Heinz Family Foundation

The Heinz Family Foundation is one of three charitable foundations known collectively as The Heinz Family Philanthropies. The others, which technically run through the Heinz Family Foundation, are the H. John Heinz III Foundation and the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Foundation.⁴ All three are controlled by Heinz-Kerry. She is also chair emeritus of the $1.5 billion Heinz Endowments. ⁵

Heinz Awards

The Heinz Family Foundation sponsors the annual Heinz Awards. Established in 1993 to honor the memory of the late H. John Heinz III, the awards are given to selected individuals in the areas of the arts and humanities, the environment, the human condition, public policy, technology, the economy, and employment. Each honoree receives an unrestricted cash prize of $250,000. ¹

winners include Obama administration health care official and failed Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Donald Berwick (D), Head Start program architect Edward Zigler, environmentalist Peggy Shepard, Hal Harvey,⁶ and population control activist Paul Ehrlich.⁷

In December 2025, the Heinz Foundation announced it would end the Heinz Awards at the end of the year, with ‘ founder Teresa Heinz-Kerry releasing a statement claiming “[w]hile the awards program concludes, this is a pivotal moment where the next generation of the Heinz family will bring fresh perspectives to our philanthropy. ⁸

Controversies

In 2004, the Heinz Family Foundation, under Teresa Heinz-Kerry, was listed as a “silver benefactor” by the Democratic National Convention for a cash donation of $250,000 to $500,000.⁹ Then-U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA), Heinz-Kerry’s husband, was the Democratic nominee for president. The donation was awarded during a DNC funding shortfall and raised questions about the tax-exempt Foundation’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.¹⁰ Under Internal Revenue Service rules, 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from participating in political campaigns for elective public office. ¹¹

Heinz-Kerry also invited criticism for saying in a news interview that former First Lady Laura Bush was less experienced than she was, and never had a real job. “But I don’t know that she’s ever had a real job — I mean, since she’s been grown up,” Heinz-Kerry said. Laura Bush had in fact worked in the Texas public school system for a decade. Heinz-Kerry later apologized.¹²

The Heinz ketchup heiress also made disparaging remarks about conservative U.S. Rep. Rick Santorum (R-PA) during his successful U.S. Senate bid for the late John Heinz’s former seat in 2002. At the time, Heinz-Kerry said Santorum “does not deserve diplomacy,”¹³ and disparagingly called the future two-term senator and presidential candidate “Forrest Gump with an attitude.”¹⁴

In June 2024, the Heinz Endowments sued a former employee and consultant for allegedly embezzling almost $1 million of its funds, including from the Heinz Family Philanthropies. The group filed a complaint against Charles Richardson on June 10, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, claiming he defrauded the organization by invoicing it for software and services that were never provided by a company he owned. He was also accused of selling some of the foundation’s computer servers to a third party and directing the cash from the sale to his company. Additionally, the lawsuit claimed that Richardson attempted to cover up his thefts by deleting, or attempting to delete, thousands of emails and documents and damaging equipment. Richardson was hired by Heinz Endowments in 2014 as a senior technology advisor and also worked as a consultant to the Heinz Family Philanthropies.  ¹⁵

Richardson faced federal criminal charges for his embezzlement. In February 2026, it was reported that he had pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, with the plea agreement setting a jail term of one year and one day and ordering Richardson to pay restitution. ¹⁶

Notable Donations

The largest single donation from the Heinz Family Philanthropies in 2024 was a $150,000 grant to the Denver Film Society for the Chasing Time film. ¹⁷ The film is a 2024 short documentary about how climate change is leading to the melting of glaciers in Iceland and is the sequel to the film Chasing Ice. ¹⁸

Also tied for the single largest donation from the Heinz Family Philanthropies in 2024 was a grant for $150,000 to Sun Valley Lacrosse. The group gave another $25,000 grant in support of a scholarship fund. ¹⁷

The third largest donation from the Heinz Family Philanthropies in 2024 was a $125,000 grant to the Khan Academy in support of the Khanmingo AI Powered Tutor Program. ¹⁷ Khanmingo is a custom version of ChatGPT technology designed to serve as an interactive tutor for students. The tool has been made available to individual users and school districts, although there is a fee to pay for the use of ChatGPT technology. Unlike ChatGPT, the tool will not complete schoolwork for students but instead acts as a tutor and guide to help them learn. ¹⁹

Also tied for the third largest donation from the Heinz Family Philanthropies in 2024 was a $125,000 grant to World Central Kitchen. ¹⁷ World Central Kitchen had frequently engaged in public disputes with the Israeli government, such as having accused the Israeli military of purposefully targeting its workers with airstrikes which the Israeli government had strongly denied. ²⁰

Other donations of note were $25,000 to the center-left Brookings Institution, $25,000 to the Council on Foreign Relations, $50,000 to Doctors Without Borders USA, $10,000 to the Natural Resources Defense Council, $35,000 to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, $25,000 to Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, and $10,000 to the Woodwell Climate Research Center. ¹⁷

Leadership

As of 2026, Andre Heinz was chairman of the board for the Heinz Endowments. Heinz was previously a venture partner for capital firm Obvious Ventures, a co-founder and general partner for technology firm Sustainable Technologies Associates LP., and a manager for venture group Sustainable Technologies Fund. He previously sat on the board for the American Chamber of Commerce and The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment.  ²¹

Teresa Heinz-Kerry is the Chair Emeritus of the Board of the Heinz Endowments and serves as Chair of the Heinz Family Philanthropies. She is also an Advisory Board member for sustainability organization the Earth Communications Office.  Heinz-Kerry is a member of the Trustees Council of the National Gallery of Art, a board member for the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh and is a Trustee of the Governing Board of the Yale Art Gallery. ^{22 23}

Financials

According to its 2024 990 form, the Heinz Family Foundation reported a revenue of $7,386,408, expenses of $6,584,416, and net assets of $106,876,723. ²⁴