Tosa Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Tosa Foundation supports education, conservation, global development and, to a lesser extent, public health. This funder tends to provide ongoing support to a small corps of grantees working in its areas of interest.
IP TAKE: Tosa’s grantmaking tends to support the same grantee-partners year after year, with little deviation. This is a crowded grantmaking space to enter. The Morgridges’ alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, is its main higher education recipient, and its K-12 funding usually goes directly to public schools and districts. Grantees in other giving areas are large, well-established organizations. It is worth noting that in recent years, Tosa has given large sums to the Morgridge Family Foundation, which is steered by the Morgridges’ son and daughter-in-law.
This low-profile, inaccessible funder restricts transparency about its work, maintaining only a sparse website. Though it’s not approachable, an address and phone number are provided below.
PROFILE: The Tosa Foundation was established in 2010 by former Cisco Systems chair John Morgridge and his wife, Tashia, who are signatories of the Giving Pledge. It is based in Portola Valley, California. Tosa does not name grantmaking goals or interests, but tax filings suggest that the foundation makes grants for education, environmental causes, global development and public health. It is worth noting that in recent years the Tosa Foundation has given millions to the Morgridge Family Foundation, which is run by the Morgridges’ son John and his wife, Carrie.
Grants for Higher Education
The Tosa Foundation does not outline specific goals for its higher education funding, but taxes reveal funding for a range of public and private colleges and universities over the past several years. The Morgridges’ alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, receives ongoing support, including a $125 million pledge to create the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences in 2021. Other past grantees include Stanford University, Alverno College and campuses of the University of California at Irvine and Santa Cruz.
Grants for K-12 Education
The Tosa Foundation’s grantmaking for K-12 education prioritizes public schools, with most of its grants going directly to public school districts. Past grantees include the Milwaukee Public Schools, the Green Bay Area Public School District, Pennsylvania’s Altoona Area School District and the Danbury Elementary School in Texas, among others. The foundation has also supported the New Teacher Center in Santa Cruz, California, which aims to improve academic outcomes by “accelerating the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders.”
Grants for Environmental Conservation and Justice
The Tosa Foundation provides ongoing support to the Nature Conservancy. In a recent year, the Nature Conservancy received over $400,000 in grants from Tosa. It does not have an environmental giving strategy beyond this targeted support.
Grants for Global Development
Tosa’s global development grantmaking focuses on poverty alleviation and youth development in the developing world. Grantees include the African Leadership Foundation and CARE, a U.S.-based organization that aims to provide food, water, healthcare, education and economic opportunity to the world’s poorest citizens.
Grants for Public Health
Tosa’s public health grantmaking has tapered off in recent years. Its main grantee is the Children’s Health Council of Palo Alto, California, which provides free and low-cost services to children of low-income families.
Important Grant Details:
The Tosa Foundation makes about $60 million in grants a year. Most of its grants range from $5,000 to $500,000, with an average grant size of about $25,000. California, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Colorado appear to be geographic priority areas. This funder tends to provide ongoing support to a small corps of grantees working in its areas of interest. For more information on their past grants, check out their recent tax filings.
The Tosa Foundation maintains a low-profile and does not accept applications for funding or provide a direct way of getting in touch. A mailing address and phone number are provided below.
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CONTACT:
Tosa Foundation
3130 Alpine Road, PMB 705, Ste. 288
Portola Valley, CA 94028-8005
(650) 851-6922
