The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private family foundation created in 1964 by David Packard (1912-1996), co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and Lucile Salter Packard (1914-1987).
The Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations in the following broad program areas: Science, Children, Families, and Communities, Population, Conservation, Arts, Organizational Effectiveness, and Philanthropy. The Foundation provides national and international grants, and also has a special focus on the Northern California counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey. We do not accept proposals to benefit specific individuals or that serve religious purposes.
The Foundation's assets were approximately $13 billion as of December 31, 1999. Grant awards totaled approximately $411 million in 1999, and the Foundation expects to make grants of approximately $500 million in 2000.
An eleven-member Board of Trustees, which includes five members of the founders' family, provides direction. A staff of over 125 conducts the day-to-day operation of the Foundation in a way that honors David and Lucile Packard's core values: integrity, respect for all people, belief in individual leadership, commitment to effectiveness, and the capacity to think big.
Values
By their example, David and Lucile Packard passed on to the Board of Trustees and Foundation staff the following core set of values:
Integrity: The Board and staff will be open and honest with one another, the community, and Foundation grantees. They will encourage the highest possible standards of conduct and ethics.
Respect for All People: The Board and staff, in all of their work on behalf of the Foundation, will show graciousness and respect to all people. The success of the Foundation depends on seeking out and listening to the ideas and advice of others.
Belief in Individual Leadership:The Board and staff will provide at the Foundation an environment of trust and flexibility that fosters and rewards the best in ideas and efforts. In grantmaking and other activities of the foundation, the Board and staff will look for those individuals and their organizations best able to make a contribution in their fields, and then will respect and support their leadership and ideas.
Commitment to Effectiveness: The Board and staff will identify unique and strategic opportunities to make a difference. They will evaluate their effectiveness and change strategies as necessary to achieve greater effectiveness. The Foundation will take a long-term view and keep a commitment to selected areas that require this approach.
Capacity to Think Big: The Board and staff will initiate and be receptive to ideas in which a large commitment of funds and/or time can make a unique and lasting contribution. The Foundation will operate in a way that ensures flexibility to respond to such opportunities.
