Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation

The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation was established by Stephen Silberstein in Belvedere, California, in May 1998.1 Records indicate the Foundation held more than $112 million in assets and donated about $6 million to left-of-center causes. According to Inside Philanthropy, “Nearly every major progressive policy and advocacy group in the U.S. has received money from Silberstein in recent years.”2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Founder and President:

Stephen Silberstein

Location: Belvedere, CA View on map
Tax ID: 91-1852739
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $204,434,432 Revenue: $5,642,213 Expenses: $8,647,894

Contents

    Silberstein made his fortune as co-founder and first president of Innovative Interfaces, established in 1978.2 The company emerged from Silberstein’s work as a computer programmer in the 1970s in the University of California Berkeley library, where he was responsible for the library’s total automation program which replaced a manual card catalog with a computer system.3 Innovative Interfaces develops automated systems for libraries, and has 2,400 library systems installed in 9,500 libraries in 66 countries.2

    Activities

    Education & Libraries

    Berkeley and the Berkeley area have received substantial support from Silberstein and his foundation. A trustee of UC Berkeley Foundation and UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, Silberstein gave a $1 million grant to UC Berkeley Foundation in 2013.2 He has also given to the Berkeley Public Education Foundation as well as the Oakland School of the Arts.2 He supports libraries as well. Silberstein is on the board of the Belvedere-Tiburon Library Foundation.2 According to recent records, more than $200,000 went to Berkeley Public Library over two years. Donations have also been made to Belvedere-Tiburon Library and Alameda Free Library Association.

    Policy & Human Rights

    The Silberstein Foundation has made grants to many human rights groups and left of center policy outfits. Recipients of foundation donations include the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Impact Fund, Tides Foundation, Amnesty International, Media Matters, the American Constitution Society, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, Campaign for America’s Future, the Center for American Progress, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Common Cause, Economic Policy Institute, the Nation Institute, People for the American Way, Pro Publica, Human Rights Watch, and J street.24

    The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation does not have a website and Silberstein keeps a low public presence.1

    Environment

    Among environmentalist groups grantees include NatureBridge, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Rainforest Action Network, San Francisco Baykeeper, Seacology, and the Sierra Club Foundation.5

    Arts & Culture

    Silberstein has given to explicitly political left-wing arts groups like the Brave New Foundation, which supports Brave New Films and Kitchen Sisters Productions. It also supports more conventional groups such as the San Francisco Film Society and the Berkeley Repertory Theater.5

    Financials

    During the fiscal year 2021, the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation donated roughly $9,875,200 to several left-of-center organizations including groups including American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation, As You Sow, the Center for American Progress (CAP), Media Matters for America, and Human Rights Watch. 6

    Between 2022 and 2023, the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation gave $280,000 to As You Sow, a left-of-center advocacy organization that engages in shareholder action to pressure companies to adopt various left-of-center positions under the banner of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.  7

    Leadership

    Stephen Silberstein is the President and Treasurer of the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation. Prior to working at the Foundation, Silberstein served as Co-Founder of software company Innovative Interfaces, Inc. 8

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $204,434,432 $5,642,213 $8,647,894 View
    2023 $177,435,150 $4,080,261 $6,998,194 View
    2022 $171,711,696 $5,636,039 $5,655,993 View
    2021 $177,254,559 $6,376,686 $9,945,902 View
    2020 $153,933,375 $3,013,132 $6,909,129 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: $78,117,644
    • Number of Grants: 755
    • Number of Recipients: 193

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

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $4,000,0002021 University of California Berkeley FoundationEDUCATION
    $2,500,0002023 University of California Berkeley FoundationEDUCATION
    $400,0002023 Media Matters for AmericaEDUCATIONAL RADIO BROADCASTING
    $400,0002022 Media Matters for AmericaEDUCATIONAL RADIO BROADCASTING
    $400,0002021 Center for American ProgressSUPPORT RESEARCH & EDUCATION IN ECONOMICS
    $400,0002021 Media Matters for AmericaEDUCATIONAL RADIO BROADCASTING
    $400,0002020 Center for American ProgressSUPPORT RESEARCH & EDUCATION IN ECONOMICS
    $400,0002020 Media Matters for AmericaEDUCATIONAL RADIO BROADCASTING
    $350,0002024 Media Matters for AmericaEDUCATIONAL RADIO BROADCASTING
    $300,0002024 Bay Area Council FoundationDEFEND & PRESERVE INDIVIDUAL RIGHT & LIBERTIES
    $300,0002023 Human Rights WatchDEFEND & PRESERVE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS & LIBERTIES
    $300,0002021 Human Rights WatchDEFEND & PRESERVE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS & LIBERTIES
    $300,0002020 Human Rights WatchDEFEND & PRESERVE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS & LIBERTIES
    $250,0002024 National Vote at Home InstituteENSURE THE SECURITY OF OUR ELECTIONS AND PUTING VOTER'S NEEDS FIRST
    $250,0002024 PRO Publica, Inc.INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
    $250,0002023 American Bridge Association IncTO FACILITATE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG AND ADULT CITIZENS THORUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL AND LOCAL BRIDGE PROGRAMS
    $250,0002023 Bay Area Council FoundationDEFEND & PRESERVE INDIVIDUAL RIGHT & LIBERTIES
    $250,0002023 National Vote at Home InstituteENSURE THE SECURITY OF OUR ELECTIONS AND PUTING VOTER'S NEEDS FIRST
    $250,0002023 PRO Publica, Inc.INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
    $250,0002022 National Vote at Home InstituteENSURE THE SECURITY OF OUR ELECTIONS AND PUTING VOTER'S NEEDS FIRST
    $250,0002022 PRO Publica, Inc.INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
    $250,0002021 PRO Publica, Inc.INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
    $240,0002020 As You SowWORKING TOWARD A SAFE, JUST WORKPLACE: APPAREL SUPPLY CHAIN COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS
    $200,0002024 National Redistricting FoundationTO DISMANTLE UNFAIR ELECTORAL MAPS AND CREATE A REDISTRICTING SYSTEM BASED ON DEMOCRATIC VALUES
    $200,0002024 Planned Parenthood FoundationDELIVER HEALTH CARE SERVICES, SEX EDUCUCATION

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

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. Hanen, Jonathan. “The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation: California Dreamin’ of Social Democracy.” Capital Research Center Foundation Watch. July 2014. Accessed January 19, 2017. https://capitalresearch.org/article/fw/.
    2. Adeniji, Ade. “Progressive Causes and More: A Look At Steve Silberstein’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/5/progressive-causes-and-more-a-look-at-steve-silbersteins-phi.html.
    3. Goldman School of Public Policy University of California Berkeley. “Steve Silberstein.” Accessed January 18, 2017. https://gspp.berkeley.edu/about/leadership/board-of-advisors/steve-silberstein.
    4. WikiLeaks. “FWD: Silberstein Foundation: The truth finally comes out.” Accessed January 19, 2017. https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/2010.
    5. “Stephen M. Silberstein.” Inside Philanthropy. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/guide-to-individual-donors/stephen-m-silberstein.html.
    6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). STEPHEN M SILBERSTEIN FOUNDATION. 2021. Part XIV. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/911852739/202213199349108336/full
    7. Stilson, Robert. “ESG Shareholder Activism in Proxy Preview 2025.” Capital Research Center, April 15, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/esg-shareholder-activism-in-proxy-preview-2025/.
    8. “Stephen M. Silberstein.” LinkedIn, Accessed September 25, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-silberstein-05b88210