The Reiner Family Foundation is a private family foundation with an estimated $59.9 million in assets as of 2023. It awards discretionary grants, totaling around $2.5 million annually, with recipients ranging from universities and regional nonprofits to climate and environmental groups. It funds environmentalist groups and other organizations in the greater Spokane, Washington area and the Pacific Northwest. The group was founded by billionaire technology entrepreneur Daniel Reiner, who was found dead in a private lake that he owned in Washington State in 2024. The foundation has funded groups including the Honnold Foundation, the Spokane Humane Society, and the American Prairie Foundation. ^{1 2 3}

Background

The Reiner Family Foundation was founded in 2018 by Daniel T. Reiner, a billionaire investor, and the board consisted of him and two individuals, Elizabeth Reiner and Andy Reiner. Daniel Reiner died in August 2024, having been found dead at his private Trout Lake property in Pend Oreille County, Washington. Authorities reported no signs of foul play, though autopsy results had not been provided to the public when his death was reported. At the time of his death his wife was listed as Rhonda Reiner, who did not appear to be on the board of the foundation. ^{3 4}

Reiner made his fortune through finance and technology ventures and was an angel investor later in his life. Early in his career, he was CEO of Optical Devices Inc., which was eventually sold to Marquette Electronics for $300 million in 1993. He later bought into the Spokane-based computer hardware company World Wide Packets, which was sold to Ciena Corp for $290 million in 2008. He also founded Stemcentrx, a San Francisco-based biotech company he founded in 2008 and which developed experimental cancer treatments including the small-cell lung cancer drug Rova-T, which was later acquired by AbbVie for $10 billion. The Stemcentrx acquisition led to Reiner being granted stock options worth up to $4 billion shortly before his death. ⁴

Financials

The foundation reported $59.9 million in assets and disbursed about $2,516,226 in grants during 2023, across seven awards. Grants ranged from $10,000 to $2.2 million, with a median of about $36,000. It does not accept unsolicited applications for grants and has typically had only a handful of annual grantees. ⁴

Grantmaking

The Reiner Family Foundation does not publish a thematic mission statement, but its grantmaking portfolio indicates a focus on higher education and environmental issues. In 2023, it gave a $10,000 grant to the Honnold Foundation, a left-of-center environmental group. Other 2023 grantees included Community Colleges of Spokane (for a trades training program), Gonzaga University, and the American Prairie Foundation. ²

Leadership

Until his death in 2024, Daniel T. Reiner was president, treasurer, and director of the foundation. A financier and biotech entrepreneur, Reiner co-founded Stemcentrx, invested in private equity, and accumulated substantial real estate holdings. His sudden death left the foundation’s future leadership uncertain. The board also included Andy Reiner and Elizabeth L. Reiner as of 2023. ²

1. Impact Report 2024. Honnold Foundation. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://honnoldfoundation.squarespace.com/s/HF_Impact-report-2024_DIGITAL-FV-min.pdf
2. Return of Private Foundation. Reiner Family Foundation. 2023. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832977967/202443189349101434/full
3. “Billionaire Found Dead in Private Lake North of Spokane.” The Spokesman-Review, September 16, 2024. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/sep/16/billionaire-found-dead-in-private-lake-north-of-sp/
4. “Mystery as billionaire investor Daniel Reiner, 72, is found dead in his private lake in sprawling Washington estate” Daily Mail. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13859775/Mystery-billionaire-investor-Daniel-Reiner-72-dead-private-lake-sprawling-Washington-estate.html