The Hewlett Foundation makes grants to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. Our grantees are working to reduce poverty in the developing world, curb carbon emissions that lead to climate change, and improve education for students in California and elsewhere, among many other valuable goals.

While the goals of the Foundation are about problems that we're trying to solve, our Foundation is organized in such a way that grants are made from particular programs.  We've tried to provide sufficient information about each program's grantmaking to give the visitor a comprehensive understanding of what we fund and why.

Here are the Foundation's seven programs and their key goals:

The Education Program makes grants to:

• improve education for California students,
• equalize educational opportunities in the United States and throughout the world through Open Educational Resources, and
• improve achievement in disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Environment Program makes grants to:

• protect the great ecosystems of the North American West,
• slow the rate of global climate change by reducing green house gas emissions, and
• address environmental problems disproportionately affecting poor communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Global Development Program makes grants to reduce the number of people living on less than $2 a day by:

• improving the efficiency of agricultural markets,
• promoting transparent and accountable governance, and
• improving the quality of Education in the developing world.

The Performing Arts Program makes grants to organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area to:

• ensure that exceptional works of art are created, performed, and preserved, and
• provide more opportunities for participation in arts experiences.

The Population Program makes grants to:

• enhance and protect the reproductive health and rights of individuals, and
• stabilize global populations in ways that promote social and economic well-being and sustain the environment.

The Philanthropy Program makes grants to:

• ensure that more money goes to the most effective organizations and
• help nonprofit organizations make the maximum impact.

Special projects

The Foundation reserves funding each year to support special projects that do not necessarily align with the Foundation's primary strategies.