The William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation

Our Work

Healthcare

The William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation supports a wide range of healthcare initiatives. The Foundation has donated directly to hospitals, community clinics, Mercy Ships, and domestic care workers. Donations have focused on improving infant care,   low-income country healthcare, and humanitarian relief via organizations such as  Doctors Without Borders.  

The Foundation also provided emergency grants to support the collective response to the coronavirus pandemic, funding access to critical supplies for frontline workers and vulnerable communities throughout the U.S. as well as innovative care delivery for hospitals.

Bill Gross is a recipient of the  “UCI Medal,” an annual award that is considered UC Irvine’s most prestigious honor, awarded to those who have made exceptional contributions to the university’s mission of teaching, research and public service.

Education

We are proud to support the important work that our teachers perform in making a difference in young people’s lives every day.

BILL GROSS

As a father and long-time resident of Orange County, Mr. Gross has always admired and respected the impactful role of educators in their communities.  He has sponsored the Orange County Teachers of the Year awards since 1992, an honor he now shares with his son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Jenny Gross. The Foundation has also donated to several higher education institutions, including UCLA and UC Irvine, as well as  to both Bill and daughter Jennifer’s alma mater, Duke University. Bill Gross is a recipient of the  “UCI Medal,” UC Irvine’s most prestigious honor, awarded to those who have made exceptional contributions to the university’s mission of teaching, research and public service.

Both within the U.S. and beyond it, the Foundation is committed to expanding access to quality education, providing scholarships to Duke University and Saddleback Community College, as well as support for UN-affiliated universal education efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

Bill Gross is a recipient of the  “UCI Medal,” an annual award that is considered UC Irvine’s most prestigious honor, awarded to those who have made exceptional contributions to the university’s mission of teaching, research and public service.

Global Development and Humanitarian Relief

Donations directed by Jennifer Gross support a portfolio of grants focused on the advancement of education, health, and poverty alleviation in the world’s low-income countries. Contributions aim to promote practical solutions to sustainable development.  The Foundation has prioritized support for early childhood education and development and community-owned water projects that enhance access to clean water resources. The Gross family has also donated to human rights campaigns. Grantees of the Foundation include: the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Think Equal, Charity: Water, VII Foundation, and the Path to Peace Foundation.

Environment

The William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation is proud to support organizations dedicated to addressing the global crisis of climate change and working to alleviate the disproportionate harm inflicted on vulnerable populations both domestically and internationally from climate impacts. In recognition of the intersections between the health of the planet and the health of the people inhabiting it, the Foundation has contributed to conservation campaigns, particularly on ocean and environmental conservation. Chief among the organizations that Jennifer Gross and the Foundation support are the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, the Ocean Institute, Mercy for Animals, and Hudson River Park Friends.

Community Support

As a longtime resident of Orange County, Bill Gross has always believed in supporting the local community. He has worked to strengthen communities by contributing to efforts directed at helping those most in need, including those who are homeless, living in poverty or are in ill health. The William, Jeff, and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation has also donated to cultural organizations that offer enrichment through the arts. Beneficiaries of the William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation include the Laguna Beach Community Clinic, Laguna Food Pantry, Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach Senior Center, Laguna Radio Inc., and Friendship Shelter. During times of extraordinary crisis, like the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, the Gross Family Foundation provided $1.5 million in donations to organizations located in the Los Angeles area to assist in relief efforts for individuals and families facing hardships due to economic effects of the virus. These donations were directed towards the OC Food Bank and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County among others. 

Jennifer Gross has supported healthcare facilities in the communities of Los Angeles and Kauai, both of which she calls home. These grants include grants to Mission Hospital in her hometown of Mission Viejo and to the Wilcox Health Foundation, a community health clinic in Kauai, where she lives for part of the year. An emergency COVID-19 response grant to Mission Viejo Hospital in 2020 funded contact-free respiratory monitors with real-time data monitoring systems which has greatly increased the hospital’s capacity to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. The state of the art respiratory monitors have enhanced the safety of hospital workers by reducing the need to change out the equipment minimizing the risk of exposure to infection for care-givers.