About the Fund

Gaia Fund is a San Francisco-based family foundation founded in 1995. 
Gaia Fund’s founders, Christine Russell and Mark Schlesinger, serve as its sole trustees and, additionally, set grantmaking priorities. As of December 31, 2022, Gaia Fund has distributed grants totaling $22,827,587 and had net assets of approximately $39 million.

Grants Awarded

Please explore the lists below to learn more about our funding, including grant amounts and descriptions. Grants may be reviewed by funding interest and year awarded.

2022 Grants

For the year 2022, Gaia Fund awarded grants totaling $1,599,000 to 74 organizations.

ALL
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
EFFECTIVE DEMOCRACY
JEWISH LIFE
OTHER

Sustainable Agriculture

$5,000
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Foundation, Santa Cruz, CA, for general support of educational programs about organic growing practices.

$2,500

Ecological Farming Association, Soquel, CA, for scholarships or highest need.

$2,500

Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Pt. Reyes Station, CA, for general support of farmland conservation.
$180,000
Organic Farming Research Foundation, Santa Cruz, CA, to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming systems. (Three-year grant).
$35,000
Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, to support small-scale Northern CA food crop producers to plan and implement sustainable agricultural practices.

$100,000

Real Food Generation, Tucson, AZ, to support and promote sustainable agriculture in CA through building community power. (Two-year grant).

$5,000

Real Organic Project, East Thetford, VT, for 2023 Real Organic Symposium sponsorship.

$25,000

Sustainable Agriculture Program (a project of Santa Rosa Junior College), Santa Rosa, CA, for general support for the Sustainable Agriculture program.

$80,000

University of California, Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems, Santa Cruz, CA, to support the Education & Training in Sustainable, Organic Farming: Leadership Development Program at the UCSC Farm.

$2,500

Wild Farm Alliance, Watsonville, CA, for general support.

Effective Democracy

$100,000

Common Cause Education Fund, Washington, DC, for the Money in Politics project in California to encourage campaign finance systems that lift the voices of regular people and counter the influence of special interests in elections across the state. (Two-year grant).

$100,000

Issue One, Washington, DC, for the Count Every Vote media campaign focused on achieving cross-partisan support for one person/one vote democracy at the state and federal level. (Two-year grant).

$100,000

MapLight, Berkeley, CA, for campaign finance work in California that supports local efforts to reduce the influence of special interests through data and other means and informs the voter in the state about candidates and other public interest causes. (Two-year grant).

$100,000

Movement Voter Fund, Los Angeles, CA, to support grassroots voting rights organizations. (Two-year grant).

$200,000

NEO Philanthropy, New York, NY, to support the State Infrastructure Fund to increase voter awareness and protect voting rights in historically underrepresented communities by building a permanent civic engagement and robust voting rights infrastructure in states. (Two-year grant).

$100,000

OpenSecrets, Washington, DC, for general support to investigate, contextualize, and publish state and federal campaign contributions and lobbying information used by media, academia, the general public, and others. (Two-year grant).

$100,000

Trusted Elections Fund (a project of New Venture Fund), Washington, DC, for general support of the Trusted Elections Fund, a pooled fund that regrants to states where election integrity is most threatened by building resilience to political violence, supporting election infrastructure, and countering election sabotage.

Jewish Life

$40,000

Camp Tawonga, San Francisco, CA, for general support of Tawonga’s four‐part mission fostering high self‐esteem, enduring community, tikkun olam (repairing the world), and positive Jewish identity among Bay Area program participants. (Two-year grant).

$5,000

J. The Jewish News of Northern California, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$10,000

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$50,000

Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Jewish Film Institute, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$25,000

New Israel Fund, San Francisco, CA, for general support

$50,000

Reboot, Inc, Longmeadow, MA, for programs that impact or prioritize the Bay Area. Reboot is an arts and culture non-profit that reimagines and reinforces Jewish thought and traditions. (Two-year grant).

