About The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

"Never stifle a generous impulse," was a favorite saying of entrepreneur William R. Hewlett, who established the Hewlett Foundation with his wife, Flora Lamson Hewlett, and their eldest son, Walter B. Hewlett. Indeed, it was the personal generosity of Mr. Hewlett, who passed away in 2001, that has made the Hewlett Foundation one of the nation's largest, with assets of more than $9 billion. Click here for a brief biography of William R. Hewlett.

The Foundation's programs have ambitious goals that include: helping to reduce global poverty, limiting the risk of climate change, improving education for students in California and elsewhere, improving reproductive health and rights worldwide, supporting vibrant performing arts in our community, advancing the field of philanthropy, and supporting disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Click here to learn more about the Foundation's programs.

With such far-reaching goals, and relatively limited funds to achieve them, we acknowledge how important it is to have sound strategies for success in all our programs. That approach is informed by three fundamental values:

• First, the Hewlett Foundation is concerned primarily with solving social and environmental problems. This requires that staff defines program objectives, grants, and other activities in terms of problems to be solved; identifies indicators of progress and criteria for evaluating success; and that the Foundation is prepared to stay the course.
• Second, the solutions to serious problems are seldom known with anything close to certainty. The Foundation must therefore be prepared to experiment and take risks in its grantmaking. This, too, requires setting clear objectives and creating ways to measure success whenever possible. Without this information, it would be very difficult to know how the risk eventuated. This approach also requires a willingness to acknowledge and learn from failures.
• Third, grantee institutions--nonprofit organizations and, in some cases, government entities--are essential partners in achieving the Foundation's goals. This explains the relatively high proportion of the Foundation's grants budget allocated to general operating support. It also implies a concern not only for the health of individual organizations, but for the fields in which they operate.

Most Recent Grant Information
In 2014, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation awarded approximately $360,025,000 in grants and disbursed approximately $434,000,000 in grant and gift payments. The most recent IRS Form 990-PF with final numbers for 2014 is available to download on our Financials page. Click here to view our grants database.

Assets
As of December 31, 2014, the Foundation's assets were approximately $9 billion. Click here to view more financial information about the Hewlett Foundation.

About the Foundation's Green Building
The Foundation's home in Menlo Park, California, is a highly functional, environmentally friendly building that manifests the Foundation's commitment to social and environmental values. The building was the first in California and only the fifth in the country to receive a Gold-level certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. Click here to learn more about the Hewlett Foundation's green building.

Contact Information
The Foundation is located at:
2121 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, Ca. 94025
650-234-4500

Click here to contact the Foundation by email or to get directions.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) and is classified as a private foundation under Section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is wholly independent of the Hewlett Packard Company and the Hewlett Packard Company Foundation.