July 17, 2025
For press inquiries, contact: Claire Callahan, 415-655-4405
Stupski Foundation accelerates spend down grantmaking, awarding 76% of remaining grant funds this year
Over the past six months, we have watched our communities navigate—with relentless commitment and courage—alarming attacks on our democracy, health, education, and food systems. Despite devastating federal funding cuts, orders dismantling critical federal agencies, spurious investigations, and unprecedented use of military force on civilians, our grantee partners have not wavered in their commitments to advocate for justice and support our collective well-being.
In direct response, Stupski Foundation is accelerating our grantmaking and deepening our commitment to the communities we serve. We are awarding an additional $23 million to a number of our existing grantees, bringing our total projected 2025 grantmaking from $34 million to over $57 million, our second-largest grantmaking year since we began our spend down. This represents 76% of our remaining allocated grant funds, awarded in a single year. We made this decision out of a deep sense of accountability to our communities and our values.
Standing Firm Amid Mounting Threats
In the wake of last year’s election, we reaffirmed our commitment to advancing equity and justice in every aspect of our philanthropy. The ultimate expression of our commitment means speaking out to defend our values and continuing to fund partners we knew would come under increased pressure from the current administration, ensuring those working at the frontlines of justice are not left to face these challenges alone.
Today, we are doubling down on that commitment by returning more resources to our communities now, when they need them most.
What This Means for Our Grantee Partners
As a spend down, it has always been our intention to return all our resources to the communities we call home. To our grantee partners, this acceleration will not alter the terms of your current grants or our 2029 closure date. However, it does mean that we are committing the bulk of our remaining grant funds today to support the vital work in our communities. We will continue to communicate transparently as we move forward with our spend down.
A Rising Tide
From the start, our spend down has been rooted in one belief: Resources belong in communities, not endowments. Fortunately, we are not alone. We have been inspired by the growing number of funders like the Marguerite Casey Foundation, The California Endowment, The California Wellness Foundation, Tipping Point Community, The Weissberg Foundation, The Gates Foundation, and others who have taken decisive action to meet this moment.
We applaud these leaders for putting humanity over perpetuity and rejecting the all-too-common urge in philanthropy to preserve wealth over the well-being of the people we are meant to serve.
Time to Act
The urgency of this moment calls for us to take bold, immediate action. We have said it before, and we will say it again: As funders, we are in the privileged and powerful position to act. Too often, philanthropy asks organizations with the fewest resources to do the most in challenging moments. This is our time to show up fully for them and for each other.
Because change can’t wait.
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