Other

$6,000

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY for general support.

$2,500

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$6,000

American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina Foundation, Charleston, SC for general support.

$2,000

The Brigid Alliance, New York, NY, for general support

$1,500

Candid, New York, NY, for general support.

$3,000

Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, NY, for general support.

$1,000

Classical KDFC, Los Angeles, CA, for general support.

$3,000

ClimateWorks Foundation, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$7,000

Coastal Conservation League, Charleston, SC, for GrowFood Carolina & Charleston Region Projects.

$5,000

Earth Island Institute, Berkeley, CA for general support.

$5,000

Earthjustice, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Edisto Island Open Land Trust, Edisto Island, SC for general support.

$2,500

Farm to Pantry, Healdsburg, CA, for general support

$5,000

Fields to Families, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$2,500

Food Runners, San Francisco, CA, for general support

$5,000

Fresh Future Farm, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$2,500

Friends & Foundation of the San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Friends in Sonoma Helping, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Green Heart Project, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$5,000

GreenBelt Alliance, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Washington, DC, for general support.

$2,500

Jack London Park Partners, Glen Ellen, CA, for general support.

$5,000

KQED, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

KSVY, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Lowcounty Land Trust, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$5,000

National Network of Abortion Funds, Beaverton, OR, for general support.

$5,000

Natural Resource Defense Council, New York, NY, for clean energy work.

$6,000

The Nature Conservancy, San Francisco, CA, for work in California.

$3,000

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, New York, NY, for general support.

$3,000

Rocky Mountain Institute, Boulder, CO, for general support.

$2,000

San Francisco Marin Food Bank, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$6,000

Save the Bay, Oakland, CA, for general support.

$1,000

Sebastiani Theatre Foundation, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Sierra Club Foundation, Oakland, CA, $2,000 for the Bay Area Chapter, $3,000 for general support.

$1,000

Sonoma Arts Live, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Community Center, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation, Santa Rosa, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Ecology Center, Eldridge, CA, for the Sonoma Garden Park.

$2,500

Sonoma Land Trust, Santa Rosa, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma League for Historic Preservation, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Overnight Support, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Volunteer Firefighters Association Inc, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$4,000

South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$5,000

SPUR, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA, for general support.

$3,000

Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network, Columbia, SC, for general support

$2,500

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

2021 Grants

For the year 2021, Gaia Fund awarded grants totaling $1,804,500 to 76 organizations.

ALL
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
EFFECTIVE DEMOCRACY
JEWISH LIFE
OTHER

Sustainable Agriculture

$5,000
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Foundation, Santa Cruz, CA, for general support.

$100,000

California State University, Chico, CA, general support for the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems.
$80,000
Center for Food Safety, San Francisco, CA, for general support. (Two-year grant).
$60,000
Cornucopia Institute, Viroqua, WI, for general support. (Two-year grant).
$2,500
Ecological Farming Association, Soquel, CA, for scholarships or highest need.

$80,000

Kitchen Table Advisors, San Francisco, CA, for general support. (Two-year grant).

$2,500

Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Point Reyes Station, CA, for general support.

$50,000

Organic Farmers Association, Kutztown, PA, supporting organic farmers as informed leaders. (Two-year grant).

$5,000

Organic Farming Research Foundation, Santa Cruz, CA, for general support.

$100,000

Real Organic Project, East Thetford, VT, for general support. (Two-year grant).

$2,500

Wild Farm Alliance, Watsonville, CA, for general support.

$100,000

Zero Foodprint, San Francisco, CA, general support for California work.

Effective Democracy

$1,000,000

American Promise Education Fund, Concord, MA, for general support. (Four-year grant).

$150,000

Free Speech for People, Amherst, MA, for general support. (Two-year grant).

$100,000

National Redistricting Foundation, Chicago, IL, for general support.

$100,000

NEO Philanthropy, New York, NY, general support for the State Infrastructure Fund.

