Our enduring commitment to our mission, values, and the charitable sector

“Never stifle a generous impulse.”

This was a favorite saying of the engineer and business pioneer Bill Hewlett, one he put into practice throughout his lifetime, including with the decision to create and generously endow a permanent, nonpartisan charitable foundation that would contribute to the betterment of humanity.

In the nearly six decades since its creation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has supported thousands of nonprofit organizations, each, in its own way, helping build a society where all people, communities, and nature can flourish. Our philanthropic approach and enduring priorities remain rooted today in the ethos of our founders, emphasizing patient and reliable support to nonprofits, responsiveness to community needs, and willingness to work collaboratively and constructively across different viewpoints.

This approach has yielded tangible results. Throughout our history, our nonprofit partners have worked alongside businesses, communities, and government to increase students’ access to high-quality education, bring the joy of the arts to audiences and classrooms in our local neighborhoods, restore rivers for both communities and wildlife, support an energy transition that makes our air cleaner and creates good jobs, and so much more. Right now, in countless communities in the U.S. and around the world, our grantees continue to strive for the betterment of humanity that Bill and Flora Hewlett envisioned.

The Hewletts also believed in the importance of the charitable sector and institutions of philanthropy and civil society as bedrock elements — essential for the public good. For decades, our foundation has provided flexible funding to institutions, contributed to local community foundations, invested in philanthropic infrastructure, and partnered with givers across the ideological spectrum.

These values and commitments are more important today than ever, at a time of global change. A vibrant, nonpartisan charitable sector is critical to delivering essential services, supporting knowledge creation, and bringing communities together around shared experiences. This requires every philanthropy to have the freedom to make investment decisions and boldly pursue their unique mission and values.

In this critical moment, Hewlett remains steadfast in our support for our grantees and the charitable sector. We stand firm in our belief that philanthropy — in all its forms — must have the freedom to invest in support of solutions that address society’s shared challenges.

I am proud to lead this foundation and committed to staying true to the longtime values that have guided the Hewlett Foundation throughout its giving history. In a time of uncertainty, these values make clear that we must do all we can to ensure that American generosity remains unstifled, that the nonpartisan charitable sector not only survives but thrives, and that we are, together, able to continue helping to build a better world.