Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Gordon and Betty Moore established the foundation to create positive outcomes for future generations. In pursuit of that vision, they foster path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Creating positive outcomes for future generations

Guided by this vision and the Statement of Founders' Intent, each day they strive to make a significant and positive impact on the world. They tackle large, important issues at a scale where they believe they can make significant and measurable impacts. They know that their ability to take risks and make long-term and relatively large commitments allows them to undertake challenges not accessible to many other organizations.

Their Mission

They foster path-breaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements, and preservation of the special character of the Bay Area.

Their Values

The following core values reflect the character and beliefs of Gordon and Betty Moore and guide the foundation’s work.

Impact - They strive to achieve large-scale, enduring impact.

- Investing on a sufficient scale to make a difference on important issues.
- Taking the long view, staying the course and persisting.
- Seeking to create durable, not temporary, change.
- Taking calculated risks and supporting new ideas for significant change.
- Focusing on root causes, not symptoms, to create systemic change.

Integrity - They hold themselves accountable to their founders’ ideals and aspirations.

- Carrying out their work with uncompromising integrity and committing to the highest standards of conduct.
- Communicating honestly, clearly and in a timely manner.
- Using the resources entrusted to them responsibly.
- Holding themselves to the same standards that they ask of others.

Disciplined Approach - They take a systematic, evidence-based approach.

- Developing and implementing, evidence-based, well-vetted theories of change.
- Testing their assumptions and challenging their thinking; they adaptively manage to address changing conditions.
- Evaluating their impact, learning and improving, they establish outcomes which they can measure using both quantitative and qualitative approaches.
Consistently implementing full cycles of planning, execution, evaluation and improvement, they learn from both their successes and failures.
- Staying well informed and making decisions on the basis of knowledge, analysis, external input and objective due diligence.

Collaboration - They collaborate with respect and purpose.

- Recognizing that their impact is achieved through the efforts of thir grantees and others.
- Working with others, respecting their ideas, values and time.
- Listening to varying points of view, including those that may differ from their own.
- Gathering and incorporating the best thinking into their work.
- Respectfully challenging themselves and their partners to strengthen their collective thinking.
- Fostering collaboration when they can create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.