The Peery Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation based in Palo Alto, California that was founded by American real estate developer Richard Peery and headed by his son, David Peery, the cofounder of Salto Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm based in Paraguay. ^{1 2 3}

Peery was a signatory on an open letter written by the Skoll Foundation, which called for President Donald Trump to rescind his Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, that banned travel into the United States from multiple countries including Iran, Libya, and Syria during his first presidential administration. ^{4 5}

Background

The Peery Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation based in Palo Alto, California. Founded by American real estate developer Richard Peery, the family-led foundation is currently headed by his son, David Peery. ^{1 2}

The Peery Foundation provides grants and invests in so-called “social entrepreneurs” around the San Francisco Bay Area of California, as well as national and international organizations. ²

Partner Organizations

The Peery Foundation is listed as a “major co-funder” of Dietel Pickering and Partners, a left-of-center for-profit philanthropic advisory firm founded by former Rockefeller Brothers Fund president William “Bill” Dietel and two of his daughters. Following the senior Dietel’s death in 2023, Dietel Pickering and Partners has become wholly women-owned and works with organizations aligned with the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement. ^{6 7 8 9}

People

The Peery Foundation’s president is David Peery, the son of Richard Peery, who founded the foundation in 1978. ^{1 10}

David Peery is a founding member of Big Bang Philanthropy, an international funding network that prioritizes grantmaking to organizations that tackle poverty, and is also a founding member of Red de Inversores Ángeles, the first network of angel investors, private investors that finance small businesses in exchange for equity in the business, in Paraguay. ^{2 11}

David Peery also co-founded Salto Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm based in Paraguay. ³

Peery was a signatory of an open letter written by the Skoll Foundation in February 2017 that called for President Donald Trump to rescind his Executive Order 13769, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, that banned travel into the United States from multiple countries including Iran, Libya, and Syria. The letter claims that the travel ban would harm the work of those attempting to foster “sustainability, opportunity, and inclusiveness,” adding that the ban had “intensified fear, bigotry, and division.” The letter also claimed that “diversity is the lifeblood of social, economic, and political progress,” and that the travel ban limited opportunity and “inclusion.” ^{12 5}

Financials

The Peery Foundation had a total revenue amount of just over $6.1 million in 2021, which decreased to just over $2.9 million in 2022 and jumped to just over $10 million in 2023. ¹³

The organization’s expenses amounted to just over $805,000 in 2021, $1 million in 2022, and $2.6 million in 2023, while its net assets were around $40 million in 2021, just over $49 million in 2022, and $61.5 million in 2023. ¹³

1. Dolan, Kerry A. “Richard Peery.” Forbes. March 17, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-peery/.
2. “Dave Peery.” Skoll Foundation. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://skoll.org/attendee/dave-peery/.
3. “Salto Capital.” Crunchbase. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/salto-capital.
4. Zwick, Steve. “Social Entrepreneurs Urge Trump To Rescind Muslim Ban.” Ecosystem Marketplace. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/articles/social-entrepreneurs-urge-trump-to-abandon-muslim-ban/.
5. “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” Federal Register. January 27, 2017. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/02/01/2017-02281/protecting-the-nation-from-foreign-terrorist-entry-into-the-united-states.
6. “WILLIAM DIETEL Obituary.” New York Times. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/william-dietel-obituary?id=53401086.
7. “What We Do — Dietel Pickering & Partners.” Dietel Pickering & Partners. November 17, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.dietelpickering.com/what-we-do.
8. “Who We Are — Dietel Pickering & Partners.” March 17, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.dietelpickering.com/about.
9. “Our Network — Dietel Pickering & Partners.” March 17, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.dietelpickering.com/network-affiliations.
10. “Peery Foundation – About.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/company/peery-foundation/about/.
11. “What We Do — Big Bang Philanthropy.” Big Bang Philanthropy. March 17, 2025. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.bigbangphilanthropy.org/what-we-do-info.
12. Zwick, Steve. “Social Entrepreneurs Urge Trump To Rescind Muslim Ban.” Ecosystem Marketplace. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/articles/social-entrepreneurs-urge-trump-to-abandon-muslim-ban/.
13. “Peery Foundation – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed March 17, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942460894.