About

Foundation president, Harvey Fineberg, and chairman emeritus and co-founder, Gordon Moore, discuss the Statement of Founders’ Intent with staff.

 
 
Programs
 
 
 
 
 
Welcome2017 HighlightsProgramsFinancialsLooking Forward

A powerful engine

Dear Friends: 

I believe philanthropy is a powerful engine for positive change in society. During my first three years at the Moore Foundation, I’ve witnessed this power first hand. In some cases, I’ve seen a spark that ignites a new field of investigation and accomplishment. In others, I’ve watched a steady drive toward impact. In every case, it is the energy of our grantees that fuels progress.  

Our founders, Gordon and Betty Moore, encourage us “to find and address important, under-resourced opportunities.” Accomplishing this guarantees that we do not have a ready-made roadmap to our destinations. With our grantees, we can plot new and optimal paths. While the journeys will have unanticipated twists and turns, we always seek landmarks along the way to confirm that we’re still heading in the right direction.  

During 2017, our grantmaking in science, environmental conservation, patient care and in the Bay Area has made a meaningful difference. While long-term outcomes are often yet to be attained, the milestones reached this year are worthy of acknowledgement and celebration.  

Our 2017 audited financial statements and this annual report highlight some of the ways the foundation’s projects, partnerships and research expanded understanding and impact in our fields of interest.


Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D. 
President 

2017 Highlights

A Total Solar Eclipse

Residents of the U.S. had the opportunity to experience a rare occurrence on August 21, 2017: a total solar eclipse was visible across the width of the country, something that had not occurred in nearly 100 years. To encourage learning around this spectacular event, we supported the Space Science Institute’s National Center for Interactive Learning and StarNet to distribute two million solar eclipse viewing glasses, and accompanying educational materials, through a network of more than 7,000 public libraries across the nation. 

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Marine Conservation Initiative

In August, we announced our renewed commitment to conserving North American oceans. Between 2017 and 2024, our Marine Conservation Initiative will invest $152 million in organizations who are working to sustain the marine environment upon which we all depend, from the Arctic, to British Columbia, to the U.S. West Coast. Originally launched in 2004, the initiative promotes healthy, sustainable marine ecosystems and has helped safeguard our oceans’ productivity, biodiversity and resources. 

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Our Programs

Environmental Conservation Environmental Conservation

Tools and technology for sustainability

As Earth’s human population swells, so does our demand for food. Leadership in the business sector is essential to ensure that these resources, critical to humanity’s long-term survival — and to the corporate bottom line — are abundant long into the future. So too are new tools and technological advancements to help businesses with improved monitoring and supply chain transparency. Together, these levers can help ensure that the resources critical to humanity’s long-term survival — and to the corporate bottom line — are abundant long into the future. In 2017, our grantees continued to advance these commitments and, by developing new tools and technology, helped supply chain actors and financial institutions implement them.  

Learn more ›

Explore Environmental Conservation
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Grants Awarded in 2017

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Median Grant Amount (Thousands)

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Average Grant Term (Months)

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Amount Awarded in 2017 (Millions)
Environmental Conservation Program annual totals through December 31, 2017. Grants awarded are paid over the course of each grant’s term, which often extends over more than one year. Amounts paid for all grants in any calendar year are reflected in the Financials and Grantmaking charts below.

Science Science

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Solving the puzzles of quantum materials

Quantum materials, a broad class of materials with novel electronic properties and pronounced quantum-mechanical behavior, has attracted great interest from the scientific community in recent years. In these materials the collective behavior of electrons leads to many novel, often unexpected, properties, such as transport of electrical current without resistance and the creation of emergent particles with properties different from any known elementary particle. Our Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Initiative has fueled research in this burgeoning field, providing scientists in quantum materials the resources and freedom to explore uncertain research directions. Achievements made by these researchers in 2017 alone are remarkable – pushing the frontiers of understanding emergent behavior in complex quantum systems.  

