The Hellman Foundation is a left-of-center private grantmaking foundation based in and with its primary focus in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2020, the group gave $2,750,000 to the New Venture Fund. ¹ The New Venture Fund is part of a left-of-center advocacy network managed by Arabella Advisors that critics have called “dark money.” ²

It also supported, along with other left-of-center groups, the No Hate SF fund, which sent money to identity politics groups ostensibly to combat white supremacy. ³

It has announced plans to spend-down its assets and close its doors by the end of 2034. ⁴

Background

The Hellman Foundation was founded in late 2011 after the death of private equity investor Warren Hellman. Warren was the grandson of I.W. Hellman, who helped build Wells Fargo bank. Warren founded the San Francisco, California-based Hellman & Friedman private equity firm in 1984. ⁵ He also was chairman of the left-of-center donor advised fund San Francisco Foundation, trustee of the UC Berkeley Foundation, and member of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. ⁶

The foundation was created by his wife Chris, a ballerina and philanthropist. In 2013, she merged the Hellman Family Foundation and the Hellman Foundation. She passed away in February 2017 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. ⁷

The foundation is in the process of spending down its assets with a goal to close its doors by the end of 2034. ⁸

Grantmaking

In August 2017, a group described as white supremacist held a protest in San Francisco. In response Cleve Jones and the left-of-center Horizons Foundation created the No Hate SF fund. The Hellman Foundation, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the San Francisco Foundation, and the Rosenberg Foundation contributed $10,000 each to launch the fund. The fund contributed to left-of-center identity politics groups including Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Disability Rights and Education Defense Fund (DREDF), Friendship House/Association of American Indians of San Francisco, La Raza Community Resource Center, Muslim Advocates, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Planned Parenthood, San Francisco NAACP, San Francisco Jewish Community Center, San Francisco LGBT Center, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Transgender Law Center. ⁹

In 2020, the Hellman Foundation gave $2,750,000 to the New Venture Fund, ¹⁰ a fund within the network of left-of-center “dark money” managed by Arabella Advisors. The New Venture Fund is used to host and give grants to groups that advocate left-of-center political stances. ¹¹

In 2020, the Hellman Foundation gave $150,000 to Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and $400,000 to Planned Parenthood Shasta-Diablo. ¹²

The Hellman Foundation supported Planned Parenthood of Northern California. In March 2021, it opened its new flagship clinic in San Francisco, which performs abortions and offers gender reassignments for transgender people. The clinic received $22 million in private donations from 877 individuals and groups, including the Hellman Foundation. ¹³

In 2020, the Hellman Foundation gave $300,000 to the Voter Participation Center,¹⁴ a tax-exempt group which has been accused of engaging in partisan voter registration and turnout campaigns on behalf of Democratic politicians. ¹⁵

In 2020, the Hellman Foundation gave $85,000 to the Tides Center and $250,000 to the Tides Foundation, both institutions in the Tides Nexus of liberal philanthropy and activism. ¹⁶

In 2020, the Hellman Foundation gave $1,500,000 to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, $170,000 to the Rosenberg Foundation, $150,000 to the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, $100,000 to the Families USA Foundation, Inc., $25,000 to Everytown For Gun Safety Support Fund, and $200,000 for the Brennan Center for Justice. ¹⁷

In 2020, the Hellman Foundation gave $300,000 to the left-of-center media group Center for Investigative Reporting, which runs Reveal News. In the same year, it gave $100,000 to CalMatters, a left-of-center California-focused news outlet. ¹⁸

In June 2021, the Hellman Foundation awarded a $12 million grant to University of California, San Francisco to support the UC San Francisco Society of Hellman Fellows, which provided research grants to faculty. The society, which originally supported eight faculty members, created four to five new fellowships focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). ¹⁹

Warren Hellman created the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival in San Francisco in 2001. The three-day annual event, held in Golden Gate Park’s Hellman Hollow, has free admission and no corporate sponsors due to Hellman Foundation support. The group says the festival will continue beyond the foundation’s 2034 closing, but has not released further details. ²⁰

Leadership

Hirsch Philanthropy Partners manages the Hellman Foundation. ²¹

Annie Ulevitch is the executive director. She previously was the chief operating officer of Tipping Point Community and worked in New York City government. ²²

