Hewlett Foundation

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Overview

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation was established in 1966 by engineer and entrepreneur Bill Hewlett and his wife Flora as a nonpartisan private foundation. The foundation is wholly independent of HP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and the HPE Foundation. Headquartered in the Bay Area with approximately 130 employees, the Hewlett Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States. As of December 31, 2025, the foundation held net assets of approximately $14.97 billion.

The foundation operates as a grantmaking institution, awarding grants to creative thinkers and problem solvers working to ensure everyone has a meaningful opportunity to thrive. All of the foundation's financial assets are managed by external investment managers selected by the foundation. These assets are held in custody by a major financial institution, except for assets invested with partnerships and commingled funds. The foundation emphasizes a patient, collaborative philanthropic approach rooted in the founders' ethos.

The foundation's organizational structure includes a board of directors that always includes four members of the Hewlett family and between five and 11 other leaders from philanthropy, government, business, education, and civil society. The foundation maintains a cooperative working relationship between its president, board, and staff. As of September 2024, the president is Amber D. Miller, an astrophysicist and university leader.

Investment Mandate

The foundation's mission is to invest in creative thinkers and problem solvers working to ensure everyone has a meaningful opportunity to thrive. Program areas include education, environment, performing arts, gender equity and governance, U.S. democracy, and advancing the field of philanthropy. Locally, the foundation supports meaningful artistic experiences in Bay Area communities and regional foundations on housing and critical issues. U.S. efforts prioritize strengthening democracy, advancing education for all, and supporting community-led conservation in the North American West. Globally, the foundation supports reducing harms from climate change, reproductive health, women's economic empowerment, and inclusive governance.

The foundation's investment portfolio is diversified across multiple strategies and asset categories. As of December 31, 2025, Note 3 reported investment categories at fair value of $10.342 billion in alternative assets (including private equity, real assets, and LIRA funds), $4.081 billion in public equities, $0.693 billion in fixed income, and $0.600 billion in cash equivalents. Those category values are before the negative $0.493 billion net payable on forward fixed income transactions and other small net items; total investments at fair value were $15.227 billion. The foundation does not disclose target allocation ranges or a strategic asset allocation policy. All financial assets are managed by external investment managers selected by the foundation, who are authorized to use financial derivative instruments such as currency forwards, futures, swaps, and options for hedging and portfolio management purposes.

The foundation maintains a global and North American geographic focus. Its investment approach is mixed, employing multiple strategies across various asset categories. The foundation's investment managers diversify investments among various financial instruments and asset categories to manage risk and optimize returns in support of the foundation's grantmaking mission.

Financial Position

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation held net assets of $14,974,651 thousand (approximately $14.97 billion) as of December 31, 2025, compared to $13,842,129 thousand (approximately $13.84 billion) as of December 31, 2024. Net investment income for 2025 was $1,848,764 thousand, compared to $1,591,281 thousand for 2024. The foundation's investment portfolio generated a gain of $1,720,442 thousand in 2025. In 2024, the foundation awarded $631 million in grants, with nearly three-fourths awarded as flexible funding. The foundation maintains approximately 3,000 active grants at any one time.

• Net assets: $14.97 billion as of December 31, 2025, up from $13.84 billion as of December 31, 2024.
• Investment returns: Net investment income was $1,849 million in 2025 and $1,591 million in 2024. The statements disclose interest, dividends and other income, gain on investment portfolio, and investment management expense; they do not publish a total-portfolio percentage return.
• Grants awarded: Total grants awarded (net of cancellations) in 2025 were $613,709 thousand; in 2024 were $622,081 thousand.
• Investment management expense: $20,762 thousand in 2025, representing approximately 0.14 percent of net assets.
• Workforce: Approximately 130 employees based in the Bay Area.

The foundation discloses total commitments to contribute additional capital to various partnerships: $1,909,252 thousand as of December 31, 2025, and $2,089,542 thousand as of December 31, 2024. These commitments represent unfunded obligations to private equity, real assets, and other alternative investment partnerships. The foundation does not disclose a detailed commitment pacing schedule or future capital deployment timeline.

