Sara Davis

Sara Davis is Director of Grantmaking Operations, Insight, and Learning at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. In this role, she is responsible for ensuring that the foundation’s grantmaking practices, use of data, and culture of learning are consistent with and support the foundation’s goals and values. Her team focuses on advancing both efficiency and quality within our operations and practices for grantmaking. They also advance the use of data, information, and insight to inform high-quality reflection and continuous learning across the organization.

Sara has over 25 years of experience working in and alongside the nonprofit sector in a variety of roles. Before joining the Hewlett Foundation, she worked at the Adobe Foundation, where she managed employee volunteerism, CSR, and their global grants programs.

Sara currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Northern California Grantmakers Association. She speaks and writes regularly regarding grantmaking practice, values, collection and use of data, and the power of organizational learning. She also aims to support transformation in the philanthropy sector towards equity, openness, and authenticity. Sara holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania.