OVERVIEW: The Ken Birdwell Foundation supports capacity building and nonprofit sustainability in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California.
FUNDING AREAS: Capacity building, nonprofit sustainability
IP TAKE: This is a new foundation that small and medium-sized nonprofits in the Bay Area counties should introduce themselves to immediately to get on its radar and possibly secure capacity building support in the future.
PROFILE: Established in 2018, the Ken Birdwell Foundation (KBF) is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California and also with an office in Seattle, Washington. Ken Birdwell, KBF’s founder, helped start the popular video game company Valve. He has been active in the nonprofit world since 1992 as a donor, volunteer and board member. Birdwell created an experimental 509(a)(3) foundation in 2011 and currently serves as KBF’s board chairman. The Ken Birdwell Foundation foundation aims to "help small to medium-sized nonprofits become self-sustainable by providing long-term capacity building grants, access to a peer network and deeper connections to other philanthropic sources.” It funds local efforts for capacity building and nonprofit sustainability.
The Ken Birdwell Foundation relies on a participatory grantmaking model with the expertise of community leaders. There is a community advisory committee that works with KBF to support local nonprofits. KBF is committed to long-term grants of five years that are designed to be flexible over time. Prevailing interests of this foundation include cross-generational challenges, helping local nonprofits grow stronger, building innovation over time and focusing on one community at a time.
Important Grant Details:
It funds groups that operate on yearly budgets between $500,000 and $2.5 million and that are locally engaged in the Bay Area communities they serve. KBF selects a cohort of three nonprofits with three mutually supporting missions several times per year to receive KBF funds.
Grants range between about $1,000 and $100,000. KBF makes approximately $500,000 available each year for its cohort-approved grants. Nonprofits that complete KBF’s engagement process receive $1,000 engagement grant and can become eligible for larger grants later. Grantmaking focuses on the San Francisco Bay Area of California and Seattle, Washington.
California counties in focus are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma. Past local grantees include the Asian Women’s Shelter, La Cocina and the East Oakland Boxing Association.
This foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits and engages with nonprofits on an invitation-only basis. However, it welcomes introductions from nonprofits through a website form to provide basic information about the organization and needs to determine if there is a good fit. Direct general questions to the staff at hello@k-b-f.org.
PEOPLE:
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