The Schmidt Family Foundation is a

private foundation A private foundation is a tax-exempt organization not relying on broad public support and generally claiming to serve humanitarian purposes. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private foundation in the U.S. with over $38 billion ...

created in 2006 by

Eric Schmidt Eric Emerson Schmidt (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and software engineer known for being the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, executive chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 20 ...

, the Executive Chairman of

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

, and his wife

Wendy Schmidt Wendy Susan Schmidt (''née'' Boyle) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the wife of Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, whom she met in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the president of ...

, to address issues pertaining to

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

and the responsible use of natural resources.

History and assets

The foundation was established in 2006 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, with assets valued at over $1 billion, which included $307 million in Google Class A stock.

Focus area

The foundation is focused on the application of new knowledge and innovation and advancement original research in science, energy, and

biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be ...

, often in collaboration with other organizations. Its initial specific focus areas are

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

preservation and education.

Programs and grants

Since 2006, the Foundation has made grants to organizations, including the Energy Foundation, the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

, the Regeneration Project, the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, Green for All, ''Grist'' magazine, the

Center for Investigative Reporting The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in Emeryville, California. It was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and has since grown into a multi-platf ...

, the

Environmental Media Association The Environmental Media Association (EMA) is a non-profit organization which was founded in 1989 by Cindy Horn and Lyn Lear. EMA works with the entertainment industry to encourage green production and raise the public's environmental awareness. T ...

, and the

Precourt Institute for Energy Precourt is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anthony Precourt (born 1969–70), American sports team owner *Charles J. Precourt (born 1955), American astronaut *Steve Precourt (born 1960), American politician {{surname ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. Between 2006 and 2011, it made a five-year grant of $1 million per year to the

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...

. It has supported several Schmidt family projects. In 2010, it made a $1 million grant to the Marine Science and Technology Foundation, a private operating foundation founded in 2010 by Eric Schmidt. The 11th Hour Project was founded by Wendy Schmidt in 2005, and operates as part of the foundation. It works to raise awareness about climate change and renewable energy sources, and operates as part of the foundation. The project awards various grants and helped distribute the documentary film ''

An Inconvenient Truth ''An Inconvenient Truth'' is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate people about global warming. The film features a slide show that, by Gore's own e ...

''. It also provided initial operating budget for the nonprofit news organization

Climate Central Climate Central is a nonprofit news organization that analyzes and reports on climate science. Composed of scientists and science journalists, the organization conducts scientific research on climate change and energy issues, and produces multimed ...

. ReMain Nantucket, formed in 2007, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the foundation, dedicated to the economic, social, and environmental vitality of downtown

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The

Schmidt Ocean Institute Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit operating foundation established in March 2009 by Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt. The Institute's goal is to advance innovative oceanographic research and discovery through technological adv ...

founded in 2009, is a separate private foundation established by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, that has received grants from the Schmidt Family Foundation for acquiring and operating the Institute’s oceanographic

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

s, including the ''Falkor''. The Foundation has provided support for the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge. a challenge award offered by the X Prize Foundation for efficient capturing of

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

from

ocean water Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has approx ...

, inspired by the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered ...

. It was announced in July 2010, and $1.3 million in prizes, were awarded in October 2011. It also supports the $1.5 million Wendy Schmidt Ocean Health X Prize for work on

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the reduction in the pH value of the Earth’s ocean. Between 1751 and 2021, the average pH value of the ocean surface has decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14. The root cause of ocean acidification is carbon dioxid ...

. In March 2013, the Foundation and the

Ellen MacArthur Foundation Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur (born 8 July 1976) is a retired English sailor, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in Cowes, Isle of Wight. MacArthur is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005, ...

launched the Schmidt-MacArthur Fellowship, a global fellowship program for developing the skills and innovative mindset needed for the

circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity and CE) is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. CE aims ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://tsffoundation.org/, Schmidt Family Foundation official website Conservation and environmental foundations in the United States