$50,000

Piper Fund, Amherst, MA, for general support.

$100,000

Trusted Elections Fund, Washington, DC, for general support.

$100,000

Voto Latino Foundation, Washington, DC, for general support.

Jewish Life

$30,000

Bend the Arc, New York, NY, for general support. (Two-year grant).

$100,000

The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA, for the strategic plan, remainder toward general support.

$10,000

J. The Jewish News of Northern California, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$10,000

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$50,000

Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$10,000

Jewish Film Institute, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$60,000

Jewish LearningWorks, San Francisco, CA, for Jewish Community Library public programs. (Two-year grant).

$25,000

New Israel Fund, San Francisco, CA, for general support

$50,000

Wilderness Torah, Berkeley, CA, for general support. (Two-year grant).

Other

$6,000

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY for general support.

$2,500

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina Foundation, Charleston, SC for general support.

$1,500

Candid, Oakland, CA, for general support.

$4,000

Center for Reproductive Rights, New York, NY, for general support.

$50,000

City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA for the Give2SF Covid‐19 Fund.

$1,000

Classical KDFC, San Francisco, CA, for the Classical KDFC radio station.

$7,000

Coastal Conservation League, Charleston, SC, for the GrowFood Carolina and Charleston Region Projects.

$50,000

Community Foundation of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, CA for the Sonoma County Resilience Fund.

$5,000

Earth Island Institute, Berkeley, CA for general support.

$5,000

Earthjustice, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

East Cooper Land Trust, Mount Pleasant, SC, for general support.

$4,000

East Cooper Meals on Wheels, Mount Pleasant, SC, for general support.

$5,000

Edisto Island Open Land Trust, Edisto Island, SC for general support.

$2,500

Farm to Pantry, Healdsburg, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Fields to Families, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$2,500

Food Runners, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Fresh Future Farm, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$2,500

Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Green Heart Project, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$5,000

GreenBelt Alliance, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Washington, DC, general support.

$2,500

Jack London Park Partners, Glen Ellen, CA, for general support.

$5,000

KQED, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

KSVY, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$6,000

Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY, for Clean Energy Work.

$6,000

Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA for work in California.

$6,000

Planned Parenthood, New York, NY, for general support.

$5,000

Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, for general support.

$2,000

San Francisco Marin Food Bank, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$6,000

Save the Bay, Oakland, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sebastiani Theater Foundation, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Sierra Club Foundation, Oakland, CA, $2,000 for Bay Area Chapter, $3,000 for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Community Center, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation, Santa Rosa, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Ecology Center, Eldridge, CA, for the Sonoma Garden Park.

$2,500

Sonoma Land Trust, Santa Rosa, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma League for Historic Preservation, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Overnight Support, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Volunteer Firefighters Association, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$4,000

South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$5,000

SPUR, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA, for general support.

$1,000

We the Protesters, New York, NY, for Campaign Zero.

$2,500

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

2020 Grants

For the year 2020, Gaia Fund awarded grants totaling $1,729,200 to 80 organizations.

ALL
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
EFFECTIVE DEMOCRACY
JEWISH LIFE
OTHER

Sustainable Agriculture

$12,000
California Foodshed Funders, Oakland, CA, for general support.

$5,000

CCOF Foundation, Santa Cruz, CA, for general support.

$50,000

Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Davis, CA, for the Climate Smart Agriculture program.

$2,500

Ecological Farming Association, Soquel, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Pt Reyes Station, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Organic Consumers Association, Finland, MN, for general support.

$5,000

Organic Farming Research Foundation, Santa Cruz, CA, for general support.

$80,000

Regents of University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, for the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CAFSF) for the UC Organic Extension Agent.

$50,000

Santa Rosa Jr. College Foundation, Santa Rosa, CA, for the Sustainable Agriculture Program for the Compost Program.