DEEP Disclosure Rating

The DEEP Disclosure Rating measures how much a fund discloses about itself. It is a disclosure and governance measure only, and not a judgment of investment quality or creditworthiness.The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's DEEP Disclosure Score is 47 of 100, band Limited. The foundation publishes comprehensive audited financial statements annually, including detailed investment categories at fair value, dollar investment income and gains, and investment management expenses. It names its president, senior staff including the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and describes board composition. All sources are freely accessible on the foundation's official website and are current as of the assessment date.

The foundation does not disclose an investment policy statement, target allocation ranges, named external managers, a manager selection process, or an RFP or procurement calendar. No board or committee minutes or meeting materials are published. No position-level holdings are disclosed; only asset-class totals are provided. Items that cannot apply to a fund's type are excluded from its score rather than scored as zero. The fund-specific basis is included in the DEEP Disclosure Report. The full scoring rubric is public on the DEEP Disclosure Rating methodology page. A detailed, pillar-by-pillar and item-by-item breakdown of this fund's score is available as a DEEP Disclosure Report on request.

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Manager Approach and Matching Profile

Pursuit verdict: External managers: no realistic pathway. The foundation states that all financial assets are managed by external investment managers selected by the foundation, but it does not disclose a manager selection process, name any investment consultant, publish an RFP calendar, or maintain a procurement portal. No named managers appear in any public source. No public route for external manager selection is evident. Incumbent managers hold all mandates with no disclosed review or rebid schedule. Managers seeking to enter this allocator should not pursue it unless they have an established relationship with the foundation's senior leadership or are approached directly.

• Target vs. actual allocation: The foundation discloses actual investment categories at fair value: alternative assets $10.342 billion, public equities $4.081 billion, fixed income $0.693 billion, and cash equivalents $0.600 billion as of December 31, 2025. Those category values are before the negative $0.493 billion net payable on forward fixed income transactions and other small net items; total investments at fair value were $15.227 billion. No target allocation ranges or strategic asset allocation policy are disclosed. The foundation states that it diversifies investments among various financial instruments and asset categories but does not publish specific allocation targets or ranges for any asset class or strategy.
• Historical AUM and return series: Net assets are disclosed for year-end 2025, 2024, and 2023. Dollar net investment income is disclosed for calendar years 2025 and 2024. The audited statements do not publish a total-portfolio percentage return, and no percentage return is calculated for this profile.

  Period	Net assets	Net investment income
  2025 year-end	$14.97 billion	$1.85 billion
  2024 year-end	$13.84 billion	$1.59 billion
  2023 year-end	$12.98 billion	Not disclosed in reviewed statements

• External manager roster and consultant detail: The foundation does not disclose a roster of named external managers. The 2025 Audited Financial Statements note that all of the foundation's financial assets are managed by external investment managers selected by the foundation, but no managers are named. No investment consultant is named. Financial assets are held in custody by a major financial institution (not named) except for assets invested with partnerships and commingled funds. Investment managers are authorized to use financial derivative instruments (currency forwards, futures, swaps, options) for hedging and portfolio management purposes, but no specific mandates, benchmarks, or fee arrangements are disclosed.

  Mandate	Benchmark or strategy	AUM	Manager	Fee or expense
  Public equities	Not disclosed	$4.081 billion	Not publicly disclosed	Not disclosed
  Alternative assets	Not disclosed	$10.342 billion	Not publicly disclosed	Not disclosed
  Fixed income	Not disclosed	$0.693 billion	Not publicly disclosed	Not disclosed
  Cash equivalents	Not disclosed	$0.600 billion	Not publicly disclosed	Not disclosed

  Category fair values are before the net payable on forward fixed income transactions (negative $0.493 billion) and other small net investment items; total investments at fair value were $15.227 billion.

