About Sijbrandij Foundation
The Sijbrandij Foundation concentrates philanthropic support at the intersection of software/technology and social impact, funding organizations that build open-source developer infrastructure, privacy/security tools, and tech-forward education and research. Grants are few but large and strategic, frequently renewing support for flagship technology initiatives and funding research or pilots (e.g., universal basic income studies) that inform policy and product development.
Focus Areas
Open-source developer infrastructure and tooling (e.g., GitLab Foundation)Digital privacy, secure communications, and civic tech (e.g., Signal Technology Foundation)Technology-enabled research on social policy (e.g., universal basic income studies)Tech-focused secondary education and workforce pipeline programs (e.g., launching high schools emphasizing information-age skills)Capacity-building and global philanthropic intermediaries supporting scalable nonprofit initiatives (e.g., Global Impact)
Who They Fund
low-income workershigh school students / K-12 learners
About Sijbrandij Foundation
The Sijbrandij Foundation’s recent giving is defined by large, strategic bets on software infrastructure and technology-driven social change. A $4,000,000 grant to GitLab Foundation anchors that pattern, with additional support flowing to open-source tooling, secure communications, and research that uses technology to test policy ideas. The foundation also backs institutions working on income policy, education innovation, and civic systems, including a $2,000,000 grant to Global Impact and a $1,000,000 grant to Signal Technology Foundation. Across the recent grant list, the foundation favors initiatives that can scale beyond a single project. It has supported universal basic income study dissemination, high school launch efforts, offline educational content access, and policy research on zoning, healthcare entry barriers, and high-skilled immigration. In education, the pattern includes funding for a new high school model through Information Age Academy. In civic and research-oriented work, it has also supported organizations translating technical or policy ideas into usable public tools and broader distribution. That mix suggests a funder looking for early leverage: organizations with infrastructure, research, or platform effects rather than one-off program delivery. Grants often support general operations or broad initiative work, while some are tied to specific launches, studies, or tool development.
What Sijbrandij Foundation Funds
In open-source and digital infrastructure, the foundation gave $1,675,000 to GitLab Foundation for general support and $1,000,000 to Signal Technology Foundation for general support. Those grants point to sustained interest in developer tooling and secure communications. The foundation also funds research and policy work tied to technology and social systems. It awarded $1,500,000 to Open Research Lab for universal basic income study distribution and marketing, and $250,000 to Land Use Atlas Inc for zoning data for land use. A $109,208 grant to the University of Chicago supported research on aligning incentives in healthcare supply, specifically the role of entry barriers. Education and workforce pathways are another clear thread. The foundation gave $1,000,000 to Information Age Academy (the Levit Lab Inc) to launch a high school, and $310,000 to Third Sector for upskilling low-income workers through public-private partnerships. It also funded Kiwix for making educational content available to people without online access.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$5.4M
Total Assets
$79.2M
Total Revenue
$17.9M
Total Expenses
$6.2M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $53K and $1M, with a median of $100K.
25th Percentile
$53K
Median
$100K
75th Percentile
$1M
Geographic Reach
National9 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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