OVERVIEW: The San Francisco-based Pace Able Foundation was founded by Silicon Valley veterans Bart Burstein and Leslie White. This funder supports global development, global health, work and opportunity, sustainable agriculture and education. A significant portion of funding serves organizations working in Africa.
IP TAKE: Pace Able tends to support organizations that are involved in the development of infrastructure and finance in its areas of grantmaking interest. While its grants rarely top $50,000, this funder often works with its grantees for several years and provides consulting and technology services in addition to financial support.
Pace Able is not accessible and will not consider or respond to unsolicited proposals. It’s relatively responsive, so email general inquiries to the foundation’s staff.
PROFILE: Established in San Francisco by former Silicon Valley executives Bart Burstein and Leslie White in 2015, the Pace Able Foundation seeks to support “energetic organizations that want to effect changes that improve people’s lives measurably, improving health, economic status and educational outcomes.” Its current funding initiatives are agriculture, education, local business support and health. While a significant portion of the foundation’s grantmaking serves global causes, its education funding is mainly limited to projects and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Grants for Global Development and Sustainable Agriculture
Global development grantmaking is sourced from Pace Able’s agriculture and local business support initiatives. The agriculture program supports organizations that help poor farmers in developing nations to adopt methods and technologies that enhance the productivity and profitability of their farms. Pace Able’s local business support program builds on this work by investing in organizations that bring banking and financial services to farmers and other small business owners in underserved areas. One grantee, Root Capital, makes loans to agricultural businesses in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia and has developed apps that help farmers locate the essential supplies. Another grantee of the agricultural program, Ignitia, provides accurate weather forecasts to farmers in West Africa with the goal of improving output and profitability. Grantees of the business support initiative include Aflore, an organization that provides banking services and financial tools to “unbanked” populations in Colombia, and Shona, which provides hands-on support and mentoring to entrepreneurs in East Africa.
Grants for Global Health
Pace Able’s health funding supports “systems to improve public health and health outcomes.” In recent years, the program has prioritized organizations and projects in Africa. Grantees include Watsi, which works with healthcare providers in the Rwibaale area of Uganda to develop a system of health insurance, and EMGuidance, a web-based support platform for medical professionals in South Africa.
Grants for Work and Opportunity
This funder supports work and opportunity via its local business support initiative, which has supported organizations that support business development and career education. Grants have mainly gone to organizations working in Africa. One grantee, Unlock Impact, runs management education programs, internships and fellowships for talented young adults. Another grantee, Soko, helps artisans in Kenya develop thriving businesses and connect to collaborative projects through “virtual factories.”
Grants for K-12 Education
Pace Able’s education funding program focuses on improving academic outcomes for underprivileged children. In years past, the education funding focused on programs in Africa, but the foundation changed course in 2020 and will focus future grantmaking on initiatives in the San Francisco Bay area. Past grantees include Uganda’s PEAS, which provides affordable education to students in rural areas, and Limited Resource Teacher Training, which works globally to bring evidence-based best practices to low-resource classrooms. In California, the foundation has supported 10 Books a Home, an after-school program for struggling students in Palo Alto.
Important Grant Details:
The Pace Able Foundation makes between $100,000 and $200,000 in grants each year in amounts up to $50,000. Its average grant size is about $10,000. Many grantees receive multi-year funding as well as consulting and technology support from the foundation’s staff. Grantees tend to be well-established organizations involved in building or expanding financial and technological infrastructure in the foundation’s areas of interest. For additional information about past grantmaking see the foundation’s tax filings and its Who We Fund page.
Pace Able does not accept unsolicited proposals for funding and invites only a few organizations to apply for grants each year. General inquiries may be directed to the foundation’s staff via email.
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