Skip to main content

Profiles

Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation

The Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation, also referred to as the Kirsch Foundation, is an American non-profit organization based in Los Altos, California. It was founded by Steve Kirsch and Michele Kirsch.

Its areas of focus include “cleaning up the air in California to eliminating nuclear weapons” and supporting Silicon Valley foundations.[1]

The Foundation engages both in grantmaking and advocacy efforts to effect change, including “extensive lobbying and advocacy activities.”

History

The Foundation was formally established in 1999 within the Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV), which merged with Peninsula Community Foundation in 2006 to become the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The Kirsches had been active philanthropists since the early 1990s, however, through their donor-advised fund at CFSV.[1:1]

On May 13, 1999, Steve and Michele announced a $1 emergency grant to United Way Silicon Valley. Steve then reached out to 65 of his wealthy colleagues, resulting in further donations from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, eBay Foundation, HP Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Intel, Peninsula Community Foundation and the Health Trust.[2]

Between October 1999 and April 2001, the foundation partnered with CoreMatter (formerly known as AllCharities.com) and helped establish the use of the Internet as a charitable giving vehicle. The partnership ended shortly thereafter and CoreMatter ceased operations.[2:1]

In 2000, the foundation invested in Targesome, a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of proprietary receptor-targeted agents to treat and diagnose cancer and other diseases.[3] The company initiated a project with Merck which would have seen the companies co-develop a cancer treatment. Targesome's founder published a paper on the company's work in June 2002 titled "Tumor Regression by Targeted Gene Delivery to the Neovasculature."[4]

In April 2001, the foundation made a $250,000 investment in LearnNow. After the company was acquired in July 2001 by Edison Schools, the foundation sold off the majority of its stake.

Organization

Name Position Notes
Steve Kirsch Co-Founder & Board Chairman[5] COVID-19 Early Treatment Fund (CETF), Vaccine Safety Research Foundation (VSRF)
Michele Kirsch Co-Founder -
Kathleen Gwynn President & CEO -

Partners

The Foundation has collaborated with a number of other foundations and non-profit organizations, including:[6]

  • Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV)
  • Council on Foundations
  • De Anza College
  • Morgan Family Foundation
  • Peace and Security Funders Group (PSFG)
  • Ploughshares Fund
  • Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Grants

Recipients of grants from the Kirsch foundation include:[7][5:1]

  • 20/20 Vision
  • Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
  • Always Dream
  • American Leadership Forum
  • American Lung Association of California
  • American Musical Theatre San Jose
  • American Red Cross
  • Arms Control Association
  • Asian Pacific Fund
  • Aspen Institute
  • Association of Fundraising Professionals
  • Association of Space Explorers
  • Bing Nursery School
  • British American Security Information Council
  • Bullis-Purissima Elementary School
  • Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
  • California Environmental Rights Alliance
  • California First Amendment Coalition
  • California League of Conservation Voters
  • California State Parks Foundation
  • Californians for Pesticide Reform
  • Castilleja School Foundation
  • Center for Resource Solutions
  • Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
  • Central California Environmental Justice Network
  • Children of Shelters
  • Children's Discovery Museum
  • Children's Health Council
  • Commonwealth Club of California
  • Community Breast Health Project
  • Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV)
  • Community Services Agency
  • Computer History Museum
  • Conservation International
  • Council for a Livable World
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
  • Demos
  • Earth Day Network
  • Earthjustice
  • Environmental Defense Fund
  • Environmental Grantmakers Associations
  • Environmental Integrity Project
  • Family and Children Services
  • Foothill-De Anza Foundation
  • For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST)
  • Fresno Metro Ministry
  • Friends Committee on National Legislation
  • Fund for Peace Initiatives
  • Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County
  • Global Fund for Women
  • Global Green USA
  • Global Security Institute
  • Happy Hollow Park & Zoo
  • Hidden Villa
  • Institute for America's Future
  • Junior Achievement of Silicon Valley & Monterey Bay
  • KTEH
  • Latino Issues Forum
  • Los Altos Town Crier
  • Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health
  • Media Matters for America
  • Merced/Mariposa County Asthma Coalition
  • Military Families Speak Out
  • Mills College
  • MoveOn[8]
  • NARAL Pro-Choice America
  • National Public Radio (NPR)
  • Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence
  • Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
  • Opportunities Industrialization Center West
  • Peace Action
  • Peace and Security Funders Group
  • People Acting in Community Together
  • People for the American Way
  • Physicians for Social Responsibility
  • Ploughshares Fund
  • Public Interest Projects (PIP)
  • Reach For Tomorrow, Research Today
  • Resource Area for Teaching
  • San Jose Repertory Theatre
  • Santa Clara University
  • Second Harvest Food Bank
  • Southeast Asian Institute for Advancement
  • State of the World Forum[9]
  • Steadman-Hawkins Research Foundation
  • Taxpayers for Common Sense
  • Tech Museum of Innovation
  • To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Foundation
  • Union of Concerned Scientists
  • United Way Silicon Valley
  • University of California San Francisco Foundation
  • Women's Action for New Directions
  • World Affairs Council
  • World Resources Institute (WRI)
  • Zero One

  1. Who We Are. Kirsch Foundation. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.01.15-200618/https://www.kirschfoundation.org/who/index_who.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Initiatives. Kirsch Foundation. Retrieved March 11, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.03.11-234424/https://www.kirschfoundation.org/who/initiatives.html ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. Kirsch, S. Targesome donation. SKirsch. Retrieved March 11, 2023, from http://archive.today/2023.03.11-234238/https://www.skirsch.com/charity/medical/targesome_donation.htm ↩︎

  4. Hood, J. D., Bednarski, M., Frausto, R., Guccione, S., Reisfeld, R. A., Xiang, R., & Cheresh, D. A. (2002). Tumor Regression by Targeted Gene Delivery to the Neovasculature. Science, 296(5577), 2404–2407. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1070200 ↩︎

  5. Kirsch, S. T., Kirsch, M. van B., & Gwynn, K. 2005-2006 Annual Report. Kirsch Foundation. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220419131010/http://www.kirschfoundation.org/who/ar2006/Kirsch_AR06.pdf ↩︎ ↩︎

  6. Members Directory. (2022). Council on Foundations. https://web.archive.org/web/20220620214148/https://cof.org/members-directory/non-members ↩︎

  7. Benz Jr., E. J., Paresky, S. S., Dana III, C. A., & Morse, R. P. 2012 Honor Roll of Donors. PageTurnPro; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20220813072451/https://www.pageturnpro.com/Dana-Farber-Cancer-Institute-and-The-Jimmy-Fund/49214-2012-Honor-Roll-of-Donors/sdefault.html#page/76 ↩︎

  8. MoveOn (MO). Discover the Networks. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://web.archive.org/web/20240225050105/https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/web/20240225050105/https://www.discoverthenetworks.org/organizations/moveon-mo/ ↩︎

  9. Supporters. State of the World Forum. Retrieved October 4, 2002, from http://archive.today/2002.10.04-220825/http://www.worldforum.org/about/supporters.htm ↩︎