Laurel Foundation

About Laurel Foundation

Laurel Foundation’s largest recent grant was $1,869,053 to Greater Horizons for general operating support, a signal that a substantial share of its giving moves through philanthropic infrastructure rather than only direct program awards. In the same 2023 grant list, the foundation paired that kind of broad support with targeted gifts for health research, women’s rights, youth services, and animal welfare. One example is $150,000 to Human Rights Watch for defending the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Another is $300,000 to Lymelight Foundation for general operating support, alongside $240,000 to Mercy Beyond Borders. The overall pattern suggests a funder that uses a small number of large grants to support both intermediary organizations and named mission-driven programs. The portfolio also includes community-based education and counseling grants in California, fellowship support, and multiple health-related awards. Grant sizes in 2023 ranged from five-figure awards to multi-million-dollar support, with several recipients receiving unrestricted funding. Laurel Foundation’s grant list points to deliberate, high-value commitments rather than a broad dispersal of smaller grants.

What Laurel Foundation Funds

One clear thread in Laurel Foundation’s giving is support for women and girls. The foundation gave $150,000 to Human Rights Watch for defending the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, and another $25,000 to Feminist Majority Foundation for Girls Learn International. It also supported Mercy Beyond Borders with $240,000 in general operating support. Education appears in both direct school aid and broader youth development. Laurel Foundation awarded $84,000 to Eastside College Preparatory School for the Eastside Scholarship Program and $50,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula for the Hoover Expanded Learning Program. In adolescent mental health, it gave $40,000 to Children’s Health Council for teen mental health equity and access to care and $35,000 to Adolescent Counseling Services for its on-campus counseling program. Health and research show up as well, including $10,000 to New York Medical College for pediatric hematology and oncology research and education and $8,000 to Brain & Behavior Research Foundation for research.

How Laurel Foundation Gives