Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation is a grant-making nonprofit cofounded by and named after the late Microsoft billionaire Paul G. Allen. 1 The foundation makes grants to third-party groups in the areas of the environment, civic engagement, the arts, and through their affiliation with the Allen Institute, biosciences. 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Environmental Policy
Website: pgafamilyfoundation.org
Formation:

1988

Co-Founder and Chair:

Jody Allen

Location: Seattle, WA View on map
Tax ID: 94-3082532
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $1,380,464,618 Revenue: $180,688,400 Expenses: $72,202,296

Contents

    Paul G. Allen

    Paul G. Allen was an American businessman most famous for co-founding Microsoft with Bill Gates. At the time of his death at the age of 65 in October of 2018, Allen’s net worth was listed at over $20 billion. 3 Along with his sister Jody Allen, he co-founded the Paul G. Allen Family Institute in 1988. 1 Allen owned multiple sports franchises. 4

    Grantmaking

    As of 2022, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation had $1.08 billion in assets and $18.3 million in revenues. 5 The foundation gave over $50 million in grants in 2022. 5

    Rhizome, a student-led civic engagement group focused on young people, received funding from the Paul G. Allen Foundation. 6 Rhizome’s website states that “students grades 9-11 tend to be the most enthusiastic and engaged.” 7 The Rhizome Civic Service Fellowship Washington State Pilot seeks to support “high school students engaging in public projects.” 2

    In 2022, the Paul G. Allen Foundation gave $10 million to the ArtsFund, another grantmaking organization based in Seattle, Washington. ArtsFund promotes left-of-center art centers in the Washington state area. 8 ArtsFund focuses on the leftwing principle of iversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the arts. 9

    Paul G. Allen founded the Allen Institute in 2003, which subsequently created science programs such as the Allen Institute for Brain Science, the Allen Institute for Cell Science, the Allen Institute for Immunology, the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, the Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology, and the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group. 10 The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation also funds third-party groups in the field of biosciences, including giving a $2.5 million grant to the University of Washington Foundation in 2022 to “Support Allen Discovery Center for Cell Lineage Tracing.” 11

    Vulcan Inc. owned Vulcan Productions and produced a film called Pandora’s Promise which promoted nuclear energy as a solution to climate change, in a departure from “decades of antinuclear orthodoxy” among environmentalists and left-wing activists .12

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $1,380,464,618 $180,688,400 $72,202,296 View
    2023 $1,286,324,323 $115,479,539 $63,956,084 View
    2022 $1,081,476,929 $18,339,364 $55,372,911 View
    2021 $1,314,723,399 $17,923,882 $49,523,892 View
    2020 $1,165,461,201 $45,218,114 $63,919,556 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $728,485,488
    • Number of Grants: 2,077
    • Number of Recipients: 896

