At a Glance: The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation

History: Established in 1961 by Martha Alexander Gerbode, a descendant of the Alexander missionary family, which traveled from New England to Hawaii in 1830. The family later helped create Alexander & Baldwin, one of the biggest sugar companies in Hawaii. She named the foundation after a son who died in an automobile accident just before his 19th birthday.

Areas of support: Most of the foundation’s grant making is in the San Francisco Bay Area and the State of Hawaii. It makes most of its awards in the following program areas: arts and culture, the environment, death and dying, population, reproductive rights, diversity, citizen participation, and the strength of the philanthropic process and the non-profit world. In the areas of death and dying and reproductive rights, the foundation has made grants in other parts of the United States and internationally.

Assets: $65,156,314 as of June 30, 1998.

Grants: The foundation expects to distribute more than $3-million in 1998.

Key officials: Thomas C. Layton, executive director; Maryanna Gerbode Stockholm, chairman of the board.

Application procedures: Grant applications are accepted throughout the year. The foundation’s board meets at least four times annually to vote on grant requests. Proposal guidelines and other information are available on the foundation’s World-Wide Web site.

Address: 470 Columbus Avenue, Suite 209, San Francisco 94133; (415) 391-0911.

World-Wide Web site: http://fdncenter.org/grantmaker/gerbode