SOURCE OF WEALTH: Oak Investment Partners
FUNDING AREAS: Education & Youth, Health, Bay Area Community
OVERVIEW: Fred Harman and Stephanie Curtis Harman conduct their philanthropy through the Harman Family Foundation, which according to available tax filings, gave away around $1.4 million in 2017. The couple’s education philanthropy involves schools with a family connection, including Stanford. Other interests include health.
BACKGROUND: Fred Harman received a B.S. and M.S. in electric engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business. He worked at Hughes Communications, where he was involved in the formation of the predecessor to DirectTV. He also worked with Morgan Stanley’s venture capital group, where he was a general partner. He joined Oak Investment Partners in 1994 as a general partner.
ISSUES:
EDUCATION & YOUTH: The Harmans support Stanford University, including their endowment of the Harman Family Provostial Professorship to support the work of neuroscientist William Newsome. The couple is interested in Alzheimer’s disease—both Harman and Stephanie’s mothers were diagnosed with the disease.
The couple has also supported their son Stephen’s school, University of Colorado Boulder, where they have funded scholarships. Other grantees include USC Marshall School (Harman is on the board and the couple are USC parents), Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton, Phillips Academy, and 50 Fund, which describes itself as the “signature philanthropic initiative of Super Bowl 50,” whose “goal is to help close the opportunity gap that exists for Bay Area children, youth and young adults living in low-income communities.”
HEALTH: Grantees include Breast Cancer Action and Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health.
BAY AREA COMMUNITY: Fred and Stephanie live in the Bay Area and have supported San Francisco Symphony and Stern Grove Festival Association, a “nonprofit cultural organization committed to providing the people of the Bay Area with admission-free access to diverse performing arts.”
LOOKING FORWARD: Expect the couple to stick with their select interest areas, with an eye to the Bay Area.
CONTACT:
Harman Family Foundation
525 University Ave., Ste. 1300
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Telephone: 650-614-3700