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $15,085,6912020 Mercy Housing NorthwestTO SUPPORT A HOUSING AND SERVICES FACILITY FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES
    $10,422,6232024 ArtsFundTO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY ACCELERATOR GRANT RENEWAL FOR THE SECOND YEAR OF PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.
    $10,000,0002022 ArtsFundTO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY ACCELERATOR GRANT: LEARNING PILOT
    $3,750,0002021 American Heart Association – Puget Sound DivisionTO SUPPORT BIOSCIENCE RESEARCH IN RELATION TO ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF BRAIN HEALTH AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
    $3,750,0002020 American Heart Association – Puget Sound DivisionTO SUPPORT BIOSCIENCE RESEARCH IN RELATION TO ADVANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF BRAIN HEALTH AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
    $2,610,0142020 University of Washington FoundationTO SUPPORT THE ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR CELL LINEAGE TRACING
    $2,500,0002024 Children's Hospital CorporationTO SUPPORT THE ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION AT BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
    $2,500,0002024 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiTO SUPPORT THE ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR NEUROIMMUNE INTERACTIONS
    $2,500,0002024 University of California, San DiegoTO SUPPORT THE ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR NEUROBIOLOGY IN CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS
    $2,500,0002024 University of Washington FoundationTO SUPPORT ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR CELL LINEAGE TRACING PHASE 2
    $2,500,0002023 Children's Hospital CorporationTO SUPPORT THE ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION AT BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
    $2,500,0002023 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiTO SUPPORT THE ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR NEUROIMMUNE INTERACTIONS
    $2,500,0002023 University of Washington FoundationTO SUPPORT ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR CELL LINEAGE TRACING PHASE 2
    $2,500,0002022 Children's Hospital CorporationTO SUPPORT THE ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION AT BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
    $2,500,0002022 University of Washington FoundationTO SUPPORT ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR CELL LINEAGE TRACING PHASE 2
    $2,500,0002021 Children's Hospital CorporationTO SUPPORT THE ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION AT BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AND HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
    $2,500,0002021 University of Washington FoundationTO SUPPORT ALLEN DISCOVERY CENTER FOR CELL LINEAGE TRACING PHASE 2
    $2,500,0002020 Children's Hospital CorporationTO SUPPORT THE FUNCTIONAL GENETICS OF HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION
    $2,500,0002020 University of Washington FoundationTO SUPPORT STATEWIDE SURVEY OF WASHINGTON COVID-19 SEROPREVALENCE AND INFECTION
    $2,397,2252020 American Rivers, Inc.TO SUPPORT A DAM REMOVAL IN THE NORTHWEST: REMOVING THE MIDDLE FORK NOOKSACK DIVERSION DAM
    $2,000,0002020 University of Washington FoundationTO SUPPORT THE UW MEDICINE EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND FOR COVID-19
    $1,897,6272021 University of PennsylvaniaTO SUPPORT THE RECONSTRUCTING CONCUSSION PROJECT
    $1,882,4472020 University of PennsylvaniaTO SUPPORT THE RECONSTRUCTING CONCUSSION PROJECT
    $1,763,5332024 National Geographic SocietyTO SUPPORT THE SLINGSHOT CHALLENGE
    $1,750,0002020 Trustees of Tufts CollegeTO SUPPORT READING AND WRITING THE MORPHOGENETIC CODE

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. About.” Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://pgafamilyfoundation.org/about.
    2.  Stiffler, Lisa. “With $1.2B in Assets, the Paul Allen Family Foundation Evolves – and Stays True to PNW Roots.” GeekWire, February 29, 2024. https://www.geekwire.com/2024/with-1-2b-in-assets-the-paul-allen-family-foundation-evolves-and-stays-true-to-its-pnw-roots/
    3.  Wang, Christine. “Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Dies of Cancer at Age 65.” CNBC, October 16, 2018. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/15/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-dies-of-cancer-at-age-65.html.
    4. Pinker, Steven, and Joel Stein. “The Time 100.” Paul Allen – The TIME 100 – TIME. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20080320083413/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0%2C28804%2C1595326_1595329_1616322%2C00.html.
    5. “Paul G Allen Family Foundation.” ProPublica, May 9, 2013. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/943082532.
    6. Matthiessen, Connie. “The Paul G. Allen Foundation Gets behind a Youth-Led Campaign to Boost Civic Engagement.” Inside Philanthropy, November 14, 2023. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/11/13/paul-allen-foundation-youth-led-civic-engagement.
    7.  “Civic Service Fellowship.” Rhizome. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.werhize.org/civic-service-fellowship.
    8. “Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/paul-g-allen-family-foundation,943082532/.
    9.  The Paul G. Allen Foundation donated to ArtsFund for its Community Accelerator. Some of the grant recipients of the 2023 Community Accelerator grant included the Black Trans Prayer Book, the Seattle Arts and Culture for Anti-Racism, and the Stage Left Theater Association. [note] “Accelerator Recipients.” ArtsFund. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.artsfund.org/accelerator-recipients/.
    10.  “Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Launches $100M Bioscience Fund.” Allen Institute, March 31, 2023. https://alleninstitute.org/news/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-launches-100m-bioscience-fund/.
    11. “Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.” Cause IQ. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/paul-g-allen-family-foundation,943082532/.[/note People Jody Allen, the sister of the late Paul G. Allen, is the co-founder and current Chair of the Paul G. Allen Family Institute. She is also co-founder and Chair of Vulcan Inc., a consortium private holding company which does business in real estate, film production, sports and entertainment, and other endeavors. [note]  “About.” Vulcan Real Estate, December 15, 2023. https://vulcanrealestate.com/about/.
    12.  Kilday, Gregg. “Paul Allen Lends Support to Pro-Nuclear Doc ‘Pandora’s Promise.’” The Hollywood Reporter, April 29, 2023. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/paul-allen-lends-support-pro-559512/.