Julian Grace Foundation

Julian Grace Foundation

The Julian Grace Foundation was established in 2015 by Jessica Sarowitz, an entrepreneurial philanthropist who runs the foundation alongside her role as Managing Partner of the family office 4S Bay Partners LLC. The foundation's capital base originates from the exit of Paylocity, the payroll and HR software company founded by her husband, Steve Sarowitz, who acts as co-founder and remains a principal in the family's ventures. The structure is a private foundation, distinguishing it from donor-advised funds with its mandate for active, high-engagement deployment. The foundation deploys capital through a BIPOC-led grantmaking strategy designed to drive systemic change and advance racial justice. Its investment posture focuses on empowering communities of color, with an emphasis on direct, relationship-based allocations rather than arms-length gifts. The foundation's real asset exposure, separate from its grant programs, includes a portfolio of commercial and mixed-use properties on Stocker Street in Los Angeles, California, and a global REIT portfolio, signaling a hybrid approach that blends pure philanthropy with mission-aligned investment. Jessica Sarowitz and the foundation's board member, Jim Casselberry, maintain active links to impact investing forums like Mission Investors Exchange. The foundation's ecosystem extends beyond its immediate grant-making. Jim Casselberry, who serves as Chief Investment Officer at the connected family office 4S Bay Partners, also holds a board seat at the foundation, creating a direct pipeline between the family's investment and philanthropic activities. In the broader Sarowitz network, Steve Sarowitz co-founded Wayfarer Studios with actor and director Justin Baldoni. The couple also maintains a separate philanthropic vehicle, the Wayfarer Foundation, creating a web of interconnected for-profit and non-profit entities around themes of social justice and storytelling. What differentiates the Julian Grace Foundation structurally is its tight coupling with an active family office and a mission-driven media studio, allowing grant capital, private investments, and narrative-shaping projects to operate in parallel under a unified family strategy. The BIPOC-led grantmaking mandate is not an advisory filter applied post-hoc; it is the foundation's core operating principle, moving it beyond a standard private foundation into a vehicle purpose-built for deploying capital alongside a specific, community-led thesis for change.