About Novo Foundation
The Novo Foundation concentrates on place-based investments in the Hudson Valley (Kingston/Poughkeepsie) while also routing substantial national and thematic funding through philanthropic intermediaries. Its priorities blend community development and affordable housing, Indigenous rights and cultural revitalization, gender and women's-justice initiatives, and regenerative agriculture/sustainability, with recurring support for arts, education, and local service infrastructure.
Focus Areas
Hudson Valley community revitalization and affordable housing (Kingston-focused projects and land bank support)Indigenous rights, cultural and language revitalization in North AmericaWomen’s economic justice and empowerment programs (e.g., Women Building Up)Regenerative agriculture, perennial crops and local food systemsFunding via philanthropic intermediaries and donor-advised project funds to support leadership, capacity-building and policy/regranting
Who They Fund
girls and young women (including girls of color)Southern Black girls and women
About Novo Foundation
Novo Foundation’s recent giving is marked by repeated large-scale support for girls’ and women’s initiatives, especially through Tides Foundation and Tides Center. A single project line, the Advancing Girls Fund, appears in multiple years at $24,383,492 in 2023 and 2024, with another 2024 grant of $22,940,133 to the same fiscal sponsor. That pattern sits alongside major funding for Women Building Up, including a $20,000,000 grant in 2025 to Women Building Up Inc and a $10,000,000 grant in 2024 to Tides Center. The foundation also backs community-based work in the Hudson Valley, where grants have supported Radio Kingston and housing-related projects in Kingston and Poughkeepsie. Its portfolio extends beyond local place-based work to national funding streams in gender justice, girls’ leadership, Indigenous rights, social-emotional learning, and land-and-food systems. Several of the largest grants flow through philanthropic intermediaries such as Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, reflecting a grantmaking style that combines direct organizational support with intermediary-managed initiatives and donor advised fund distributions.
What Novo Foundation Funds
Girls’ and women’s leadership is a central theme. Novo Foundation gave $3,000,000 to Tides Foundation for Grantmakers for Girls of Color in both 2023 and 2024, and another $3,000,000 through Tides Foundation for the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium in 2023 and 2024. In women’s economic justice, it gave $20,000,000 to Women Building Up Inc for Women Building Up in 2025. The foundation also funds community infrastructure and education-related work. It gave $8,261,670 to Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley for Radio Kingston in 2025, following earlier grants of $5,692,500 in 2023 and 2024 for the same project. In social-emotional learning, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors received $4,586,276 in both 2023 and 2024 for Social Emotional Learning Support Phase V. Indigenous and culturally rooted leadership appears as well. Novo Foundation awarded $4,500,000 in 2025 to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors for Spirit Aligned Leadership Program, after prior grants for the same program in 2023 and 2024.
How Novo Foundation Gives
Novo Foundation’s typical grant size is $66,000 at the 25th percentile, $150,000 at the median, and $250,000 at the 75th percentile, even though its recent slate includes several multi-million-dollar project grants. The pattern shows repeat funding across years for the same initiatives, including grants to Tides Foundation, Tides Center, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. It is a regular funder rather than a donor-advised fund sponsor, and the available program description says it funds by invitation rather than through unsolicited proposals. The foundation also funds individuals.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$190.3M
Total Assets
$937.8M
Total Revenue
$473.6M
Total Expenses
$237.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $66K and $250K, with a median of $150K.
25th Percentile
$66K
Median
$150K
75th Percentile
$250K
Geographic Reach
National49 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
JENNIFER BUFFETT
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Novo Foundation Funds
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Novo Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 2,216 | $769.4M | 99.6% |
| 2 | Canada | 9 |
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