Learn more ›

Explore Science

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Grants Awarded in 2017

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Median Grant Amount (Thousands)

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Average Grant Term (Months)

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Amount Awarded in 2017 (Millions)
Science Program annual totals through December 31, 2017. Grants awarded are paid over the course of each grant’s term, which often extends over more than one year. Amounts paid for all grants in any calendar year are reflected in the Financials and Grantmaking charts below. 

Patient Care Patient Care

Opening Betty Irene Moore Hall

Our co-founder, Betty Irene Moore, maintains a deep passion for improving the experience and outcomes of patient care. Keeping this aim top of mind, our Patient Care Program focuses on opportunities to improve the quality and safety of care that people receive. In 2017, the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, Davis opened Betty Irene Moore Hall. It is our hope that, in its new home, the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing will continue to advance health and empower aspiring health care leaders through education, research and hands-on training. 

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Explore Patient Care
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Grants Awarded in 2017

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Average Grant Term (Months)

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Amount Awarded in 2017 (Millions)
Patient Care Program annual totals through December 31, 2017. Grants awarded are paid over the course of each grant’s term, which often extends over more than one year. Amounts paid for all grants in any calendar year are reflected in the Financials and Grantmaking charts below.

San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay Area

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Renewal for Tunitas Creek Beach

Tunitas Creek meets the Pacific Ocean halfway between Pescadero and Half Moon Bay. There, at the mouth of the creek and bounded by steep cliffs, a 58-acre property that includes the wide, sandy shore has become a hopeful story of renewal and conservation. In November 2017, Peninsula Open Space Trust announced the acquisition of Tunitas Creek Beach. Overused in recent years, the site had been degraded with negative repercussions for the health of the ecosystem. But the acquisition by POST turned the story’s proverbial tide, with rehabilitation and stewardship that will benefit the coastal ecosystem and the generations of visitors who will now be able to come and enjoy it.   

Learn more ›

Explore San Francisco Bay Area

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Grants Awarded in 2017

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Median Grant Amount (Thousands)

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Average Grant Term (Months)

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Amount Awarded in 2017 (Millions)
San Francisco Bay Area Program annual totals through December 31, 2017. Grants awarded are paid over the course of each grant’s term, which often extends over more than one year. Amounts paid for all grants in any calendar year are reflected in the Financials and Grantmaking charts below.

Financials and Grantmaking

Endowment Value and Spending

  • Year-End Value
  • Annual Spending

Cumulative Grants Approved

Grand Total

$3,694,991,933

Grants Paid by Program (All years only)

Grants Paid by Program (Year-by-Year)

Endowment Value and Spending

  • Year-End Value
  • Annual Spending

Cumulative Grants Approved

Grand Total

$3,694,991,933

Grants Paid by Program (All years only)

Grants Paid by Program (Year-by-Year)

Endowment Value and Spending

  • Year-End Value
  • Annual Spending

Cumulative Grants Approved

Grand Total

$3,694,991,933

Grants Paid by Program (All years only)

Grants Paid by Program (Year-by-Year)

Endowment Value and Spending

  • Year-End Value
  • Annual Spending

Cumulative Grants Approved

Grand Total

$3,694,991,933

Grants Paid by Program (All years only)

Grants Paid by Program (Year-by-Year)

  • Environment
  • Science
  • Patient Care
  • Bay Area
  • Other
Totals through December 31, 2017
View Financial Reports
View Grants List

Driving toward impact

Change takes time. While our approach to philanthropy requires that we never lose sight of our final destinations, it’s helpful to recognize just how far we’ve traveled. The achievements summarized above, and numerous others, affirm that we’re on the right path toward reaching our goals.  

We are reminded every day of the extraordinary privilege afforded us to apply the resources of the Moore Foundation to accomplish lasting good. None of it would be possible without the continued ingenuity and hard work of our grantees, and we are deeply grateful to them.


Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D.

President

 

 

Header image: UNINTERRUPTED cinematic high-tech art installation under the Cambie Bridge in Vancouver, B.C. Learn more about the 2017 Summer feature

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