Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies is a private foundation established by the late former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and her husband Dennis Troper, an executive at Google. The foundation makes grants to organizations focused on cancer research, climate change, humanitarianism, and improvements for the Bay Area. ¹

Background

Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies was established by the late Susan Wojcicki and her then-husband, Dennis Troper, in 2006. Wojcicki and Troper have donated more than $160 million to the foundation, and as of February 2025, it has made over $100 million in grants. ^{2 1}

Wojcicki and Troper met in the late 1990s when they were both working for Google. They were married in 1998. They established the Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies in 2006 when they were both senior employees at Google. In 2014 Wojcicki became the CEO of YouTube. She died from lung cancer at the age of 56 in August 2024. ^{3 1 4}

In June 2023 Wojcicki joined the Giving Pledge, a philanthropic commitment made by “the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.” At the time, she had amassed a fortune of approximately $780 million. ^{5 6}

The foundation’s four philanthropic focus areas are cancer research, climate change, humanitarianism, and the Bay Area. ¹

Grants

Cancer Research

In July 2024, Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies, along with 19 other lung-cancer advocacy organizations, invested in a new lung cancer genetics study spearheaded by 23andMe that will create a comprehensive open-source database to support research in lung cancer. Wojcicki’s sister, Anne Wojcicki, is a co-founder and the CEO of 23andMe. She is the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin and co-founder of the Brin Wojcicki Foundation. ^{7 3 8}

Other cancer research grants include Stanford University, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s lung cancer research, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Johns Hopkins University for research into pancreatic cancer. ⁹

Climate Change

The foundation’s featured investments in climate include the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, environmental law group Earthjustice, left-of-center environmental advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund, the Save the Redwoods League, the Rainforest Trust, and the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University. ¹⁰

In 2023, it made additional grants to left-of-center environmentalist groups Natural Resources Defense Council and The Nature Conservancy. ¹¹

Humanitarianism

Featured investments in the foundation’s “humanitarianism” focus area include Room to Read; Partners in Health, which provides healthcare services to low-income communities and advocates for healthcare-for-all; the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid group that also supports immigrants and refugees into the United States; and the Campaign for Female Education. ¹²

In 2023, it made additional grants to Doctors Without Borders, Heifer Project International, abortion support groups Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Population Services International, and LGBT advocacy group the Trevor Project. ¹¹

Bay Area Grants

The Troper Wojcicki Foundation gives grants to numerous Bay Area charities. Hamilton Families works to end family homelessness in the San Francisco Bay area. The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Peninsula focuses on “equitable access to social, academic, and career opportunities” for low-income youth in San Mateo County, California. Second Harvest of Silicon Valley distributes food in the San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. LifeMoves provides interim housing and support services to combat homelessness in Silicon Valley. ¹³

Partners

The Troper Wojcicki Foundation lists Pacific Foundation Services and the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund as its partners. ¹ Per its 2023 tax return, Pacific Foundation Services was paid $125,000 for management services and the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund was paid $380,000 for investment management services. ¹⁴

Foundation Founders

Susan Wojcicki was the foundation’s co-founder and president. ¹⁴ Wojcicki graduated from Harvard University in 1990 then earned two master’s degrees in economics from the University of California. ¹⁵ In 1998, she rented her garage space in Menlo Park, California to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google. ¹⁶ In 1999 she became Google’s 16^th employee and worked for Google for almost 25 years. Google bought YouTube in 2006 and Wojcicki became YouTube’s CEO in 2014. In 2023, she left YouTube to focus on her health and family. She died from lung cancer in August 2024 at the age of 56. ^{4 17 2}

Dennis Troper was the foundation’s co-founder and was its treasurer and secretary per its 2023 tax return. Troper earned a master’s degree in economics from the University of California Santa Cruz and joined Google in 2003. He held senior positions with Google for almost 22 years and lists himself as a director of product management as of March 2025. ^{14 18}

1. Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies homepage. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.twphilanthropies.org/
2. “Susan Wojcicki.” Forbes Profile. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/profile/susan-wojcicki/
3. Ian. “Inside Susan Wojcicki’s Family Life: A Glimpse into Her World.” Pressfarm. January 5, 2025. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://press.farm/inside-susan-wojcickis-family-life-her-world/
4. Paradise Afshar. “Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO, dies at 56.” CNN Business. August 10, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/10/business/susan-wojcicki-obit/index.html
5. Lesle Albrecht. “Former YouTube CEO joins Giving Pledge, promises to give away most of her $780 million fortune.” MarketWatch. June 5, 2023. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/former-youtube-ceo-joins-giving-pledge-promises-to-give-away-most-of-her-780-million-fortune-9c8415f8
6. The Giving Pledge homepage. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://givingpledge.org/
7. “Twenty Lung Cancer Advocacy Organizations and 23andMe Come Together to Launch Lung Cancer Genetics Study to Help Advance Research.” 23andMe Press Release. July 25, 2024. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://investors.23andme.com/news-releases/news-release-details/twenty-lung-cancer-advocacy-organizations-and-23andme-come
8. Kara Rogers. “Anne Wojcicki.” Britannica Money. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/money/Anne-Wojcicki
9. “Cancer Research.” Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.twphilanthropies.org/cancer-research
10. “Climate Change.” Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.twphilanthropies.org/climate
11. Troper Wojcicki Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part I). 2023.
12. “Humanitarianism.” Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.twphilanthropies.org/humanitarianism
13. “Bay Area.” Troper Wojcicki Philanthropies. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.twphilanthropies.org/bay-area
14. Troper Wojcicki Foundation. Return of Private Foundation. (Form 990-PF – Part VII). 2023.
15. LinkedIn – Susan Wojcicki. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-wojcicki-b136a99/details/education/
16. “From the garage to the Googleplex.” Google. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://about.google/intl/ALL_us/our-story/
17. Ahjane Forbes. “Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO, dies at 56 from lung cancer,” USA Today. August 11, 2024. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2024/08/10/susan-wojcicki-death-former-youtube-ceo/74748621007/
18. LinkedIn – Dennis Troper. Accessed February 13, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennistroper/