Funding Guidelines

The Dean Witter Foundation, established in 1952, is a private foundation incorporated under California law.

The Foundation accepts grant proposals from tax-exempt charitable institutions as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code on a continuing basis.

Members of the Board of Trustees meet quarterly to review proposals.

Grantmaking Priorities

The Dean Witter Foundation awards grants to support specific wildlife conservation projects in Northern California and seminal opportunities to improve and extend environmental education and to stimulate learning.

The Foundation makes additional grants to launch and expand innovative K-12 public education initiatives and to support research and higher education in finance.

Matching & Multi-year Grants

The Foundation prefers to award matching or challenge grants and to leverage its support with funding from other sources.

The Foundation will consider requests for multi-year funding for two or three years into the future to facilitate effective program planning by the institutions supported.

Program Limitations

The Foundation does not:

Accept funding requests from individuals or awards loans, scholarships and grants to specific individuals.

Assume any obligation to provide continuing support to grantee programs.

Make grants for annual fundraising events, operating deficits, and capital campaigns.

Support sectarian religious activities or sectarian religious facilities.