Crankstart Foundation is the family foundation of Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz. It is a private grantmaking organization that gives to numerous left-of-center organizations. ¹ In 2021, it reported distributing more than $250 million in grants. ²

As of 2020, Crankstart Foundation reported having $1.8 billion in net assets, and in 2020 alone, Moritz contributed $81 million to the foundation. ^{3 4} It has several giving areas, including advocating for policy that would weaken election integrity, promoting family planning services such as abortion, supporting increasing government funding of social services, and promoting identity politics as a basis for setting standards for social services and philanthropy. ⁵

Background

Founded in 2000, Crankstart Foundation is the family foundation of Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman. It is based in San Francisco, California and makes grants to organizations that cover a variety of left-of-center causes. ⁶

In 2021, Crankstart Foundation distributed $250 million in grants, 60% of which went to San Francisco-based nonprofits. Most of its grants are between $100,000 and $1 million. ⁷

Leadership

Michael Moritz is the co-founder and president of Crankstart Foundation. He is a venture capitalist who as of May 2022 has an estimated net worth of $5.4 billion. He was born in Wales and moved to America in 1976, starting off as a journalist for Time. He eventually joined venture capital firm Sequoia Capital as a partner. ^{8 9}

Harriet Heyman, wife of Michael Moritz, is the director of Crankstart Foundation. She is also an author and sculptor. ¹⁰

Grantmaking

In 2021, Crankstart Foundation reported distributing $250 million in grants to 348 organizations, with grants ranging from $1,000 to $50 million. The foundation reports that about 40% of its grants are made through its Education program, 14% from its Thriving Democracy program, 38% from its Just Communities program, and 8% from its Environment and Basic Sciences program. ¹¹

Grants for Higher Education

According to its 2020 tax returns, Crankstart Foundation gave $6.2 million to Americans for Oxford, Inc., a 501(c)(3), an American-based nonprofit created by Oxford University. The organization funds academic research, including left-of-center topics from the viewpoint of environmentalism and identity politics. ^{12 13}

Just Communities

Crankstart Foundation’s Just Communities program include grants that subsidize homeless and low-income housing, provide social services for immigrants, and to organizations that provide abortions. Many of these groups use identity politics to establish equity and diversity standards for the social services they provide. ¹⁴

2020 grants under the Just Communities program include $3.8 million to the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides housing for homeless people and provides loans for low-income housing, and it gave $100,000 to La Clinica de la Raza, which provides medical and family planning services, including abortion. ^{15 16}

Thriving Democracy

Grantees under Crankstart Foundation’s Thriving Democracy program include organizations that advocate for weakening election security, promote identity politics as a basis for advocating for and providing social services for specific ethnic minorities, and organizations that provide legal services to immigrants. ¹⁷

Grants in 2020 under Crankstart Foundation’s Thriving Democracy program include $5 million to the Leadership Council Education Fund, a left-of-center nonprofit organization that advocates for policy that weakens election integrity, uses the identity politics concept of intersectionality, and increasing public spending on social issues; $1 million to Centro Legal de la Raza, a for-profit organization that provides legal services to legal and illegal immigrants; and $3 million to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. ^{18 19 20 21}

Environmentalist Grants

Crankstart Foundation’s 2020 grants to environmentalist groups include $1 million to the Sierra Club Foundation, one of the most prominent environmentalist groups in America and $1 million to the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, an environmentalist project of the New Venture Fund.

Finances

According to Crankstart Foundation’s 2020 tax returns, it received $81 million in contributions, all from Michael Moritz. ²² The rest of its $236 million in revenue came in the form of sale of assets, dividends, interest payments, and other investment income. ²³ It reported having $1.8 billion in net assets at the end of 2020. ²⁴

1. Suver, Stacey. “Crankstart Foundation.” Inside Philanthropy. Inside Philanthropy, May 5, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/grants-c/crankstart-foundation.
2. “Crankstart.” Crankstart. Accessed May 8, 2022. https://crankstart.org/.
3. Crankstart Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2020. Schedule B.
4. Crankstart Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2020. Part II, Line 30.
5. Suver, Stacey. “Crankstart Foundation.” Inside Philanthropy. May 5, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/grants-c/crankstart-foundation.
6. Suver, Stacey. “Crankstart Foundation.” Inside Philanthropy. May 5, 2022. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/grants-c/crankstart-foundation.
7. “Crankstart.” Crankstart. Accessed May 8, 2022. https://crankstart.org/.
8. “Michael Moritz.” Forbes. Accessed May 8, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-moritz/?sh=75fa2bcb6439.
9. “Michael Moritz.” Sequoia Capital US/Europe. January 10, 2022. https://www.sequoiacap.com/people/michael-moritz/.
10. “Contact.” Harriet Heyman. Accessed May 8, 2022. https://harrietheyman.com/contact.
11. “Grants.” crankstart. Accessed May 8, 2022. https://crankstart.org/grants.
12. “Philanthropy Report 2019/20.” Oxford University. 2021. https://www.oxfordna.org/file/Philanthrophy-Report-2019-20.pdf
13. Crankstart Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2020. Part VIII, Section 3.
14. “Grants.” Crankstart. Accessed May 8, 2022. https://crankstart.org/grants.
15. “Women’s Health.” La Clinica, June 5, 2020. https://laclinica.org/service/womens-health/.
16. Crankstart Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2020. Part VIII, Section 3.
17. “Grants.” Crankstart. Accessed May 8, 2022. https://crankstart.org/grants.
18. “Who We Are.” The Leadership Conference Education Fund. April 12, 2022. https://civilrights.org/edfund/about-us/who-we-are/.
19. “Our Work.” The Leadership Conference Education Fund. February 7, 2019. https://civilrights.org/edfund/our-work/#row-inclusion-opportunity.
20. “Our Values.” Centro Legal de la Raza. February 5, 2022. https://www.centrolegal.org/our-values/.
21. Crankstart Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2020. Part VIII, Section 3.
22. Crankstart Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2020. Schedule B.
23. Crankstart Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2020. Part I, Lines 1-12.
24. Crankstart Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). 2020. Part II, Line 30.