Flora Family Foundation (FFF)

Background

The Flora Family Foundation was formed in 1998 when Walter Hewlett, a son of William and Flora Hewlett and then-chair of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, grew frustrated with having to reject proposals submitted to the Hewlett Foundation that did not meet its programmatic guidelines. Walter Hewlett recruited Stanford University psychology professor Herant Katchadourian, a longtime family friend and Hewlett Foundation board member, to work as the FFF’s inaugural president and draft the foundation’s governing constitution. ⁵

The foundation’s initial four years of grantmaking were unfocused, with 351 grants totaling $19.4 million dispersed across a wide range of causes with no central theme. A programmatic focus began to emerge after family member Esther Hewlett drew attention to a newspaper account describing economic disparities between wealthy and impoverished nations, prompting the Hewlett family to commit $1 million annually to what became the foundation’s Gap Program, originally targeting poverty alleviation in Africa before expanding to Latin America and Asia. The foundation launched additional structured program initiatives in subsequent years, including the Climate Protection Program, the Marine Conservation Initiative, and the Black Maternal Health Initiative. ^{6 5}

Activities

The Flora Family Foundation’s grantmaking is organized around a family council comprising the five children and eleven grandchildren of William and Flora Hewlett and their spouses, each of whom receives an “individual allocation” to direct grants, and is governed by a rotating board of directors that includes the Hewlett’s children and grandchildren, as well as three non-family members. Approximately 40 percent of the annual grants budget is directed through the foundation’s four program initiatives, while the remaining 60 percent flows through individually sponsored grants initiated by Family Council members’ individual allocations. ^{7 4}

Climate Protection Program

The Climate Protection Program funds organizations working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate transition away from conventional fuels. U.S. grantees have included the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, Deploy/US, and Rural Investment to Protect Our Environment (RIPE). International grantees have included the Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development, Power Shift Africa, and the Sustainable Markets Foundation. ^{7 8}

Marine Conservation Initiative

The Marine Conservation Initiative funds research and advocacy related to ocean health and ecosystem preservation. Grantees have included the Coral Reef Alliance, the Shark Conservation Fund, and Algalita Marine Research and Education. ⁸

Gap Program

The Gap Program historically supported left-wing nongovernmental organizations and community-based groups addressing poverty in developing nations. In recent years, the program has included domestic funding efforts, with a concentration on indigenous-led organizations. Grantees have included Native Renewables, the Hopi Foundation, and To Nizhóní Ání, which opposes industrial use of water resources in the Black Mesa region. ⁸

Black Maternal Health Initiative

Established in November 2021 and focused specifically on racial disparities in reproductive health outcomes in California, the Black Maternal Health Initiative has made grants to the Alameda Health System, the California Nurse-Midwives Foundation, and the BLACK Wellness and Prosperity Center, and other groups. ⁸

Resiliency Fund

In 2025, the foundation created a $1.26 million Resiliency Fund, disbursing 79 rapid grants averaging $16,000 across the nonprofit sector between September and November 2025. The fund was explicitly designed to buffer grantees against disruptions caused by federal funding reductions to left-of-center entities under the second Trump administration. ^{4 3}

Leadership

Jennifer Davis has worked as president of the Flora Family Foundation since April 2022, succeeding Steve Toben, who had led the organization since 2003. Before joining the foundation, Davis was the executive vice president of the Philanthropy Workshop (now Forward Global). ⁹ She received $331,762 in compensation from the foundation in 2024. ²