Harold & Arlene Schnitzer Care Foundation

Harold & Arlene Schnitzer Care Foundation

The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation was established in 1994 to formalize the giving of Portland real-estate developers Harold and Arlene Schnitzer. President Jordan D. Schnitzer, their son, also leads Schnitzer Properties — the renamed Harsch Investment Properties — which owns industrial and mixed-use assets across six western states. The foundation's endowment, estimated at roughly $105 million (Altss estimate), flows primarily into Oregon-based arts, education, medical, and social-service organizations. The foundation makes direct venture-capital commitments alongside its grantmaking, though specific portfolio-company names and check sizes are not publicly disclosed. The dual structure — programmatic philanthropy plus an opportunistic venture sleeve — mirrors the Schnitzer family's broader operating philosophy. Schnitzer Properties' portfolio spans industrial buildings in Seattle and Auburn, Washington, and Tualatin, Oregon, alongside mixed-use holdings in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. Jordan Schnitzer separately maintains an art collection housed in a 50,000-square-foot Portland warehouse, consistently ranked by ArtNews among the world's top 200. The CARE Foundation runs Schnitzer Cares, a student-led grantmaking program that gives young people direct allocation authority — a governance feature rarely seen at foundations of this size. Board members include Jordan's daughters Arielle and Audria Schnitzer. Jordan Schnitzer is a longtime member of the Young Presidents' Organization and belongs to Portland's Arlington Club and Multnomah Athletic Club. The foundation has not publicly disclosed any new funds, restructurings, or major leadership changes in the last 24 months. The structural differentiator is the tight coupling of the foundation to an active operating company. Rather than a liquid endowment managed at arm's length, the CARE Foundation runs alongside Schnitzer Properties, with the family's real-estate cash flows feeding the philanthropic and venture activities. The student-led grantmaking committee further distinguishes it from peer foundations, embedding succession and community accountability directly into governance.