| Founder(s) | David Packard and Lucile Salter Packard |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1964 |
| Location | Los Altos, California |
| Key people | Carol S. Larson, President and CEO Susan Packard Orr, Chairman |
| Endowment | $4.2 billion[1] |
| Website | www.packard.org |
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private foundation that provides grants to not-for-profit organizations. It was created in 1964 by David Packard (co-founder of HP) and his wife Lucile Salter Packard. Following David Packard's death in 1996, the Foundation became the beneficiary of part of his estate. The foundation's goals, through the use of grants, are to "improve the lives of children, enable creative pursuit of science, advance reproductive health, and conserve and restore earth’s natural systems.[2]" As of 2003, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation was the 6th wealthiest foundation in the United States.[3]
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An audit conducted by Deloitte & Touche in December 2004 indicated that the total assets for the foundation were $5.4 billion.[4] The foundation had a budget of $160 million in 1997, $275 million in 1998, and $400 million in 1999.[5]
The majority of grants are distributed among three areas: Conservation and Science, Population, and Children, Families, and Communities.[2]
The Conservation and Science program area is focused on environmental sustainability in ecological systems. It promotes effective management of fisheries and an end to both overfishing and destructive fishing methods. It promotes sustainability in coastal systems in three specific locations: California's coast, the Gulf of California, and the Western Pacific. It funds marine research and management for coastal-marine systems. It supports energy policy reforms and research in the United States, China, and the Amazon. The program also provides academic grants for university researchers. The foundation also funds the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, an oceanography research center, and the Center for Ocean Solutions, which brings together marine science and policy to develop solutions to the challenges facing the ocean.
In 1988, the Foundation established the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering to provide funding for research by newly appointed professors.[6] Each year, the Foundation invites the presidents of 50 universities to nominate two early-career professors each from their institutions. An advisory panel of distinguished scientists and engineers carefully reviews the nominations and selects 16 Fellows to receive individual grants of $875,000, distributed over five years. Packard Fellows have gone on to receive additional awards and honors, including the Nobel Prize; the Fields Medal; and MacArthur, Sloan, Searle, and Guggenheim fellowships.
The Population program area is focused on population, family planning, and reproductive health. The program supports projects designed to increase funds by donors and developing countries. These funds are used to address population growth, family planning, and reproductive health services in developing countries. The foundation supports programs that promote the rights of individuals to make educated decisions about family planning. The program is focused specifically (but not exclusively) on Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
The Children, Families, and Communities program area is focused on providing early education through the Preschool for California's Children program. The program area also supports Health Insurance for all children and after-school programs for elementary and middle school students in California.