Stephen & Margaret Gill Family Foundation

OVERVIEW:  The Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation invests in the arts, human rights, religion and the environment.

IP TAKE: The Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation keeps a low public profile, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. Gill tends to stick with the same grantees year after year, so this will be a tough nut to crack for nonprofits looking to get their foot in the door. The foundation is inaccessible, although a mailing address is included below.

PROFILE: Established in 1999, the Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation is steered by tech mogul Stephen Gill and his wife Margaret. Stephen P. Gill earned a B.S. from MIT and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Gill is a co-founder of Artec Associates, where he also served as president and chief scientist, and Votan Corp., where he served as president, chief scientist and chairman of the board. Gill retired in 1999. Margaret Gill, who passed away in 2020, was a partner in the San Francisco-based law firm Pillsbury Madison & Sutro. Her board positions included the San Francisco Ballet, the United Religions Initiative, the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of California and Episcopal Charities. Stephen and Margaret’s daughter, Elizabeth Gill, a lawyer for the ACLU, now steers the Gill Foundation. According to tax filings, the Stephen and Margaret Gill Family Foundation’s grantmaking supports the arts, human rights, interfaith initiatives and the environment. Almost all grants stay in California, although Maine is a secondary sight of giving.

Grants for Arts and Culture

According to tax filings, the arts are the Gill Foundation’s largest area of giving. The San Francisco Ballet, where Margaret Gill served as a vice chair of the board of trustees, has enjoyed ongoing support. Other recent recipients include the San Francisco Opera, the Asian Art Museum, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Cultural organizations also number among the foundation’s grantees, and funding has gone to New York’s French Heritage Society and the Island Heritage Trust of Deer Isle, Maine.

Grants for Environment and Wildlife

The Gill family, via their foundation, has supported a selection of organizations involved in environmental and animal conservation. In recent years, grants have supported the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, Defenders of Wildlife and the National Association for Olmstead Parks.

Grants for Democracy and Civic Engagement

The Gill Foundation’s grantmaking includes support for organizations involved in civic engagement and the rights of people in the United States. In recent years, the foundation has supported the American Civil Liberties Union, the Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network, Asian Law Caucus, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

Grants for Global Development and Religious Causes

Over the years, the Gil Foundation has given to faith-based organizations that aim to improve the lives of poor people in the developing world. Margaret served on the president’s council of United Religions Initiative “a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities and the world.” The Gill Foundation has also supported the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance. In the U.S., Gill has supported Christian organizations including Episcopal Community Services and the Order of St John.

Grants for Higher Education and Arts Education

Education is a smaller area of grantmaking for the Gill Foundation, but grants have gone to Stanford University, Wellesley College, which was Margaret’s alma mater, American Mathematical Society, and California Art in Action, an arts education program.

Important Grant Details

Gill’s grantmaking is modest and it only makes a handful of grants per year.

·       Grants range from about $500 to $50,000, but $1,000 is the most common amount.

·       The foundation gave out around $248,000 in a recent year.

Unfortunately, the foundation does not maintain a public profile, so it is unclear what it prioritizes within its giving areas. 

It does not appear that this foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits.

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

Stephen & Margaret Gill Family Foundation

32 Flood Cir.

Atherton, CA 94027