OVERVIEW: The Gross Family Foundation supports health, education, global development and aid, environmental causes nationally and around the world. Grants also support the communities of Orange County in California.
IP TAKE: The William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation picks up where the now-defunct William and Sue Gross Foundation left off in 2017. This newer foundation is run by “Bond King” Bill Gross and two of his children, Jeff and Jennifer. Gross is a a Giving Pledge Signatory who has already given away over $700 million of his wealth to causes including higher education and health. The foundation’s most recent work, however, is expanding into sustainable global development and climate change mitigation, causes in which Jennifer Gross, a cofounder of the Blue Chip Foundation, maintains significant expertise.
This is a transparent funder, but it doesn’t accept unsolicited proposals. However, Gross’s hometown of Laguna Beach and surrounding Orange County are major priorities, so networking locally could get your organization noticed, but it will be a long shot.
PROFILE: The William, Jeff & Jennifer Gross Family Foundation is the philanthropic vehicle of “bond king” William Gross and two of his children, Jeff and Jennifer. William “Bill” Gross was born in Ohio, spent his childhood in San Francisco, and now lives in Southern California. He attended Duke University before joining the Navy, and then pursued an M.B.A. at UCLA. From there, he went to Pacific Mutual Life and then cofounded Pacific Investment Management, better known as PIMCO, the world’s largest bond fund. He also has written several popular books on investing. In the fall of 2014, Gross left Pacific Investment Management to join Janus Henderson Investors. In 2019, he retired and now focuses on managing his own assets and his philanthropy. Jennifer Gross, also a graduate of Duke, is a “sustainable development practitioner” and a cofounder of the Blue Chip Foundation. Jeff Gross is a graduate of the Brooks Institute and an award-winning sports photographer.
The William, Jeff & Jennifer Gross Family Foundation was established in 2018 in the wake of the William and Sue Gross Family Foundation, which closed its doors after the couple’s divorce. The new foundation’s mission involves “supporting organizations that have a direct impact on the people and in the communities in which they serve, whether locally in California, or around the world in developing nations.” The foundation’s focus areas are healthcare, education, global development and humanitarian relief, environment and community support for Orange County, California. Bill Gross’s home town of Laguna Beach and Orange County are geographic priorities for U.S. grantmaking.
Grants for Public Health, Global Health and Diseases
Grants for health, both in the U.S. and around the world, comprise the foundation’s largest giving area. Areas of interest include hospitals, improving access to care in the the U.S. and abroad, and infant care in low-income and underserved areas around the world. Special consideration is given to organizations responding to urgent health care needs.
- U.S. grants tend to support hospitals, large healthcare systems and clinics in underserved areas. Grantees include North Carolina’s Atrium Health, the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, the St. Jeanne de Lestonnac Free Clinic in Orange, California and St. Mary’s Health Wagon, which operates in Virginia.
- Gross donated $40 million to the University of California at Irvine to rename the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing. He is the recipient of the UCI Medial, awarded to
- Global health grants support large, responsive organizations that provide care and access where it is most needed. Gross is the single largest donor to Doctors Without Borders, contributing approximately $30 million over the years. They have also given $20 million to Mercy Ships to build a second floating hospital.
- Grants have also supported disease research organizations including the Lupus Foundation of America and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
Education accounts for another substantial portion of Gross’s giving. The foundation gives broadly for educational opportunity and access, with most K-12 funding staying in Orange County, while higher education grantmaking is national in scope.
- Gross is a longtime supporter of the Orange County Teachers of the Year Awards. Other K-12 grantees include Santa Ana’s Child Creativity Lab, School on Wheels of Los Angels and Christo Rey High School in Sacramento.
- The foundation has provided ongoing support to Gross’s alma mater, Duke University, which has received sums in the tens of millions for scholarships and access. In California, both UCLA and UC Irvine have received support. The University of Hawaii, the University of Miami and Tufts University have also been awarded grants in recent years.
Grants for Humanitarian Aid and Global Development
According to her bio on the foundation’s website, as a cofounder of the Blue Chip Foundation, Jennifer Gross has “has spent over a decade addressing systemic causes of poverty as a partner in program development and solutions-focused research that build on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework.”
- Jennifer directs the foundation’s Global Development and Humanitarian Relief giving area, which focuses on support for “practical solutions” and prioritizes early childhood programs and community WASH initiatives.
- Support has gone to the UN Sustainable Solutions Network, Action Against Hunger, Charity: Water and Think Equal, among others.
Grants for Environment and Climate Change
The foundation’s environment focus area addresses climate change while emphasizing “the disproportionate harm inflicted on vulnerable populations both domestically and internationally.”
- Spearheaded by Jennifer Gross, giving overlaps with the foundation’s global development work and operates at the intersection of “health of the planet and health of the people inhabiting it.”
- It is worth noting that Gross’s grantees in this area range from large, international outfits to much smaller, local conservation efforts in the Orange County area.
- Grantees include the Sustainable Solutions Network, the U.S. Coalition on Sustainability, Environmental Advocates New York, the World Wildlife Foundation and the Laguna Canyon Foundation, among others.
Grants for Community Development, Housing, Homelessness, Food and Nutrition
In Orange County, the foundation’s Community Support program makes grants to organizations assisting “those most in need,” including homeless, low-income, underserved and those in need of medical care.
- A portion of this giving also supports youth initiatives, libraries and other community development organizations.
- Grantees include the Orange County Community Foundation, the Laguna Food Pantry, Friendship Shelter, the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach and Laura’s House, which assists victims of domestic violence.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range from about $2,500 to $4 million, although most grants stay under $500,000. The foundation made close to $20 million in grants in a recent year in support of over 60 organizations.
- This funder gives globally, but a significant portion of funding stays in Orange County, where Gross’s hometown of Laguna Beach is a priority.
- Jennifer Gross’s expertise in sustainable development guides the foundation’s global and environmental giving.
- Grants support organizations of every size, with many smaller organizations in Orange County receiving ongoing support.
- This funder does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding.
- See lists of past grantees by focus area at the Our Work page.
Reach out to the Gross Family Foundation via the contact page. The foundation’s phone number is listed as (949) 500-7373.
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