Development Co‑operation Profiles: William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Table of contents
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a US-based private foundation established in 1966. The ethos and values inform the approach of its founders, the William R. Hewlett and Flora Lamson Hewlett and their family.
The foundation’s programmes focus on domestic and international issues. Programmes with an international scope include, among others, education, environment, gender equity, governance and racial justice initiatives. The foundation provides grants to a broad range of institutions, from research institutes and multilateral actors to grassroots organisations working on development.
This profile concerns only activities targeting ODA-eligible countries. See the Development Co-operation Profiles.
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation provided USD 181.5 million for development in 2023 through its grantmaking activities. Compared to 2022, this amount represents a decrease of 11.3% in real terms. Grants represented 100% of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s gross disbursements.
In 2023, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation channelled its bilateral development finance mainly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (USD 149.2 million) and universities, research institutes or think-tanks (USD 25.2 million).
In 2023, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation provided USD 1.6 million to the multilateral system, representing 0.9% of its total development finance. All of this was earmarked for specific countries, regions, themes or purposes. Almost three-quarters (70.1%) of these multilateral contributions were channelled through United Nations (UN) organisations and UN funds and programmes.
The UN system received USD 1.1 million from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in 2023. The most significant UN recipient was UNDP (USD 300 000).
See the section on Geographic and thematic focus of ODA for the breakdown of bilateral allocations, including ODA earmarked through the multilateral development system.
In 2023, civil society organisations (CSOs) received USD 149.2 million of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s gross bilateral finance, of which 23.7% was directed to developing country-based CSOs. Overall, over a third (36.6%) was allocated to CSOs as core support, while 45.6% was earmarked to specific projects or programmes. From 2022 to 2023, the combined core and earmarked contributions for CSOs decreased as a share of bilateral ODA, from 87% to 82.2%.
Learn more about the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid.
In 2023, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s development finance was primarily focused on Africa and Asia (excluding the Middle East). USD 69.2 million was allocated to Africa and USD 25.1 million to Asia (excluding the Middle East), accounting respectively for 38.2% and 13.8% of gross bilateral development finance. A sum of USD 79.6 million (43.9%) was unspecified by region in 2023, mainly including multi-regional programmes, core support and research grants.
In 2023, 30.4% of gross development finance went to the top 10 recipients, most notably the People’s Republic of China and Kenya.
Least developed countries (LDCs) received USD 13.3 million (7.3%) of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s gross disbursements in 2023. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation allocated the highest share (12.5%) of its bilateral development finance to lower middle-income countries in 2023, followed by upper middle-income countries (12.3%), noting that USD 123.1 million (67.8%) was unallocated by income group.
Furthermore, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation allocated USD 6.4 million of its development finance to landlocked developing countries in 2023.
Support to contexts with high and extreme fragility reached USD 19.9 million in 2023, representing 10.9% of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s bilateral development finance.
Learn more about the OECD States of Fragility platform.
In 2023, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s largest allocations went to social infrastructure and services. Investments in this area accounted for 47.1% of bilateral commitments (USD 94.9 million). Bilateral contributions allocated to multi-sector amounted to USD 45.5 million, with a strong focus on general environmental protection. Economic infrastructure sectors received USD 18.4 million.
Access the full list of providers at this link: Development Co-operation Profiles.
Official website: https://hewlett.org
The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied, including the grant-equivalent methodology, core and earmarked contributions to multilateral organisations, country programmable aid, channels of delivery, bilateral ODA unspecified/unallocated, bilateral allocable ODA, the gender equality policy marker, and the environment markers.
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