Glen Galaich

Glen Galaich’s grant making strategy as CEO of the Stupski Foundation will cost him his job. That’s intentional. Stupski operates as a spend-down foundation, which means it will distribute its entire endowment on a set timeline and then cease operations, rather than paying out 5% of assets annually as most foundations do.

In 2025, the Stupski Foundation—which supports health, food security, and postsecondary education in Hawaii and the Bay Area—announced it was accelerating the process “in response to threats to our communities,” awarding 76% of its remaining grant funds that year. By the time Stupski closes its doors in 2029, the foundation projects that its total payout will hit $581 million, a far cry higher than the $176 million it would have spent in the same time period by sticking to the 5% annual standard. 

More foundations, he holds, should similarly ramp up their giving. “Communities aren’t asking us to hold onto our money and accumulate more,” Galaich says. “They’re asking us to move it.”  

Galaich advocates for this and other sector-wide changes in a Substack, his podcast, and a newly-released book Control. In the latter, he urges donors to move away from a mindset that prioritizes their preferences over all else. “You get much more impact and we all would get greater benefit if donors engage the community in their work,” he says.