Patricia Hellman Gibbs is the board chair. She is a doctor and the co-founder of the San Francisco Free Clinic. ²³

Financials

According to its 2021 tax return, the Hellman Foundation had $69,251,809 in revenue, $53,685,204 in expenses, and $733,634,108 in assets. ²⁴

1. “Hellman Foundation 2020 Form 990.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/611583546_202012_990PF_2022102620582115.pdf.
2. “CRC Special Report Unveils Vast ‘Dark Money’ Network on the Left.” Capital Research Center, April 17, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/crc-exposes-left-wing-dark-money/.
3.  David, Pam. “No Hate SF: Voices & Funds Raised Against Extremism.” Walter & Elise Haas Fund, August 25, 2017. https://haassr.org/blog/no-hate-sf-voices-funds-raised-against-extremism/.
4. Price, Emily. “How Is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Free to Attend?” SFGate, September 22, 2023. https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/hardly-strictly-bluegrass-free-18368732.php.
5. Mac, Ryan. “Warren Hellman, San Francisco Private Equity Pioneer, Dies at 77.” Forbes, December 18, 2011. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2011/12/18/san-francisco-private-equity-pioneer-dies-at-77/?sh=2d04cc8c95a1.
6.  “Our Founders.” HELLMAN FOUNDATION. Accessed October 29, 2023. https://www.hellmanfoundation.org/our-founders.html.
7.  “In Memoriam.” HELLMAN FOUNDATION. Accessed October 29, 2023. https://www.hellmanfoundation.org/in-memoriam.html.
8. Price, Emily. “How Is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Free to Attend?” SFGate, September 22, 2023. https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/hardly-strictly-bluegrass-free-18368732.php.
9. David, Pam. “No Hate SF: Voices & Funds Raised Against Extremism.” Walter & Elise Haas Fund, August 25, 2017. https://haassr.org/blog/no-hate-sf-voices-funds-raised-against-extremism/.
10. “Hellman Foundation 2020 Form 990.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/611583546_202012_990PF_2022102620582115.pdf.
11. “CRC Special Report Unveils Vast ‘Dark Money’ Network on the Left.” Capital Research Center, April 17, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/crc-exposes-left-wing-dark-money/.
12. “Hellman Foundation 2020 Form 990.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/611583546_202012_990PF_2022102620582115.pdf.
13. Kukura, Joe. “Planned Parenthood to Open Its New Flagship SF Office and Clinic on Tuesday.” Hoodline, March 8, 2021. https://hoodline.com/2021/03/planned-parenthood-to-open-its-new-flagship-sf-office-and-clinic-on-tuesday/.
14. “Hellman Foundation 2020 Form 990.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/611583546_202012_990PF_2022102620582115.pdf.
15. Thayer, Parker, and Hayden Ludwig. “The Voter Participation Center: A Tax-Exempt Turnout Machine for Democrats.” Capital Research Center, July 13, 2022. https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-voter-participation-center-a-tax-exempt-turnout-machine-for-democrats/.
16. “Hellman Foundation 2020 Form 990.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/611583546_202012_990PF_2022102620582115.pdf.
17. “Hellman Foundation 2020 Form 990.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/611583546_202012_990PF_2022102620582115.pdf.
18. “Hellman Foundation 2020 Form 990.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/611583546_202012_990PF_2022102620582115.pdf.
19. “$12m Hellman Foundation Gift Endows, Expands Critical Research Support.” UC San Francisco, June 3, 2021. https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2021/06/420691/12m-hellman-foundation-gift-endows-expands-critical-research-support.
20. Price, Emily. “How Is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Free to Attend?” SFGate, September 22, 2023. https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/hardly-strictly-bluegrass-free-18368732.php.
21. “Contact Us.” HELLMAN FOUNDATION. Accessed October 29, 2023. https://www.hellmanfoundation.org/contact-us.html.
22. “Our Team.” Hirsch Philanthropy Partners. Accessed October 29, 2023. https://hirschphilanthropy.com/about/our-team/annie-ulevitch/.
23. “Staff.” San Francisco Free Clinic. Accessed October 29, 2023. https://sffc.org/staff.
24. “Hellman Foundation, Full Filing – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed October 29, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/611583546/202203199349107555/full.