The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private family foundation created in 1964 by David Packard (1912–1996), cofounder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, and Lucile Salter Packard (1914–1987). The Foundation provides grants to nonprofit organizations in the following program areas: Conservation and Science; Population; and Children, Families, and Communities. The Foundation makes national and international grants and also has a special focus on the Northern California Counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey. Foundation grantmaking includes support for a wide variety of activities including direct services, research and policy development, and public information and education. The Packard Foundation has a long history of using evaluation strategically. We are committed to being good financial stewards and to evaluating the effectiveness of our grantmaking. We believe that evaluation is as important in grantmaking as it is in business or government. Our evaluation approach is guided by three main principles: 1) Success depends on a willingness to solicit feedback and take corrective action when necessary; 2) Improvement should be continuous, and we should learn from our mistakes; and 3) Evaluation should be conducted in partnership with those who are doing the work in order to maximize learning and minimize the burden on the grantee
Recent Projects:
- The following are part of the ongoing suite of services that the Evaluation team offers:
- Individual and small group consultation, staff training, meeting facilitation, and document review services that can help program staff to engage efficiently and effectively in all aspects of the strategy.
- Sharing evaluation best practices and tools across programs, as well as with other foundations, and the field in general.
- Mining the field of evaluation and the philanthropic sectors for ways in which we can improve our own evaluation practices.
- Guiding and supporting a number of “real-time” evaluations currently underway including: Children’s Health Insurance; Preschool; After-school; Ecosystem based Management; Marine Fisheries; and Population.
- Developing a set of standards for good practice in strategy, monitoring, evaluation and learning for the Foundation.
- Producing our annual review of the Packard Foundation’s progress, our Glance at the Foundation.
Placement Mentor – Gale Berkowitz joined the Foundation in 2005. As evaluation director, Gale directs the building, integration, and delivery of evaluation within the Foundation. She works closely with program staff to develop and implement assessments of the effectiveness of Foundation grantmaking and promotes a culture of practical implementation and learning. Prior to joining the Packard Foundation, she held a similar position at the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation. As an active evaluator, she has served the health and education sectors, providing evaluation and management consultation, health services research and policy analysis for a variety of foundations and community service organizations, as well as federal, state and local governments. She has extensive teaching experience and is the writer or co-author of more than 50 publications. Gale is currently the Chair of the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) Organizational Learning Advisory Group, and a member of the Independent Sector Advisory Group on Nonprofit Effectiveness. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Johns Hopkins University, and Masters and Doctorate in Public Health degrees from the University of California at Berkeley.
Placement Supervisor - Bernadette Sangalang joined the Packard Foundation in 2006. As an Evaluation Officer, Bernadette provides direct consultation, coaching, and technical assistance to Foundation staff in evaluation planning, design, management, and learning.
Prior to joining the Packard Foundation, Bernadette served as the Director of Evaluation and Research for the Center for Training, Evaluation and Research of the Pacific at the University of Hawaii, School of Social Work, where she led evaluation projects related to Hawaii’s public child welfare system and outcomes for families. Her prior work has focused on evaluation planning and implementation, health services research, and analyses of social interventions. Bernadette received her PhD in social work with a specialization in evaluation of social interventions from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her dissertation focused on the evaluation of North Carolina’s statewide Adolescent Parenting Program. She also received postdoctoral training in public health at the University of California at Berkeley, an MSW from University of Washington, and a BA in social welfare from the University of California at Berkeley.
