.

LAURENCE SPITTERS

The Spitters family has funded education and youth, international relief, medical research, and arts and culture.

JOHN STANTON AND THERESA GILLESPIE

The wireless industry veterans are focused on the Pacific Northwest in their philanthropy. Funds go to education and youth, human services, humanitarian, and health causes.

CHARLES AND DELPHINE STEVENS

Funding areas include education, health, the arts, public welfare, the environment, and religious life.

MARK AND MARY STEVENS

This former Sequoia partner and his wife have given heavily to organizations close to the family, as well as a focus on neuroscience, and is interested in select other causes.

DAVID AND THELMA STEWARD

Funding areas include arts and culture, health, human services, education and youth, and religious causes. Missouri captures a good portion of giving.

CHRIS AND HEIDI STOLTE

Funding areas for the Seattle-based couple include education and youth, environmental policy and practice, advocacy and engagement—much of it in the Pacific Northwest.

WILLIAM AND MARY STONE

The Stones fund education and youth, arts and culture, health and human services, and religious causes. Organizations in Stone’s home state of Indiana are often funded.

DAVID SUN

Co-founder of Kingston Technologies, gives away millions of dollars to education and healthcare programs in Taiwan. Sun is also a strong supporter of the Chinese community in California.

JIM AND SUSAN SWARTZ

Venture capitalist and wife Susan have given millions to education. They’re also interested in activist media.

PETER THIEL

PayPal founder and investor is interested in science, technology, and alternatives to college.

MORT TOPFER

Mort Topfer and family conduct philanthropy through the Topfer Family Foundation (TFF), which is committed to helping people connect to the tools and resources needed to build self-sufficient and fulfilling lives. It focuses on Central Texas and the Greater Chicago area.

ALAN AND PAM TREFLER

Founder of Pegasystems. Funding areas include community health and wellness, education and youth development, particularly in Boston.

RANVIR TREHAN

Funding areas include education and youth, policy and global issues, causes in India, and arts and culture.

JOHN AND MARY TU

John Tu, co-founder of Kingston Technologies, is a major benefactor of the Freedom Writers Foundation and education alongside wife, Mary.

CARI TUNA

The wife of Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz, Cari leads the couple’s philanthropy as President of their Good Ventures Foundation.

MARK VADON

Mark Vadon moves philanthropy through the Vadon Foundation, which supports innovative community-based initiatives that sustain healthy thriving indigenous nations in perpetuity. The foundation recently distributed half of its assets while foundation co-founder and director Mattie Vadon resigned from the board.

ANDREW VITERBI

Qualcomm co-founder. Funding areas include education, health, Jewish causes, San Diego community.

ROMESH WADHWANI

Software entrepreneur turned investor. Strong proponent of philanthrocapitalism, focusing his philanthropy in his home country of India as well as East Africa and Latin America to promote economic growth.

TODD WAGNER

Scored big with Broadcast.com in the 1990s and has been giving away money ever since, mostly for education initiatives in Dallas. Now putting funds into a new project to help nonprofits raise money.

MAYNARD AND IRENE WEBB

The tech executive and investor and his wife support education and youth causes.

DAVID AND ALISA WEISE

Funding areas include the environment, and teen pregnancy education.

LYNDA WEINMAN AND BRUCE HEAVIN

Lynda Weinman was a faculty member at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and worked as an animator and motion graphics director in the special effects film industry. In 1995, she cofounded pioneering online learning platform Lynda.com with her husband Bruce. They don’t have a formal giving vehicle, but have given to education, youth, arts, and culture.

MEG WHITMAN AND GRIFFITH HARSH

CEO of Hewlett Packard and former CEO at eBay. Seems to give substantial amounts to charity, but it’s difficult to tell where it goes, as she has yet to establish a pattern in her giving.

RONALD WHITTIER

Philanthropy by the retired Intel executive and family largely focuses on education and cancer care and research. They established the FamiliesCAN program to help cancer patients, and the Whittier Educational Foundation to assist underserved students in the West Contra Costa school district.

FRED AND JOANNE WILSON

The Wilsons are proponents of education, particularly when it comes to giving kids access to computers and teaching them basic programming skills, and their limited public philanthropy has been in this area.

ANNE WOJCICKI

Anne Wojcicki’s 23andMe brings genetic mapping to the masses. She gives grants in the areas of poverty, medical research and Parkinson’s disease.

SUSAN WOJCICKI AND DENNIS TROPER

Funding areas include education and youth, Jewish causes, and the Bay Area community. Susan conducts philanthropy through a few channels, including the Troper Wojcicki Foundation, the Anne Wojcicki Foundation (named for her sister), and a donor-advised fund.

Tech Philanthropists

Key Funders

Funding trends in grantmaking made by tech philanthropists in the U.S.

Tech Funders’ Giving & Foundations

BOB AND TRISH DUGGAN

ROGER AND ANN MCNAMEE