OVERVIEW: The PIMCO Foundation makes grants for global hunger alleviation and gender equity. Its local grantmaking program in the U.S. focuses on housing and homelessness, college readiness and work and opportunity.
IP TAKE: PIMCO’s global philanthropy consists mainly of ongoing relationships with its large grantee partners. Its local grants program supports smaller organizations and prioritizes homeless populations and economic opportunity in areas of the U.S. where the foundation’s parent company maintains operations. More than half of all U.S. grants fund nonprofits in the states of California and New York, though grantmaking is national.
This funder is not accessible, but prospective grantees may contact the foundation’s grants administrator, Amber Skalsky, via email.
PROFILE: The PIMCO Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Pacific Investment Management Company, a multinational financial company based in Newport Beach, California. The foundation aims to “empower people to reach their full potential.” Its global grantmaking initiatives are hunger and gender equality, and its local program focuses on homelessness, college readiness and work and opportunity in the U.S. While Pimco’s grantmaking is global in scope, it tends to prioritize areas served by the foundation’s parent company. U.S. grantmaking focuses on organizations in California and New York.
Grants for Global Development and Food
The PIMCO Foundation’s global development grants aim to alleviate global hunger and provide nutritious food to the 821 million people in the world who experience food insecurity regularly. In recent years, the foundation has provided ongoing support in the millions of dollars to the Global Foodbanking Network, which works to “alleviate world hunger through launching and strengthening food banks.” In 2020, the foundation gave $2.6 million to GFNs COVID-19 relief effort, which supplied food to NGOs working with communities affected by the pandemic.
Grants for Women and Girls
PIMCO names gender equity as a main area of focus for its global grantmaking program. In addition to grants, the PIMCO employees have supported the foundation’s grantee partners with hundreds of hours of volunteer support in their areas of expertise. One grantee partner, the NOMI Network, aims to prevent human trafficking through financial empowerment. Pimco has also partnered with the Pulitzer Center in its effort to support journalism projects on gender equity and educational outreach programs to schools in the U.S. Other grantees that have received ongoing support in recent years include Women for Women International, GirlUp, Room to Read and SHE-CAN.
Grants for Disaster Relief and Humanitarian Aid
The foundation’s disaster relief grantmaking overlaps significantly with its hunger relief funding. Over the past two years, the foundation has responded to disasters and crises including COVID-19, the movement for racial justice in the U.S., the Australian bushfires of 2019 and 2020, recent flooding in Brazil and Hurricane Dorian. Most of the foundation’s relief grants support efforts to provide emergency food supplies to people in need. In addition to the Global Food Network, Pimco has given to the Orange County Food Access Coalition and New York City’s Yorkville Common Pantry.
Grants for Housing and Homelessness
The PIMCO Foundation makes grants for housing and homelessness via its local grants programs in the U.S. and the U.K. The U.S. program supports initiatives to provide shelter, temporary housing, transitional housing and social services to homeless individuals and families, while in the U.K., grants support organizations “addressing the needs of the homeless and rough sleepers in London.” U.S. grants prioritize organizations operating in California and New York, including Irvine’s Families Forward, the Friendship Shelter of Laguna Beach and Women in Need, which is New York City’s largest women’s shelter.
Grants for Work and Opportunity
The PIMCO Foundation makes grants for work and opportunity in the U.S. via its local grants program, which prioritizes the areas where its parent company maintains operations. Work and opportunity grants focus on “job and entrepreneurship training that will lead young adults to quality employment.” Past grantees include Hot Bread Kitchen, which trains women to work in and own businesses in the food industry, and Taller San Jose Hope Builders, which empowers young adults in Orange County with mentoring and life and career skills training.
Grants for College Readiness
PIMCO’s U.S. local grants program names college readiness as a main area of focus and supports “programming that prepares underserved youth academically for education beyond high school.” Grantees include New York City’s New Heights Youth, Inc. and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, which provides ongoing mentoring services for underserved teens throughout the college application process.
Important Grant Details:
The PIMCO Foundation makes between $2 and $5 million a year in grants, with an average grant size of about $25,000. The foundation’s global grantmaking programs mainly work through existing partnerships, but Pimco’s local programs in the U.S. and the U.K. prioritize areas served by the foundation’s parent company and have supported many smaller community-based organizations and initiatives. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.
The Pimco Foundation only accepts grant proposals on an invitation-only basis, but prospective grantees in the U.S. may reach out to grants administrator Amber Skalsky via email.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS: