Susan Packard Orr is the daughter of David and Lucile Packard and former chair of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Packard Foundation), having sat on the board since 1967 and still sitting in an honorary capacity since her retirement in early 2022. She also runs a software company that helps other nonprofits with fundraising and tracking software. During her tenure on the board, Orr increased funding of the foundation to environmentalist and abortion-related issues. She has contributed money to Democratic candidates and causes.

Background

Susan Packard Orr is the daughter of David and Lucile Packard and former chair of the board of directors of the David and Lucille Packard Foundation. ¹ She joined the foundation in 1967 and became chair of the board in 1996 when her father David Packard, a co-founder of the Hewlett-Packard company, ² passed away. ³ She stepped down as chair in 2017 and remained on the board until 2022, when she retired but remains as an honorary trustee emerita of the foundation. ⁴

During Orr’s tenure, the Packard Foundation continued prioritized funding of abortion, climate change matters, and environmentalist issues. ^{5 6} In her personal capacity, Orr has given exclusively to Democratic campaigns and liberal-leaning initiatives including: $8,400 to President Joe Biden, $5,000 to President Barack Obama (D-IL), $10,600 to Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), $2,700 to former Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH), $74,200 to DNC Services Corp, $100,000 to Planned Parenthood Votes, and $250,000 to Californians for Clean Energy. ⁷

In 1986, Orr began a software company, Arreva LLC, that provides fundraising and tracking software to other nonprofits. ⁸ She has sat as trustee for the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Packard Humanities Institute. ⁹ Orr has been a board member of the National Audubon Society. ¹⁰ She is professor emerita of the Stanford Department of Energy Resources Engineering. ¹¹

David and Lucile Packard Foundation Grants

The Packard Foundation, as of 2019, had assets of almost $7.97 billion. ¹² In 2019, it had $583,512,886 in income and $391,853,835 in expenses. ¹³ This includes providing just over $333 million in grants. ¹⁴ The foundation funds groups to reduce carbon emissions, seeks social justice for climate issues, advocates for fighting climate change, funds more abortions, and promotes over-the-counter birth control. ¹⁵

The Packard Foundation provided grants over $2.4 million in 2022 to left-of-center environmental organizations including the European Climate Foundation, Sustainable Oceans Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, Multiplier, New Venture Fund, and the International Council on Clean Transportation. ¹⁶ In 2022, the foundation funder over $2 million for abortion and reproductive services to left-of-center groups including DKT International, Ultraviolet Education Fund, Lift Louisiana (via the Tides Foundation), Abortion Care Network, Funders for Reproductive Equity, All Above All (via New Ventures Fund), and Third Sector New England. ¹⁷

1. David and Lucile Packard Foundation website. www.packard.org. Accessed March 4, 2022. https://www.packard.org/insights/news/susan-packard-orr-and-nancy-burnett-retire-from-the-packard-foundation-board-of-trustees/.
2. Influence Watch website. www.influencewatch.org. Accessed March 4, 2022. https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/david-and-lucile-packard-foundation/.
3. David and Lucile Packard Foundation website. www.packard.org. Accessed March 4, 2022. https://www.packard.org/insights/news/susan-packard-orr-and-nancy-burnett-retire-from-the-packard-foundation-board-of-trustees/.
4. David and Lucile Packard Foundation website. www.packard.org. Accessed March 4, 2022. https://www.packard.org/insights/news/susan-packard-orr-and-nancy-burnett-retire-from-the-packard-foundation-board-of-trustees/.
5. David and Lucile Packard Foundation website. www.packard.org. Accessed March 4, 2022. https://www.packard.org/insights/news/susan-packard-orr-and-nancy-burnett-retire-from-the-packard-foundation-board-of-trustees/.
6. “Susan Packard Orr Shifts Focus After Decades at Helm of Family Foundation.” Inside Charity. Accessed March 7, 2022. https://insidecharity.org/2018/05/28/susan-packard-orr-shifts-focus-after-decades-at-helm-of-family-foundation/.
7. Center for Responsive Politics. “Donor Lookup: Susan Packard Orr.” www.opensecrets.org.  Accessed March 7, 2022. https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=susan+Packard+orr&order=desc&sort=D.
8. Island Conservation website. www.islandconservation.org. Accessed March 5, 2022. https://www.islandconservation.org/dvteam/susan-packard-orr/.
9. Island Conservation website. www.islandconservation.org. Accessed March 5, 2022. https://www.islandconservation.org/dvteam/susan-packard-orr/.
10. National Audubon Society website. www.audubon.org. Accessed March 5, 2022. https://www.audubon.org/content/susan-orr.
11. Island Conservation website. www.islandconservation.org. Accessed March 5, 2022. https://www.islandconservation.org/dvteam/susan-packard-orr/.
12. David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Form 990-PF, 2019.
13. David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Form 990-PF, Part I, 2019.
14. David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Form 990-PF, Part I, 2019.
15. ^[1] David and Lucile Packard Foundation website. www.packard.org. Accessed March 5, 2022. www.packard.org.
16. David and Lucile Packard Foundation website. www.packard.org. Accessed March 5, 2022. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/.
17. David and Lucile Packard Foundation website. www.packard.org. Accessed March 5, 2022. https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/.