$5,500

Sustainable Agriculture and Food System Funders, Santa Barbara, CA, for general support.

$100,000

The University Foundation, California State University, Chico, CA for general support of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems.

$2,500

Wild Farm Alliance, Watsonville, CA, for general support.

Effective Democracy

$100,000

California Common Cause, Oakland, CA for the Bay Area Political Equality Coalition (BAPEC) and general support.

$50,000

Free Speech for People, Amherst, MA, for general support.

$50,000

Issue One, Washington, DC for The Fulcrum.

$50,000

MapLight, Berkeley, CA, for general support.

$3,000

NEO Philanthropy, New York, NY, for the Funders Committee for Civic Participation.

$80,000

NEO Philanthropy, New York, NY, for the State Infrastructure Fund.

$160,000

New Venture Fund, Washington, DC, for the Safe Voting Fund.

$80,000

New Venture Fund, Washington, DC, for the Trusted Elections Fund.

$50,000

Proteus Fund, Amherst, MA, for the Piper Fund.

$180,000

Tides Foundation, San Francisco, CA, for the Voter Action Fund.

$50,000

Voto Latino Foundation, Washington, DC, for non-partisan voter registration and get-out-the vote.

Jewish Life

$10,000

Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$10,000

J., the Jewish Weekly of Northern California, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$25,000

Jewish Community Center, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$50,000

Jewish Community Federation, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$10,000

Jewish Film Institute, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$25,000

New Israel Fund, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

The Kitchen, San Francisco for general support.

Other

$6,000

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, New York, NY for general support.

$2,500

American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina Foundation, Charleston, SC for general support.

$1,500

Candid, New York, NY, for general support for Candid West.

$75,000

City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA for the Give2SF Covid‐19 Fund.

$1,000

Classical KDFC, San Francisco, CA, for the Classical KDFC radio station.

$75,000

Community Foundation of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, CA for the Sonoma County Resilience Fund.

$7,000

Coastal Conservation League, Charleston, SC, for the GrowFood Carolina and Charleston Region Projects.

$5,000

Earth Island Institute, Berkeley, CA for general support.

$5,000

Earthjustice, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

East Cooper Land Trust, Mount Pleasant, SC, for general support.

$4,000

East Cooper Meals on Wheels, Mount Pleasant, SC, for general support.

$5,000

Edisto Island Open Land Trust, Edisto Island, SC for general support.

$6,500

Environmental Grantmakers Association, New York, NY, for general support.

$5,000

Fields to Families, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$2,500

Food Runners, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Fresh Future Farm, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$2,500

Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Green Heart Project, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$5,000

GreenBelt Alliance, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$5,000

Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Washington, DC, general support.

$2,500

Jack London Park Partners, Glen Ellen, CA, for general support.

$5,000

KQED, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

KSVY, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$50,000

Latino Community Foundation, San Francisco, CA, for the Norcal Wildfire Relief Fund’s efforts in the North Bay.

$6,000

Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY, for Clean Energy Work.

$6,000

Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA for work in California.

$50,000

North Bay Organizing Project, Graton, CA, for UndocuFund’s Sonoma County work.

 $2,500

Northern California Grantmakers, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$6,000

Planned Parenthood, New York, NY, for general support.

$5,000

Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA, for general support.

$1,000

San Francisco Marin Food Bank, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$6,000

Save the Bay, Oakland, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Community Center, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation, Santa Rosa, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Ecology Center, Eldridge, CA, for the Sonoma Garden Park.

$2,500

Sonoma Volunteer Firefighters Association, Sonoma, CA for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Land Trust, Santa Rosa, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma League for Historic Preservation, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CA, for general support.

$4,000

South Carolina Aquarium, Charleston, SC, for general support.

$5,000

SPUR, San Francisco, CA, for general support.

$2,500

Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA, for general support.

$5,000

We the Protesters, New York, NY, for Campaign Zero.

$2,500

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, for general support.