Craig and Susan McCaw Foundation

The foundation's endowment derives from the telecommunications fortune Craig McCaw built through McCaw Cellular Communications, which he sold to AT&T in 1994 for $11.5 billion. Susan McCaw, a former investment banker at Robertson Stephens and later US Ambassador to Austria, co-directs the foundation's philanthropic strategy. The couple signed The Giving Pledge in 2011, publicly committing to donate the majority of their wealth.

The foundation itself maintains a modest endowment estimated at $10 million to $50 million that supports its grantmaking programs. The broader McCaw family wealth, however, is managed through discrete family office entities that have historically invested across venture capital, distressed debt, private equity, and real estate. The foundation does not publicly disclose whether it co-invests alongside these family office vehicles, though its tax filings indicate a conventional grantmaking and mission-investment structure.

Grantmaking concentrates on three areas: expanding education access, international economic development, and environmental conservation. Geographically, the foundation directs resources to programs in the Pacific Northwest — where the McCaws maintain their primary residence in Hunts Point, Washington — as well as international initiatives in developing economies. The McCaws' personal real estate holdings span Washington, California, and British Columbia, reflecting a bi-national Pacific orientation.

Yes. Craig and Susan McCaw serve as the foundation's directors and primary decision-makers. Susan McCaw's additional roles — Vice Chair of the Hoover Institution and member of the Council on Foreign Relations — inform the foundation's intellectual and policy orientation. Craig McCaw sits on the Hoover Board of Overseers, while both engage with allied philanthropic vehicles including The Com Family Foundation.

The foundation does not publicly invite unsolicited proposals and does not maintain a public-facing grant application portal. Grantmaking appears to follow a curated approach consistent with the McCaws' existing philanthropic and professional networks. Organizations seeking funding would likely need an introduction through the foundation's established advisory or institutional channels.

The Com Family Foundation is a separate philanthropic entity affiliated with the McCaw family, adding a layer of complexity to their charitable architecture. Amit Mehta serves as Vice President of The Com Family Foundation, acting as a connective figure between the family's various philanthropic structures. The foundations appear to operate with overlapping governance but maintain distinct grantmaking programs and fiduciary responsibilities.

The foundation files an annual Form 990-PF with the IRS, which reports grants paid, investment income, and endowment assets. Those filings are publicly accessible and detail grant recipients and amounts, though the foundation itself does not issue press releases or annual reports summarizing aggregate grantmaking figures. Researchers can retrieve these records through standard nonprofit databases.