Flora Family Foundation (FFF) is a left-of-center grantmaking foundation focused on two main program areas, which it refers to as the “Climate Protection Program,” and the “Gap Program.” Between 2017 and 2019, the Foundation contributed over $3 million to organizations focused on climate change, especially in regards to limiting the use of conventional fuels. In that same time, Gap Program grants totaling nearly $3 million have been awarded to organizations in the Southwest United States that focus on assisting the poor in developing areas. Almost half a million dollars in donations were paid through the left-of-center donor-advised fund provider Tides Foundation in 2019. ¹

FFF also earmarks a substantial amount of its endowment for impact investing, intending to advance its mission to address social and environmentalist issues by investing in things like environmentalist energy and community development. FFF claims that it does not invest in conventional energy, weapons manufacturing, and tobacco. ²

Background

The Flora Family Foundation was established by the family of the Hewlett-Packard Company’s co-founder William R. Hewlett and his wife Flora in 1998. The foundation is governed by two groups. The Family Council includes the Hewletts’ five children and eleven grandchildren and their spouses and largely controls the foundation’s policies and programs. The foundation is also governed by a board of directors, comprised of members of the Family Council, as well as three non-family members.

People

Patricia Gump joined FFF in 2001, and is its program administrator and corporate secretary. Gump worked for over twenty years at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ³

Steve Toben joined the FFF staff in 2000, and is its current president. Previously, Toben was a program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, a chair of the Environmental Grantmakers Association, and a co-founder of the Peace and Security Funders Group. ⁴ He is the vice chairman of the board of Innovations for Poverty Action, and has served on the boards of the Consensus Building Institute, the Global Justice Center, the Institute for Conflict Transformation, among others. ⁵

Board of Directors

Eleanor Hewlett Gimon is the daughter of William and Flora Hewlett and has also served on the board of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ⁶

Esther Hewlett is the Vice-Chair of the board of Flora Family Foundation. Hewlett has previously served on the boards of the Global Fund for Women (GFW), and CEDPA (now Plan International USA). She is a co-founder of Youth Philanthropy Worldwide (YPW). ⁷

Board member Brian Jaffe is a self described “democracy advocate,” and is the creator of VOCA, a civic engagement platform, designed to connect citizens with local government. ⁸

Tom Steinbach is the executive director of Tempest Advisors, and Sea Change Foundation. Steinbach was formerly the Environment Program Director at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the executive director of the Greenbelt Alliance. ⁹ He serves on the board of the Climate Leadership Initiative, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, and the European Climate Foundation. He has also worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, and the Congressional Budget Office. ¹⁰

1. “Grants and Investments.” Flora Family Foundation. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://www.florafamily.org/grants-and-investments.
2. “Impact Investing.” Flora Family Foundation. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://www.florafamily.org/grants-and-investments#impact-investing-banner.
3. “Board and Staff.” Flora Family Foundation. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://www.florafamily.org/about#board-and-staff-banner.
4. “Board and Staff.” Flora Family Foundation. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://www.florafamily.org/about#board-and-staff-banner.
5. “Stephen Toben.” Innovations for Poverty Action, 2018. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://www.poverty-action.org/people/stephen-toben.
6. “The Hewlett Family and Foundation History.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2019. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://hewlett.org/about-us/hewlett-family-and-history/.
7. “Esther Hewlett.” Global Philanthropy Forum, 2019. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://philanthropyforum.org/people/esther-hewlett/.
8. “Brian Jaffe.” LinkedIn. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-h-jaffe/.
9. “Tempest Advisors Staff.” Sea Change Foundation, 2019. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://www.seachange.org/tempest-advisors-staff/.
10. “Tom Steinbach.” Climate Leadership Initiative, 2019. Accessed November 25, 2019. https://climatelead.org/team/tom-steinbach/.