# Peninsula Open Space Trust

Peninsula Open Space Trust is an Endowment / Foundation based in Palo Alto, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Palo Alto, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Palo Alto, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 1977
- **Assets under management:** $150M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** openspacetrust.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/postlandtrust

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Founded in 1977, the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) emerged from a Palo Alto-based mission to protect the rapidly developing landscapes of the San Francisco Peninsula. Gordon Clark, the current President, leads an effort shaped by deep regional partnerships and funders including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Sand Hill Foundation. The trust's work converts private capital and philanthropic donations into permanently conserved open space, farmland, and parkland across San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties. POST's strategy marries traditional land acquisition with institutional investment operations. The organization directly acquires, holds, and later transfers properties to public agencies including the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. Holdings include the San Vicente Redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains, co-managed with the Sempervirens Fund, and a portfolio of agricultural assets such as Cloverdale Ranch, San Gregorio Ranch, and the Upper Pajaro River Valley. The endowment deploys capital across multiple structures, including direct acquisitions, co-investments with public partners, and venture-stage commitments. With its endowment serving as the operational engine, POST partners with an accomplished board that includes Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth and Canaan Partners General Partner Wende Hutton. The trust holds accreditation from the Land Trust Alliance and participates in the California Council of Land Trusts and the Together Bay Area coalition. As of January 2025, Gordon Clark assumed the presidency, bringing decades of institutional knowledge from his previous role as Vice President of Development. POST operates as a hybrid entity: a nonprofit land trust with an investment portfolio that functions like a patient, mission-driven family office for the land. Its structural differentiator lies in the sequence — acquire first, steward permanently, then transfer at cost to public partners — making private capital the catalyst for creating public conservation infrastructure on a regional scale.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Agriculture & Timberland
- Infrastructure
- ClimateTech

## People

- Gordon Clark — President
- Rajesh Mashruwala — Chair of the Board of Directors
- Wende Hutton — Vice Chair of the Board of Directors
- Andrew Bosworth — Board Member

## Questions

### How does POST's investment model function?

POST uses its endowment and philanthropic capital to acquire, steward, and transfer land to public agencies like Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. The trust buys threatened properties, manages them, and eventually conveys them at cost or with funding support, creating a permanent conservation outcome without a return requirement.

### What kind of assets does POST hold in its portfolio?

The portfolio includes direct land holdings and a financial endowment estimated at $150M (Altss estimate). Key land assets include San Vicente Redwoods, Cloverdale Ranch, San Gregorio Ranch, and the Upper Pajaro River Valley, spanning farmlands, watersheds, and redwood forests across San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.

### Who makes investment decisions at POST?

President Gordon Clark leads the organization's strategy, with governance from a board chaired by Rajesh Mashruwala. The board includes technology and venture capital leaders such as Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth and Canaan Partners GP Wende Hutton.

### How does POST source deal flow?

POST works through deep regional partnerships with public agencies, philanthropic foundations, and private landowners. Major co-investors include the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Sempervirens Fund, while long-term relationships with the Sand Hill Foundation and regional open space authorities create proprietary acquisition opportunities.

### What is POST's geographic focus?

The trust operates exclusively on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the South Bay, with conserved lands spanning San Mateo, Santa Clara, and southern Santa Cruz counties. The mandate is hyper-local, targeting the region's most threatened landscapes.

## Related profiles

- [Jewish Federation of St. Louis](https://altss.com/profile/jewish-federation-of-st-louis)
- [Peter Kiewit Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/peter-kiewit-foundation)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/peninsula-open-space-trust

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology