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

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. ¹⁰

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. ¹¹ 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.” ¹²

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 .¹³

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/.
10.  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. ⁹ “Accelerator Recipients.” ArtsFund. Accessed June 3, 2024. https://www.artsfund.org/accelerator-recipients/.
11.  “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/.
12. “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. ⁹  “About.” Vulcan Real Estate, December 15, 2023. https://vulcanrealestate.com/about/.

13.  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/.