  Total investment management expense for 2025 was $20,762 thousand, representing approximately 0.14 percent of net assets, but no mandate-level or manager-level fee detail is disclosed.
• Commitment pacing: The foundation discloses total commitments to contribute additional capital to various partnerships: $1,909,252 thousand as of December 31, 2025, and $2,089,542 thousand as of December 31, 2024. These commitments represent unfunded obligations to private equity, real assets, and other alternative investment partnerships. No detailed commitment pacing schedule, vintage-year breakdown, or future capital deployment timeline is disclosed. The foundation does not publish a pacing model, target commitment amounts by year, or expected drawdown schedule for its private-market programs.
• RFP, procurement, and board calendar: The foundation does not disclose an RFP process, procurement portal, or calendar. No investment consultant is named. No public route for external manager selection is evident from the sources. The foundation does not publish a board meeting calendar, investment committee meeting schedule, or manager review calendar. The foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals from external managers. No procurement or registration portal is maintained. The only realistic entry route for external managers is through an established relationship with the foundation's senior leadership or by being approached directly by the foundation.

Matching profile: these data points feed the cross-fund manager matching profile.

Sources: 2025 Audited Financial Statements (published May 29, 2026), https://hewlett.org/about-us/financials/, https://hewlett.org/about-us/.

Governance and Leadership

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's board of directors always includes four members of the Hewlett family and between five and 11 other leaders from philanthropy, government, business, education, and civil society. The foundation maintains a cooperative working relationship between its president, board, and staff. As of September 2024, the president is Amber D. Miller, an astrophysicist and university leader. The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer is Dwight Koda. The Vice President and Chief Operating Officer is Elizabeth Peters. The foundation does not disclose a Chief Investment Officer or investment committee chair; no investment leadership beyond the CFO and COO is named in the sources.

• Amber D. Miller, President
• Dwight Koda, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
• Elizabeth Peters, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

The foundation's People page names senior operating and finance staff, including Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Dwight Koda and Investment Operations Accountant Samuel Yee. The reviewed sources describe board composition but do not name board members, and they do not name a Chief Investment Officer. No board or committee minutes or meeting materials are published. The foundation does not disclose an investment committee structure or membership.

How to Engage

The foundation states that all of its financial assets are managed by external investment managers selected by the foundation, but it does not disclose its manager selection process, name any investment consultant, or publish selection criteria. No RFP process, procurement portal, or calendar is published. The foundation does not appear to accept unsolicited proposals from external managers. No public pathway for manager engagement is evident from the sources. Financial assets are held in custody by a major financial institution (not named) except for assets invested with partnerships and commingled funds. Investment managers are authorized to use financial derivative instruments for hedging and portfolio management purposes. The foundation uses multiple investment strategies and diversifies investments among various financial instruments and asset categories. Managers seeking to enter this allocator should not pursue it unless they have an established relationship with the foundation's senior leadership or are approached directly by the foundation.

Sources and Documents

• 2025 Audited Financial Statements (PDF, published May 29, 2026)
• About Us page (accessed October 1, 2026)
• People page (accessed October 1, 2026)
• Financials page (accessed October 1, 2026)
• Our Grants page (accessed October 1, 2026)

Data Notes and Methodology

This profile is based on the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's 2025 Audited Financial Statements (published May 29, 2026, covering the year ended December 31, 2025) and the foundation's official website (accessed October 1, 2026). All financial figures are as of December 31, 2025, unless otherwise noted. The audited statements disclose dollar investment performance (interest, dividends and other income, gain on investment portfolio, investment management expense, and net investment income); they do not publish a total-portfolio percentage return, and no percentage return is calculated for this profile. The foundation does not disclose target allocation ranges, named external managers, a manager selection process, or an RFP or procurement calendar. No investment consultant is named. The foundation's investment approach is classified as mixed (neither purely active nor passive) based on its description of diversified strategies across multiple asset categories. All sources are freely accessible without paywall. The next expected update is the 2026 Audited Financial Statements (expected in 2027).