OVERVIEW: The Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies primarily funds grantmaking related to education, Jewish causes, global development, and the environment. It also earmarks funds for various causes in the Bay Area.
IP TAKE: Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies is the personal foundation of the late Susan Wojcicki, one half of IP’s “2023 Philanthropic Siblings of the Year,” and her husband, Dennis Troper. TWP may have established a web presence in recent years, but it still lacks transparency and limits information about its grantee selection process. Additionally, it does not accept unsolicited applications for funding. Most grants stay in California; however, the foundation has supported select organizations across the country and around the world from time to time. An inaccessible funder, the foundation does not provide a clear way to get in touch. We have provided a mailing address and phone number below; nevertheless, networking is the best way to get on Troper Wojcicki’s radar.
PROFILE: Established in 2005, the Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies is the private foundation of the late Susan Wojcicki, former Youtube CEO, and her husband Dennis Troper, Director of Product Management at Google. They are both Giving Pledge Signatories. Susan Wojcicki was an older sister of 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe founder. Born in Santa Clara, Calif., Susan Wojcicki was a daughter of Stanford physics professor Stanley Wojcicki and Esther Wojcicki, a teacher. Susan graduated from Harvard with an A.B., received her M.S. in economics from University of California, Santa Cruz, and received her MBA from UCLA in 1998. She worked at Intel and Bain & Co. before joining Google as one of its first employees. She advocated for Google’s $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube in 2006 and served as CEO of YouTube for almost a decade. She died of lung cancer in August 2024.
While the family foundation does not maintain a website, it is housed within the larger Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies organization, which does. This lists Cancer Research, Climate, Humanitarianism, and the Bay Area as primary focus areas. However, tax filings suggest that the Troper Wojcicki Foundation also prioritizes grantmaking related to education, global development, and Jewish causes.
Grants for Diseases and Science Research
The foundation’s Cancer Research grants support projects that are “ambitious” and seek to speed up the time it takes for cancer patients to benefit from innovative medical research.
- Grants have gone to Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Lung Cancer Genetics Project, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Stanford University for research into early cancer detection, and Partners In Health, which received a $1 million grant in 2021.
Grants for Climate Change, Environment, and Wildlife Conservation
Climate Change grants primarily support projects that help hasten the transition to clean energy. To a lesser extent, the foundation funds environmental justice and conservation efforts for “the planet’s most biodiverse ecosystems.”
- Past grantees include Friends of the Osa Earthjustice, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, Heifer Project International, Nine Lives Foundation, Marine Conservation Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Ocean Cleanup North Pacific Foundation.
Grants for Global Health and Development, Immigrants and Refugees
Troper Wojcicki’s Humanitarianism and international grantmaking is not a robust funding area; however, the types of organizations it has given to are diverse, not limited to one geographic region or cause.
- Global health organizations that have seen support include Doctors without Borders, Global Aids Interfaith Alliance, Beyond Fistula, and Himalayan Cataract Project. It has also given to immigrant and refugees groups, including Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project and The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
- Other groups include Vital Voices Global Partnership, Population Services International, Water.org, Playpumps International, Rainforest Trust, Amigos of Costa Rica, International Rescue Committee, and Room to Read, which works to improve literacy and gender equality in education in the developing world. It has also given to CAMFED, which seeks to eliminate poverty in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi.
Grants for Bay Area and Human Services
TWP is based in the Bay Area and supports more organizations there than in any other geographic location. The types of nonprofits who have seen support here range from arts and culture groups to homeless shelters and food banks.
- Local grantees include Computer History Museum, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, San Diego Foundation, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Bay Area Friendship Circle, Silicon Valley Education Foundation, and Hamilton Families, an organization focused on homelessness.
Grants for Higher and STEM Education
Some of the foundation’s largest grants have gone to education organizations.
- The foundation has given at least $3 million to Johns Hopkins University and $1.3 million to Stanford University over the years for cancer research.
- Susan strongly supported her alma maters Harvard and UCLA. Other grantees include Berklee College of Music, Menlo School, Code.org, and Computer History Museum.
Grants for Jewish Causes
It is worth noting that Susan’s maternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants who eventually landed in Southern California, and she identified as Jewish. The foundation has primarily supported Jewish causes in the Bay Area, but it has supported a few groups in Israel.
- Previous grantees include Oshman Family JCC, Gideon Housner Jewish Day School, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Berkeley Hillel, Chabad Jewish Student Center, Jewish Community Center of the East Bay, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Congregation Emek Beracha, Congregation Kol Emeth, Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, and Camp Tawonga, a Jewish Summer Camp.
- The foundation has supported Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and it has been a steady supporter of the Anti-Defamation League.
Important Grant Details
Grants range from $1,000 to $1 million, with $10,000 as the most common amount. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $18 million and held more than $289 million in assets.
- The Troper Wojcicki Foundation keeps a low profile, and it does not accept unsolicited proposals.
- For questions regarding TWP areas of focus, reach out to info@twphilanthropies.org.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
CONTACT:
Troper Wojcicki Foundation
171 Main St Ste 259
Los Altos, CA 94023
650-704-6017
